Pieces of wood carving by Basil? (5)
I believe the answer is:
bails
'pieces of wood carving' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to property as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'basil?' is the wordplay.
'basil' anagrams to 'BAILS'.
However, I am not clear how this is indicated.
'by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bails that I've seen before include "Scoops water from boat" , "Part of wicket" , "Wicket crosspieces" .)