History of Wall Panelling in Interior Design Periods |
Late Tudor Interiors c.1558 - 1603 |
[ 12 ] Panelled Doors c. 1600
Presumably the men of the 16th century were either all very short or else they habitually bent their heads to go through doorways, for there are very few Elizabethan doors still existing in the smaller home that the average man of today could walk through comfortably. Many of those I have measured are barely 5 ft. 6 niches in height. Their simple construction of thin oak panels and a narrow bevelled framework made them very light in weight, and they probably rattled unnecessarily. They were however extremely attractive to look at. The illustrated example with its delicately carved top panel is not in its original setting; it was `picked up’ and now graces a bedroom at Dowles. The carved panel of flower and leaf design is in every way typical of Elizabethan country design, the same type of ornament might have appeared equally well in embroidery or plasterwork. The more complicated panelled doors in this illustration emphasize the all prevailing styles in Classic detail. The first example shows a decorated arcade its spandrels filled with a leaf design. The bottom panels are framed with a roundly moulded edge which stands up, rather as applied picture railing might do.The second example is simpler and carries a strip of carved panelling in the centre-the ornament on this panel is based on the foliated scroll design which appears in both Greek and Roman architecture. The top panels have the same rounded moulding but the two bottom ones are sunk with a simple bevelled edge. |
