Molding (USA) or
moulding (AUS, CAN, UK) is a strip of material with various
cross sectionIn geometry, a cross-section is the intersection of a body in 2-dimensional space with a line, or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane, etc. More plainly, when cutting an object into slices one gets many parallel cross-sections....
s used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood. In
classical architectureClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
and sculpture, the molding is often carved in marble or other
stones.
A "sprung" molding is a strip that has beveled edges, allowing it to be mounted at an angle between two non-parallel planes (such as between a wall and a ceiling).
Molding (USA) or
moulding (AUS, CAN, UK) is a strip of material with various
cross sectionIn geometry, a cross-section is the intersection of a body in 2-dimensional space with a line, or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane, etc. More plainly, when cutting an object into slices one gets many parallel cross-sections....
s used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood. In
classical architectureClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
and sculpture, the molding is often carved in marble or other
stones.
A "sprung" molding is a strip that has beveled edges, allowing it to be mounted at an angle between two non-parallel planes (such as between a wall and a ceiling). Other types of molding are referred to as "plain".
Theory
At their simplest, moldings are a means of applying light and dark shaded stripes to a structure or object without having to change the material or apply
pigmentA pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
. The contrast of dark and light areas gives definition to the object.
Imagine the vertical surface of a wall lit by sunlight at an angle of about 45 degrees above the wall. A concave
cavetto molding against the wall will produce a horizontal shadow that is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom, whereas a convex
ovoloOvolo in architecture, is a convex molding known also as the echinus, which in Classical architecture was invariably carved with the egg-and-dart ornament. The molding is called a quarter-round by woodworkers...
molding will cause the shadow to be lighter at the top and darker at the bottom. Other concave moldings are the
scotia and
congé, and other convex moldings are the
echinus,
torusIn geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with and not touching the circle. Examples of tori include the surfaces of doughnuts and inner tubes. The solid contained by the surface is known as a toroid...
and astragal.
Placing an ovolo molding directly above a cavetto forms a smooth 'S' shaped curve with vertical ends is called an
ogee or
cyma reversa molding, which appears as a band that is light at the top and bottom, but dark in the interior. Similarly, a cavetto above an ovolo forms an 'S' with horizontal ends, called a
cyma or
cyma recta molding, appearing as two dark bands with a light interior.
Together, these basic elements and their variants form a decorative
vocabularyA person's vocabulary is the set of words they are familiar with in a language. A vocabulary usually grows and evolves with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge.- Knowing and using a word :...
which can be assembled and rearranged in endless combinations. This vocabulary is at the core of both
Classical architectureClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
and
Gothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
.
Decorative moldings have been made of various materials; such as,
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
,
stone-Materials and minerals:* Rock, a naturally-occurring aggregate of minerals* Gemstone, an attractive mineral used for adornments* Dimension stone, stone fabricated to specific sizes or shapes...
and
cementIn the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term "opus caementicium" to describe masonry which resembled concrete and was made from crushed...
. Recently, the moldings made of Expanded
PolystyrenePolystyrene , sometimes abbreviated PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
(EPS) as a core, accompanied with a cement-based protective coating have become popular. These moldings have some environmental, health and safety concerns that were investigated by Doroudiani
et al.
Types
There are a variety of common moldings:
- Astragal
An astragal is molding profile composed of a half round surface surrounded by two flat planes . An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus. It can be an architectural element used at the top or base of a column, but is also employed as a framing device on furniture and woodwork.An...
— semi-circular molding attached to one of a pair of especially fire doorA fire door is a type of door or movable barrier used as part of a passive fire protection system within buildings to prevent the spread of fire or smoke between separate sections...
s to cover the air gap where the doors meet
- Baguette — Thin, half-round molding, smaller than an astragal, sometimes carved, and enriched with foliages, pearl
A pearl is a hard, generally spherical object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and...
s, ribbands, laurelThe Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Laurel Tree, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.-Growth:The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic...
s, etc. When enriched with ornaments, it was also called chapelet.
- Bandelet — Any little band or flat molding, which crowns a Doric architrave
The architrave is a moulded or ornamental band framing a rectangular opening. It is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. As such, it is the lowest part of the entablature consisting of architrave, frieze and cornice...
. It is also called a tenia.
- Baseboard
In architecture, a baseboard is a board, covering the lowest part of an interior wall...
, "base molding" or "skirting board" — used at the junction of an interior wallA wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
and floorA floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal, or any material that can hold a person's weight....
to protect the wall from impacts. The so called speed base (a 163 base cap on top of a 1x board and the Victorian base (feathered edge) are the most common baseboards.
- Baton — see Torus
- Batten
A batten is a thin strip of solid material . Battens are used for various purposes in building construction, as well as other various fields.-Roofing battens:...
or board and batten — a symmetrical molding that is placed across a joint where two parallel panels or boards meet
- Bead molding — narrow, half-round convex molding, when repeated forms reeding
- Beading or bead — molding in the form of a row of half spherical beads, larger than pearling
- Other forms: Bead and leaf, bead and reel, bead and spindle
- Beak — Small fillet molding left on the edge of a larmier, which forms a canal, and makes a kind of pendant
A pendant is a hanging object, generally attached to a necklace or an earring. In modern French this is a the gerund form of “hanging” . Pendants can have several functions:* ornamentation...
. See also: chin-beak
- Bed molding — a narrow molding used at the junction of a wall and ceiling
thumb|right|Painted ceiling, "[[Icarus]]", by [[Rainer Maria Latzke]] , Chateau Thal, [[Belgium]]A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that bounds the upper limit of a room...
. Bed moldings can be either sprung or plain.
- Bolection — a moulding which is raised, projecting proud of the face frame. It is located at the intersection of the different surface levels between the frame and inset panel on a door or wood panel. It will sometimes have a rebate (or rabbet) at the back, the depth of the difference in levels, so that it can lay over the front of both the face frame and the inset panel and can in some instances thus give more space to nail the moulding to the frame, leaving the inset panel free to expand or contract in varying climates, as timber is prone to do.
- Cable molding or ropework — Convex molding carved in imitation of a twisted rope or cord, and used for decorative moldings of the Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
in England, France and Spain and adapted for 18th century silver and furniture design (Thomas SheratonThomas Sheraton was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite....
)
- Cabled fluting or cable — Convex circular molding sunk in the concave fluting of a classic column, and rising about one-third of the height of the shaft
- Casing — Final trim or finished frame around the top, and both sides of a door
A door is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening. Doors are used widely and are found in walls or partitions of a building, vehicles, and furniture such as cupboards, cages, and containers....
or windowA window is a transparent opening in a wall that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material...
opening
- Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oblong enclosure with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh. The Ancient Egyptian word for it was...
escutcheon) — framed panel in the form of a scroll with an inscribed center, or surrounded by compound moldings decorated with floral motifs
- Cavetto — cavare: "to hollow", concave, quarter-round molding sometimes employed in the place of the cymatium of a cornice, as in the Doric order of the theatre of Marcellus
The Theatre of Marcellus is an ancient theatre built just before the Roman Empire. Its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, provides one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites. It was named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus's nephew and who died five years...
. It forms the crowning feature of the Egyptian temples, and took the place of the cymatium in many of the EtruscanEtruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica, residing between the Apennines and the River Tiber, whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci...
temples.
- Chair rail — horizontal molding placed part way up a wall to protect the surface from chair
A chair is a raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above floor level, supported by four legs. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a bar stool or high chair . A chair with arms is an armchair and with...
-backs, and used simply as decoration
- Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
— beveled edge connecting two surfaces
- Chin-beak — Concave quarter-round molding. There are few examples of this in ancient buildings, but is common in more recent times.
- Corner guard — Used to protect the edge of the wall at an outside corner, or to cover a joint on an inside corner.
- Cove molding or Coving — a concave-profile molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling
- Crown molding
Crown molding encapsulates a large family of moldings which are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge; generally used for capping walls, pilasters, cabinets; used extensively in the creation of interior and exterior cornice assemblies and door and window hoods.In recent times,...
— a wide, sprung molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling. General term for any molding at the top or "crowning" an architectural element.
- Cyma — molding of double curvature, combining the convex ovolo and concave cavetto. When the concave part is uppermost, it is called a cyma recta but if the convex portion is at the top, it is called a cyma reversa, When the crowning molding at the entablature is of the cyma form, it is called a cymatium
Cymatium, a molding on the cornice of some classical buildings. Sometimes decorated with an anthemion. It is characteristic of Ionic columns and can appear as part of the entablature, the epistylium, and the capital....
.
- Dentil
A Dentil is, in architecture, a small tooth-shaped block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.Vitruvius A Dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is, in architecture, a small tooth-shaped block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.Vitruvius A Dentil (from Lat....
s — Small blocks spaced evenly along the bottom edge of the cornice
- Drip cap — this is placed over a door or window opening to prevent water from flowing under the siding or across the glass
- Echinus — Similar to the ovolo molding and found beneath the abacus of the Doric capital or decorated with the egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is found in Ancient...
pattern below the Ionic capital
- Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is found in Ancient...
— One of the most widely used classical moldings with egg shapes alternating with V-shapes and known from Ancient Greek temples (Erechtheion).
- Also: Egg and tongue, egg and anchor, egg and star
- Fillet — small, flat band separating two surfaces, or between the flutes of a column
- Fluting — Vertical, half-round grooves cut into the surface of a column in regular intervals, each separated by a flat astragal. This ornament was used for all but the Tuscan order
Among the classical orders of architecture, the Tuscan order's place in the architectural canon is disputed. The order was only defined in the canon of classical architecture by Italian architectural theorists of the 16th century. The five orders including a "Tuscan order" were meticulously...
- Godroon or Gadroon — Ornamental band with the appearance of beading or reeding, especially frequent in silverwork and molding. It comes from the Latin word Guttus, meaning flask. It is said to be derived from raised work on linen, applied in France to varieties of the, bead and reel, in which the bead is often carved with ornament. In England the term is constantly used by auctioneers to describe the raised convex decorations under the bowl of stone or terracotta vases. The godroons radiate from the vertical support of the vase and rise half-way up the bowl.
- Also: Gadrooning
Gadrooning is a decorative motif consisting of convex curves in a series. In furniture and other interior accessories, the term applies to an ornamental carved band of tapered, curving and alternating concave and convex sections, usually diverging obliquely either side of a central point, often...
, lobed decoration, (k)nukked decoration, thumb molding
- Guilloche
Guilloché , in English usually Guilloche, is an engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically etched into an underlying material with very fine detail...
— Interlocking curved bands in a repeating pattern often forming circles enriched with rosettes and found in AssyriaAssyria was a civilization centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n ornament, classicalClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
and Renaissance architecure.
- Keel molding — with a sharp edge, resembling in cross-section the keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, the construction is dated from this event, with only the ship's launching considered more...
of a ship. It is common in the Early EnglishThe term Early English may refer to several different things:*For the style of architecture, see Early English Period*For the medieval period of history, see Middle Ages*For the people, see Anglo-Saxons...
and Decorated styles.
- Ovolo
Ovolo in architecture, is a convex molding known also as the echinus, which in Classical architecture was invariably carved with the egg-and-dart ornament. The molding is called a quarter-round by woodworkers...
— Simple, convex quarter-round molding that can also be enriched with the egg-and-dart or other pattern
- Neck molding
- Picture Rail - Functional molding installed 7-9 feet above the floor from which framed pictures and paintings are hung using picture wire and picture rail hooks.
- Rosette
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
— Circular, floral decorative element found in MesopotamiaMesopotamia "land between the rivers" is a name for the Tigris–Euphrates region in the eastern Mediterranean, largely corresponding to Iraq, as well as northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khūzestān Province of southwestern...
n design and early Greek steleA stele is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief A stele ' onMouseout='HidePop("29322")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Architecture_of_Ancient_Greece">Architecture of Ancient Greece
Architecture was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period to the 7th century BC, when plebian life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken...
- Architrave
The architrave is a moulded or ornamental band framing a rectangular opening. It is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. As such, it is the lowest part of the entablature consisting of architrave, frieze and cornice...
- Cornice (architecture)
- Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals...
- Moulding finishing processes
There are many steps that lead a moulded piece of wood to become a finished product.* SandingServes to smoothen edges and blend woodgrains.* PaintingAn exterior coat that adds color and effect.* Patina ProcessBy definition, to make look old.*Waxing...
- Moulding plane
In woodworking, a moulding plane is a specialised plane used for making the complex shapes found in wooden mouldings....
- Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, in which there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture.The Renaissance style places...
- Roman architecture
The architecture of Ancient Rome at first adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture...
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