A festoon (from French ''feston'',

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

''festone'', from a

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicting conventional arrangement of

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, s ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

bound together and suspended by

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

s. The motif is sometimes known as a swag when depicting fabric or

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

.Sturgis, pp. 22-23 In modern English the verb forms, especially "festooned with", are often used very loosely or figuratively to mean having any type of fancy decoration or covering.

Origins and design

Its origin is probably due to the representation in stone of the garlands of natural flowers, etc., which were hung up over an entrance doorway on fête days, or suspended around an altar. The design was largely employed both by the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

s and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

s and formed the principal decoration of altars,

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

s and panels. The ends of the ribbons are sometimes formed into bows or twisted curves; when in addition a group of foliage or flowers is suspended, it is called a drop or

margent Margent is a vertical arrangement of flowers, leaves or hanging vines used as a decorative ornament in architecture and furniture design in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. This motif was developed as a complement to other decorative ornaments, ...

. The motif was later used in

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

and decorative arts, especially

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

and the work of

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

s. Variations on the exact design are plentiful; for example, the ribbons can be suspended either from a decorated

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

, or held in the mouths of

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s, or suspended across the tops of

bucrania Bucranium (plural ''bucrania''; Latin, from Greek ''βουκράνιον'', referring to the skull of an ox) was a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. The name is generally considered to originate with the practic ...

as in the

Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta hou ...

at Tivoli.

Gallery

Detail of the Hellenistic mosaic floor panel of an Alexandrine parakeet from Pergamon, 2nd century BC, Pergamon Museum (8407011235).jpg, Detail of the Hellenistic mosaic floor panel, from the 2nd century BC, in the

Pergamon Museum The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of German Emperor Wilhelm II according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Class ...

(

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany) Wall painting from the west wall of Room L of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale MET DP141474.jpg,

Trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

wall painting from a

villa, with festoons and

, circa 50-40 BC, in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(New York City) Frise à têtes de taureaux (détails).JPG, Frieze with festoons and bucrania, in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum ( Selçuk, Turkey) Roma, sarcofago con ghirlande, collez. borghese, 125-130 ca. 01.JPG, Highly decorated Roman sarcophagus, with two festoons, circa 130-125 BC, in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Wrought Iron Festoon.jpg, Large wrought iron festoon, possibly from mid 18th century France Paris 75014 Rue Friant no 18 door 20170614.jpg, Pair of festoons hanged in the mouth of a lion, above a door from Paris Paris 4e Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis 028.jpg, Pair of festoons at the entrance of the

Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis The Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis is a church on rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais quarter of Paris. The present building was constructed from 1627 to 1641 by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis ...

(Paris) Design for a Garland from 'Various New Festoons, Part II' (Verscheide Nieuwe Festonnen, tweede deel) MET DP831823.jpg, Two

etchings Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

of two designs of festoons, from 1694, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Design for a Frieze with Wreath and Festoons MET DP806350.jpg, Design for a frieze with wreath and festoons, from the 18th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Teapot MET DT4382 (cropped).jpg, Hard-paste porcelain teapot with reliefs of festoons, 1720–1727, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Pair of swags MET DP281041.jpg, French gilt bronze festoon, 18th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cupid Seated on a Garland MET DP278833 (cropped).jpg,

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

seated on a festoon made of flowers, circa 1770-1790, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Louvre Palace (27711621434).jpg, Festoons painted on the ceiling of room 644 of the Louvre File:15 Strada Arthur Verona, Bucharest (01).jpg, Stuccos with festoons in a house from Bucharest 33, Strada Dionisie Lupu, Bucharest (Romania).jpg, Door in Bucharest, decorated with a pair of swags in its upper parts Stiftskirche Schlägl - Kirchenportal 8 Kapitell mit Engelskopf.jpg,

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

with an angel who holds a festoon with his wings, in Stiftskirche Mariae Himmelfahrt in Schlägl (

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

)

References

Attribution: *

External links

* {{Ornaments Architectural elements Ornaments (architecture)

Origins and design

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links