A portière is a hanging

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...

placed over a

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

or over the doorless entrance to a room. Its name is derived from the word for door in french: porte.

History

From

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, it came to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

at a remote date. It is known to have been in use in Europe in the 4th century, and was probably introduced much earlier. Like so many other domestic plenishings, it reached

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by way of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where it appears to have been originally called ''rideau de Porte'' (literally, "door curtain"). Common in wealthier households during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, it is still occasionally used either as an ornament or as a means of mitigating draughts. It is usually of some heavy material, such as

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...

, or

plush Plush (from French language, French ) is a textile having a cut nap (textile), nap or pile (textile), pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was e ...

, and is often fixed upon a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

arm, moving in a socket with the opening and closing of the door.

Rising portière

A rising portière is a simple but effective mechanism. It is fastened to both the door and to the wall near the hinge, such that the rail raises itself when the door is opened. This allows the curtain to be long enough to seal against the floor and contain draughts, but not drag on the floor or catch under the door when the door is opened. Rising portières come in different configurations to seal the curtain against different door surrounds.http://www.tracksandpoles.com/rods-wire-tracks/rods/portiere-door-rods.html File:Gucht Portiere of Jakub Zadzik.jpg, Heraldic portière of

Jakub Zadzik Jakub Zadzik (1582 – 17 March 1642) was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlach ...

, Bishop of Cracow, wool, silk, silver and gold, circa 1633 File:Portière de Bacchus Tapestry.jpg, Portière of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, wool and silk

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

, French, 1700s File:Nouvelle portiere de diane.JPG, New portière of Diane, hung as a wall tapestry, Pierre Jose Perrot, 1700s File:Portiere with the Chauvelin arms from a set called a Chancellerie MET 174674.jpg, Portière with the Chauvelin arms from a set called a Chancellerie, wool and silk, designed 1679 and 1700, borders ca. 1720, woven 1728–30 File:Portiere MET ADA337.jpg, Portière showing draft-excluding fringe on two sides, silk velvet, cotton, wool, circa 1878–80 File:Portiere MET ADA4.jpg, Close-up of draft-excluding fringe File:Portiere MET h1 2003.48.jpg, Silk velvet, and silk appliquéd and embroidered with silk and wool, silk damask, circa 1883 File:Portiere MET CT 26078.jpg, Close-up of appliquéd panel File:Morris_%26_COMPANY,_London_-_Acanthus_porti%C3%A8re_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, Acanthus portière, Morris and Co., silk embroidery on linen, 1890s File:Portiere MET ADA1.jpg, Design for a portière by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

, circa 1890–1902

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portiere Furnishings Textiles Doors

History

Rising portière

See also

Notes

References