Bead and reel is an architectural motif, usually found in sculptures, moldings and numismatics. It consists in a thin line where beadlike elements alternate with cylindrical ones.[1][2] It is found throughout the modern Western world in architectural detail, particularly on Greek/Roman style buildings, wallpaper borders, and interior moulding design. It is often used in combination with the egg-and-dart motif.[3]
According to art historian John Boardman, the bead and reels motif was entirely developed in Greece from motifs derived from the turning techniques used for wood and metal, and was first employed in stone sculpture in Greece during the 6th century BC. The motif then spread to Persia, Egypt and the Hellenistic world, and as far as India, where it can be found on the abacus part of some of the Pillars of Ashoka or the Pataliputra capital. [4] Bead and reel motifs can be found abundantly in Greek and Hellenistic sculpture and on the border of Hellenistic coins.
Gallery
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![Ancient Greek bead and reel on the base of a capital from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, c.300-150 BC[5]](/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Didyma_2013-03-25zb.jpg/383px-Didyma_2013-03-25zb.jpg)
Ancient Greek bead and reel on the base of a capital from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, c.300-150 BC[5] -
Bead and reel at the base of the capital of a Pillar of Ashoka, in Vaishali, India, unknown architect or sculptor, 3rd century BC -
Frieze of the lost capital of the Allahabad pillar, with two lotuses framing a "flame palmette" surrounded by small rosette flowers, over a band of bead and reel, 3rd century BC, unknown material, Allahabad Museum, Prayagraj, India -
Gold 20-stater of Eucratides I within a bead and reel border, 2nd century BC, Cabinet des Médailles, Paris -
Ancient Greek Ionic capital with bead and reel, from the Temple of Artemis Leukophryene at Magnesia on the Maeander, 2nd century BC, unknown type of stone, Pergamon Museum, Berlin -
Islamic bead and reel on a cornice, circa 705-715, limestone, Pergamon Museum -
![Renaissance entablature with bead and reel of the Lescot Wing of the Louvre Palace, Paris, by Pierre Lescot, 1546-1551[6]](/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Paris_-_Palais_du_Louvre_-_PA00085992_-_219.jpg/338px-Paris_-_Palais_du_Louvre_-_PA00085992_-_219.jpg)
Renaissance entablature with bead and reel of the Lescot Wing of the Louvre Palace, Paris, by Pierre Lescot, 1546-1551[6] -
Art Nouveau frieze with festoons, bordered at the top by a bead and reel strip, in Calea Dorobanților no. 50A, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1900 -
Art Deco bead and reel on Piața Mihail Kogălniceanu no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1930
See also
References
- ^ "bead and reel". Glossary Medieval Art and Architecture. pitt.edu. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Bead and Reel". artlandia.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ Sturgis, Russell (1901). A Dictionary of Architecture and Building, Volume I. Macmillan. p. 256.
- ^ John Boardman, "The Origins of Indian Stone Architecture", p.16 and others [1]
- ^ "Temple of Apollo at Didyma". brown.edu. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ John Summerson (1963). The Classical Language of Architecture. London and New York City: Thames & Hudson. p. 76.
This page was last edited on 6 March 2024, at 13:12