Contents

• Basic Terms
• Frame Styles
• Ornament Descriptions
• Techniques And Construction

Basic Terms

Back Edge – the outermost section of the frame from the art.

Enrichment – an embellishment of carved or composition element.

Fillet – a narrow flat section used between rows of larger ornament.

Flat panel – a wide flat section of the frame common in such frame styles as the cassetta or box frame.

Frieze – a flat panel between raised moldings, occasionally decorated.

Hollow – a concave section often appearing next to the back edge as well as the front. See COVE.

Molding – the shaped profile or outline of the frame. Moldings can be rectilinear, curved and composite curved (ogee). A frame may have several sections of molding combined.

Ogee – a molding featuring the combination of convex and concave lines in a S-shape.

Rail – where the top edge of the frame curves in from the edges.

Rabbet (Rebate) – a recessed area beneath the sight edge into which the art is fitted.

Reverse – a frame where the molding slopes away from the sight edge.

Running pattern – decoration that runs continuously around a frame.

Cove (Scoop) – a large concave hollow sloping towards the sight edge.

Profile (Section) – a cross section of the frame showing the shape (contours) and arrangement of elements.

Sight edge – the innermost section of the frame that borders the artwork.

Slip (Flat liner) – a flat liner inserted into the rabbet of a frame to accommodate a painting to a particular frame.

Spandrel – a shaped liner made to accommodate oval or circular art placed in a rectangular frame.

Top edge – the element of the frame that projects the furthest toward the viewer.

Frame Styles

Barbizon – nineteenth century interpretation of the Louis XIV style. It is noted for its stylized floral elements and convex panel.

Bolection – a reverse ogee molding that curves up away from the artwork and then back to the wall.

Carlo Maratta – popular in late eighteenth century and America, it has a sweeping top edge and uses elements such as leaf and tongue, ribbon and stick, leaf and shield and pearls or beads. Also known as the Salvator Rosa style.

Cassetta (Box) – this style dates from the Italian Renaissance. The word cassetta literally means 'little box' and refers to the molding profile that features a predominant flat section flanked by a raised back edge and sight edge.

Cole style – Thomas Cole designed his own frames which were influenced by contemporary English forms. By the use of molded compo, these frames were decorated with naturalistic foliate patterns and highly ornamented corners.

Eastlake – a style named after the English architect Charles Eastlake. These frames are of a simple design and incorporated black lacquer panels with incised corner decorations between the inner and outer gilded bands of ornamentation.

Empire – emerging from France during the beginning decades of the nineteenth century, these frames featured a low relief design with natural ornamentation such as anthemion as well as palmettes, cornucopia and flowers and tendrils.

Federal – a style popular in the early decades of the nineteenth century with an emphasis on neo-classical elements.

Folk-frames – were generally of a simple design and featured painted surfaces. They were often used by folk artists and itinerant portrait painters.

Gilded oak – frames where gold is directly applied to an oak panel without the use of gesso. The result shows the wood grain texture.

Harer, Frederick – Frederick Harer of Bucks County, Pennsylvania carved frames that showcased his woodworking talents. His use of stencilling, incising, decoration and gilding have made his frames noteworthy.

Mathews, A&L – Arthur and Lucia Mathews were California artists influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Their frames incorporated architectural elements and used techniques of painted surfaces, inlay and low relief carving.

Murphy, Hermann Dudley – The painter Hermann Dudley Murphy created distinctive hand carved and gilded frames during the early years of the twentieth century. Rejecting compo ornamentation, his carved and gilded frame designs combine an elegance of design and simplicity of form.

Prendergast, Charles (brother of Maurice) – his hand carved frames reflect his interest in Chinese and Persian art. His skill in carving and gilding was evident by the number of frames he created for the Armory Show of 1913 and a group commissioned for the Barnes Collection.

Pre-Raphaelite – similar in aspects to Whistler frames,the Pre-Raphaelites created frames with a flat reeded border inset with decorative squares at the corners and rondels on the sides.

Rococo Revival – a re-interpretation of frames from the Baroque period in France by the Americans in the mid- nineteenth century. There was elaborate ornamentation such as clusters, vines and sand texture done in molded compo on these frames. These frames, with their naturalistic elements, were favored by the artists of the Hudson River School.

Tabernacle – inspired by classical architecture the frame features an entablature supported by columns on a base or predella Sully- these frames are associated with the painter Thomas Sully who often chose this type for his paintings. It has a forty-five degree angled bevel that slopes toward the painting and generally has little or no ornamentation.

Western – these frames incorporate Native American motifs into their design and were favored in particular by the artist community in Taos, New Mexico in the early decades of the twentieth century.

Whistler – a style made popular by the artist James McNeill Whistler. These frames consist of bands of reeded molding that are carved and gilded.

White, Stanford – famous American architect of the late nineteenth century who designed frames for his many artist friends. Based on Italian Renaissance motifs, his frames have a classical design both refined and intricate.

Ornament Descriptions

Acanthus – a stylized leaf ornament based on the acanthus plant of the Mediterranean region.

Acorn and oak leaf – an ornament originating in the seventeenth century,usually in a running pattern along the top edge of the frame.

Anthemion – based on the honeysuckle leaf,it is often used with palmettes as a band of decoration.

Arabesque – a scrolling decorative pattern which can be geometric designs as in the Moresque or a stylized foliage motif with roots in Roman and Italian Renaissance architecture.

Astragal – a convex decoration known also as a bead or pearl.

Bead and reel – a decorative band with several beads or pearls alternating with an elliptical bar.

Capital – the decorative cap of a column.

Cartouche – a decorative panel with scrollwork resembling a shield or crest.

Diaper – a diamond shaped pattern.

Egg and Dart – also known as egg and tongue or egg and leaf this is a running ornament of classical origin comprising of an oval alternating with a dart or leaf.

Festoon – a garland interwoven with fruits, foliage and flowers.

Fluting – a series of concave grooves most commonly seen on columns of tabernacle frames.

Fluted cove – a series of parallel grooves cut into the cove of the frame perpendicular to the profile.

Gadroon – a slanted oval shaped relief pattern.

Greek key (fret) – a continuous pattern of intersecting vertical and horizontal bands.

Guilloche – a pattern of twisted bands with circular spaces between them.

Hazzle – a zigzag pattern incised into the gesso.

Intarsia – an inlaid piece of wood or other material. Marquetry.

Laurel leaf and berry – a decorative element usually running along the top edge of the frame.

Leaf and dart (leaf and tongue,heart and dart) – these two elements are formed in an alternating pattern which can be found on the back edge or the sight edge of a frame.

Lunette – the semicircular area found on certain styles of tabernacle frames.

Pearls and beads – semicircular ornaments found in a repeated often near the sight edge.

Punchwork – surface decoration made with a shaped tool or stamp referred to in Italian as 'in granito'.

Reeding – a series of parallel convex molding occasionally tied by a strap, ribbon or curling leaf.

Ribbon and stick – decoration that creates the appearance of a ribbon spiraling around a narrow dowel.

Ripple molding – a series of small tight grooves repeated in a band around the frame.

Rock pattern – prevalent in frames used by the early Hudson River School artists, the cove of the frame had a stencil applied and a fine silica put down on the surface and gilded. The textural result was in keeping with the naturalistic landscapes.

Rope twist – ornament carved in a twisted form to resemble a rope.

Running ornament – a pattern of decoration repeated on all sides of the frame.

Sand cove – a small cove or flat panel that was coated with sand and gilded.

Sgrafitto – a decoration made from carefully scribing a painted surface to reveal the gilding underneath.

Strapwork – a decorative band or crossing bands that appear along the top edge of the frame.

Techniques And Construction

Bole – a fine grained clay substance used during the gilding process. Applied in liquid form over the gesso layer, the color of the bole (yellow, red, white, brown, black and blue)will affect the tone of the gold laid on top of it.

Burnishing – a technique in finishing water gilding. Using a tool called a burnisher (made most often with an agate stone) selected areas of the frame are polished to create highlights and contrast with the matte areas.

Butt joint – when two lengths of wood are joined together and secured by the use of plates.

Butterfly key – a shaped piece of wood inset on the back of a frame to secure the miter.

Composition (Compo) – a casting material made from whiting (calcium carbnate) , hide glue, resin and linseed oil. Pressed into carved boxwood molds, it was then removed and applied to the wood substrate.

Gesso – a liquid mixture of chalk (calcium carbonate), hide glue and water. Several coats are applied to the wood to prepare the frame for gilding.

Gilding – there are two techniques in applying gold leaf. In Water Gilding a mixture of alcohol, water and hide glue is applied to the bole layer. This adhesive will then hold the gold leaf laid on to it. Once dry the frame can be burnished.

Oil Gilding consists of an oil based size applied to the bole to which the gilding is applied. Oil gilding cannot be burnished thus keeps a matte surface.

Gold leaf – gold that has been pounded down into sheets or leaves nearly 1/250,000 of an inch thick. The variety of gold can differ from deep gold(23K) to lemon gold(18K),pale gold(16K) and white gold(12K) which are alloyed with small amounts of silver.

Lap joint – a corner joint where the end pieces of wood are partially cut away to overlap smoothly.

Metal leaf – an alloy of zinc and copper used as a substitute for gold leaf. It is warmer in color, not as fine in texture, and darkens (oxidizes) with age.

Miter joint – where the wood is cut at a forty five degree angle and joined to a corresponding piece. The simplest and most common of joints, especially in American frames.

Miter joint with spline – similar to the miter joint with an additional spline or tapering key added to secure the joint. Commonly found in frames of European origin.

Mortise and tenon – a joinery where one piece of wood (the mortise) has a notch, hole or space cut into it to receive a projecting piece of wood (the tenon).

Parcel gilt – gold leaf applied to selected parts of walnut and mahogany frames.

Patina – the natural or artificial discoloring of a surface.

Silver leaf – similar to gold leaf but it requires sealing with a finishing lacquer to prevent tarnishing.

Size – an adhesive used in gilding. It is often made from animal hide glue.

Replica – when a period frame is to be duplicated, the craftsman works directly with the original frame. Molds are taken directly from the original if ornament is to be cast and the frame is constantly referred to for its design and gilding attributes. This attention to detail allows for a faithful and sensitive facsimile.

Reproduction – when a frame is copied from sources other than an original period frame. They are generally of lesser quality than a replica in terms of crispness of surface detail, subtlety of gilded surfaces and overall sensitivity to patina.