What is a rinceau?
A rinceau is an elongated ornament made up of continuous, often heavily branching plant scrolls with leaves. The word is French and means tendril, foliage or foliate work; in English it is also called a foliate scroll or running scroll.
The motif is built around a single undulating stem that repeatedly coils and branches. The side shoots carry leaves, often acanthus, and sometimes flowers. Where vines are shown, bunches of grapes form part of the design.
Where it appears
- Friezes along facades, in render or carved stone
- Pilasters and architraves, running vertically or horizontally
- Ceiling and wall painting, plasterwork and wallpaper
- Tombs, pulpits and chimneypieces
- Decorative ironwork, where the motif is reproduced in wrought iron
History
The rinceau was already fully developed in Roman architecture and was taken up again on a large scale from the Renaissance onwards, when antique vocabulary became the standard again. It then recurs in virtually every classical revival, and in stylised form in art nouveau.
Meaning
Foliate scrollwork symbolises life, growth and prosperity. The vine in particular stands for abundance, and in Christian contexts for the true vine, which is why the motif is so common on church furnishings.
Rinceau, foliage or strapwork?
These three are often confused:
- Rinceau — continuous, branching plant scrolls with leaves
- Foliage or foliate ornament — the general term for leaf ornament; the rinceau is one specific, running form of it
- Strapwork — not a plant motif at all, but an ornament of rolled, leather-like bands; typical of sixteenth-century Mannerist facades
Restoration tip: record a damaged rinceau photographically and with templates first. Because the motif repeats, a missing section can usually be reconstructed reliably from an intact stretch elsewhere on the same building.
Related terms
- Ornament
- Acanthus
- Frieze
- Renaissance architecture
- Astragal
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