Rinceau

In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural rinceaux; from the French, derived from old French rain 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smaller leafy stems or groups of leaves branch out at more or less regular intervals. The English term scroll is more often used in English, especially when the pattern is regular, repeating along a narrow zone. In English "rinceau" tends to be used where the design spreads across a wider zone, in a similar style to an Islamic arabesque pattern.

The use of rinceaux is frequent in the friezes of Roman buildings, where it is generally found in a frieze, the middle element of an entablature, just below the cornice. It is also decorated in the jamb ornaments and capitals of Romanesque structures and in friezes and panels of buildings in the various Renaissance styles, where tiny animals or human heads also appear.^[1]

The rinceau experienced a return to the simpler Classic style in the 17th century, and in the subsequent century it was applied more freely, without a strict repetition of identical forms.^[2]

Gallery

Ancient Greek rinceau on a mosaic of a stag hunt, Pella, Greece, unknown architect or craftsman, 4th century BC
Ancient Greek rinceaux on a krater, by the painter of Copenhagen 4223, 340-320 BC, ceramic, National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, Spain
Ancient Greek rinceaux on a capital from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, c.300-150 BC^[3]
Polychrome Roman rinceau in an arabesque on the Ara Pacis, Rome, unknown architect and sculptors, 13-9 BC^[4]
Roman rinceaux on a tripod with sphinxes, late 1st century BC-1st century AD, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
Roman rinceaux of the Temple of Bel, Palmyra, Syria, unknown architect or sculptor, 32 AD
Roman rinceau of the Temple of Hadrianus, Ephesus, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, 117-118 AD
Roman rinceaux on a panel with a griffin from the Villa of Lucio Vero, 2nd century, vitreous paste panel, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome
Late Roman-early Byzantine rinceaux on the Sarcophagus of Constantina, c.340, porphyry, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
Late Roman-early Byzantine rinceaux in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 425-450
Late Roman-early Byzantine rinceaux in the Baptistery of Neon, Ravenna, unknown architect or craftsman, 5th century
Byzantine rinceaux on a ceiling of Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, unknown architect or craftsman, begun in c.532 and consecrated in 548^[5]
Byzantine rinceaux on a ceiling of Basilica of San Vitale, unknown architect or craftsman, begun in c.532 and consecrated in 548^[6]
Byzantine rinceaux with animals on the Throne of Archbishop Maximian of Ravenna, 546-556, ivory, Archiepiscopal Museum, Ravenna^[7]
Khmer rinceaux on Banteay Srei, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, unknown architect or sculptor, 10th century
Byzantine rinceaux on a panel with peacocks, c.1100, marble, Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello, Italy^[8]
Romanesque rinceaux on a page from the Bury Bible, by Master Hugo, c.1135-1140, illumination on parchment, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, the UK
Gothic rinceaux next to the door of the Rouen Cathedral, Rouen, France, unknown architect, 12th century
Gothic rinceaux ironwork on a door of the Notre-Dame de Paris, attributed to the locksmith Biscornet, 12th-13th centuries
Gothic rinceaux ironwork on an armoire, 14th century, wood and iron, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris
Chinese rinceau on a bowl, 1368-1450, porcelain, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, US
Gothic rinceaux on a page of the Codex Salemitanus IX c, 15th century, tempera colors, gold paint, gold leaf, and ink on parchment, Heidelberg University Library, Heidelberg, Germany
Gothic rinceau on a page with the adoration of the magi from an illuminated manuscript, 1415-1420, tempera colors, gold paint, gold leaf, and ink on parchment, Getty Center, Los Angeles
Gothic rinceau on a leaf from a book of hours, c.1460, parchment with ink, paint, and gold, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, US
Renaissance rinceaux in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia, Albi, France, unknown painter, c.1480
Islamic rinceaux of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, designed by architect Ostad Mohammad Reza Isfahani, 1603-1619
Baroque rinceaux with putti painted on the boiserie of a room from the Hôtel Colbert de Villacerf, now in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris, unknown architect, sculptor and painter, c.1650^[9]
Baroque rinceaux on the chest for Louis XIV's gems, mid-17th century, repoussé and chiselled gold over a wooden core, Louvre^[10]
Baroque rinceaux in the Hôtel Salé (now the Musée Picasso), Paris, designed by Jean Boulier de Bourges, 1656-1659
Baroque rinceaux on a table top with Orpheus, by Annibale Grifoni, 1660-1679, unknown materials, Villa medicea di Cerreto Guidi, Cerreto Guidi, Italy
Baroque rinceaux on boiserie in the Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre Palace, by Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun, after 1661^[11]
Brâncovenesc grape rinceau of a railing of the Potlogi Palace, Potlogi, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, 1698
Baroque rinceaux on an armoire, attributed to Nicolas Sageot, c.1710, oak, marquetry of tortoiseshell on a brass background, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris
Baroque rinceaux on a commode, by André-Charles Boulle, c.1710–1720, walnut veneered with ebony, marquetry of engraved brass and tortoiseshell, and gilt-bronze mounts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Rococo rinceaux in the Bibliothèque du Dauphin du Château de Versailles, Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, unknown architect, early or mid-18th century
Mughal and European-influenced rinceaux of the Peacock Gate of the City Palace, Jaipur, India, unknown architect or painter, 1729-1732^[12]
Neoclassical rinceaux railing in the Belsay Hall, Belsay, Northumberland, the UK, by Sir Charles Monck, 1810-1817
Neoclassical rinceaux on a vase, by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts, Louvre^[13]
Gothic Revival rinceau on the choir carpet of Notre-Dame de Paris, by the Gobelins Manufactory, 1825-1833, textile, Notre-Dame de Paris^[14]
Neoclassical rinceaux on a stock certificate, unknown illustrator, 1852, ink on paper, unknown location
Renaissance Revival rinceaux with putti of the Fontaine Saint-Michel, Place Saint-Michel, Paris, designed by Gabriel Davioud, 1858-1860
Baroque Revival rinceaux with putti on a ceiling in the apartments of the minister of state, currently known as the Napoleon III Apartments, Louvre Palace, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1860
Neoclassical rinceaux with a mascaron of Rue des Vinaigriers no. 57, Paris, designed by E. Escudie, 1882
Neoclassical rinceaux on a grille at an entrance of the Salle Favart, Paris, probably designed by Louis Bernier, 1893-1898
Romanian Revival rinceau on the Gheorghieff Brothers Tomb, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania, by Ion Mincu, c.1900
Beaux Arts rinceau on the Petit Palais, Paris, by Charles Giraud, 1900^[15]
Beaux Arts over door with rinceaux in Strada Zborului no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect or designer, c.1900
Gothic Revival cartouche with rinceaux of Strada Temișana no. 4, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1900
Art Nouveau rinceaux on the of Lavirotte Building (Avenue Rapp no. 29), Paris, designed by Jules Lavirotte and decorated with sculpture and ceramic tiles made by Alexandre Bigot, 1901
Beaux Arts fresco with cartouches and foliage spirals on the upper part of the facade of Strada Occidentului no. 11, Bucharest, painter: C. Cora, architect: Cesare Fantoli, 1910^[16]
Neo-Louis XVI style panel with rinceaux and an urn in the Nicolae T. Filitti/Nae Filitis House (Calea Dorobanților no. 18), Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaud, c.1910^[17]
Romanian Revival rinceau in the Gheorghe Petrașcu House (Piața Romană no. 5), Bucharest, by Spiru Cegăneanu, 1912^[18]

Notes

^ Cf. J. Ward, Historic Ornament: Treatise on Decorative Art and Architectural Ornament, BiblioBazaar (2009), s.v. Rinceau.
^ Cf. A. Speltz, The History of Ornament: Design in the Decorative Arts, Portland (1989), s.v.
^ "Temple of Apollo at Didyma". brown.edu. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ Robertson, Hutton (2022). The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View. Thames & Hudson. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8.
^ Eastmond, Anthony (2013). The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom. Phaidon. p. 81. ISBN 978 0 7148 4810 5.
^ Eastmond, Anthony (2013). The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom. Phaidon. p. 83. ISBN 978 0 7148 4810 5.
^ Eastmond, Anthony (2013). The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom. Phaidon. p. 83. ISBN 978 0 7148 4810 5.
^ Eastmond, Anthony (2013). The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom. Phaidon. ISBN 978 0 7148 4810 5.
^ "LAMBRIS DU CABINET DE L'HÔTEL COLBERT DE VILLACERF". carnavalet.paris.fr. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
^ Jacquemart, Albert (2012). Decorative Art. Parkstone International. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-84484-899-7.
^ Sharman, Ruth (2022). Yves Saint Laurent & Art. Thames & Hudson. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-500-02544-4.
^ Stefan Sagmeister; Jessica Walsh (2018). Beauty. Phaidon. p. 192. ISBN 978 0 7148 7727 3.
^ "PAIRE DE VASES « FUSEAU »". amisdulouvre.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
^ "tapis de choeur Louis-Philippe". pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
^ Jones, Denna, ed. (2014). Architecture The Whole Story. Thames & Hudson. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-500-29148-1.
^ Oprea, Petre (1986). Itinerar Inedit prin Case Vechi din București (in Romanian). Editura Sport-Turism. p. 59.
^ Marinache, Oana (2015). Ernest Donaud - visul liniei (in Romanian). Editura Istoria Artei. p. 79. ISBN 978-606-94042-8-7.
^ Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017). Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide. Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p. 80. ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.