Carlton Hobbs 9582

November 6 2009, 11:17am

Term of the Day: Spandrel 11/6/09

Detail of one of a pair of mahogany card tables in the manner of Horace Walpole's gothic furniture for Strawberry Hill.

The present image shows two slightly different spandrels. Spandrels are the space between two architectural elements, at least one of which is usually curved. The term is most often used to describe the space between the side of an arch and a right-angled enclosure, as in the left spandrel in the present image. A spandrel can also be the space between two side-by-side arches, as in the spandrel on the right in the present image. Spandrels are often decorated with carved or painted designs, and sometimes masks or figures; in furniture, they are sometimes pierced with decorative designs, making them "open-spandrels".

To see more of this pair of tables, visit: http://www.carltonhobbs.com/viewDetail.asp?strReference=9582