All Tied Up in a Bow

IMG_6678

The double doors leading from drawing to dining room at Ballinlough Castle, County Westmeath are recessed within a large arched bow. And there are further bows evident in the delicate plasterwork that runs around the alcove and features garlands of flowers and leaves caught up in ribbon. The style is essentially rococo in spirit even though the room and its decoration date from c.1790, one of those anachronisms that one encounters in Ireland where a fondness for certain forms could sometimes linger long after they had fallen out of fashion elsewhere.

IMG_6674

8 comments on “All Tied Up in a Bow

  1. Gaye vaughan says:

    Great pic. Love the contrast of shapes. The door handles seem to echo the garlanded arch? Makes one feel good to know it is possible to create such beautiful things (or was)?

  2. lawrieweed says:

    So very beautiful.. need to see more of this house.

    Sent from phone

  3. the Elegant Economist says:

    So delightful to see fine plasterwork unclogged by paint.

  4. Renata Hill says:

    I was awed by the rich plasterwork at Castletown House in County Kildare. Here, you’ve shown us another lovely example. The people who created such work truly were artists!

Leave a Reply