Casts From the Past XXXIII

Casts From the Past is a recurring retrospective of select Palladio GFRG projects.

Each unique element of this pattern, partially completed and posted last week, was cast from its own mold.

Once the pattern is completed and the last, tiniest imperfections are mended, the crew at Palladio GFRG will pour a final mold, and the entire piece will be cast as many times as required.

Here’s a crown moulding you can sink your teeth into!

A Palladio GFRG craftsperson beds down “dentils” on a custom crown for an upscale Manhattan residence. Named from the Latin “dentes” because of their resemblance to a row of teeth, decorative dentils were originally derived from the ends of squared-off timbers that supported the cornices of early Ionic temples.

Symbolic representations of life and death are rife in all our art forms. Possibly even in your crown mouldings.

Perhaps the most repeated combination of design elements, the egg (life) and dart (death) has been around since ancient Greek architecture. And when cast with the lightweight durability of glass fiber reinforced gypsum, this hand-crafted Palladio GFRG piece will be providing beauty for an upscale Manhattan residence for generations to come.

There’s no shortage of design combinations in crown mouldings, even when you use the traditional classic elements.

For instance, the Manhattan apartment mentioned in last week’s posts will not only be receiving tried and true egg-and-dart mouldings but will also feature this stately leaf-and-dart combo.

Here’s a style we don’t get to do enough of.

This is a “guilloche” ceiling moulding that will eventually be installed in a notable building in Illinois.