A portière () is a hanging

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain) water. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instan ...

placed over a

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

or over the doorless entrance to a room. Its name is derived from the word for door in .

History

From

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, it came to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

at a remote date. It is known to have been in use in Europe in the 4th century, and was probably introduced much earlier. Like so many other domestic plenishings, it reached

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

by way of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where it appears to have been originally called ''rideau de Porte'' (literally, "door curtain"). Common in wealthier households during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, it is still occasionally used either as an ornament or as a means of mitigating draughts. It is usually of some heavy material, such as

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...

, or plush, and is often fixed upon a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

arm, moving in a socket with the opening and closing of the door.

Rising portière

A rising portière is a simple but effective mechanism. It is fastened to both the door and to the wall near the hinge, such that the rail raises itself when the door is opened. This allows the curtain to be long enough to seal against the floor and contain draughts, but not drag on the floor or catch under the door when the door is opened. Rising portières come in different configurations to seal the curtain against different door surrounds. File:Gucht Portiere of Jakub Zadzik.jpg, Heraldic portière of

Jakub Zadzik Jakub Zadzik (1582 – 17 March 1642) was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlach ...

, Bishop of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, wool, silk, silver and gold, File:Portière de Bacchus Tapestry.jpg, Portière of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

, wool and silk

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

, French, 1700s File:Nouvelle portiere de diane.JPG, New portière of Diane, hung as a wall tapestry, Pierre Jose Perrot, 1700s File:Portiere with the Chauvelin arms from a set called a Chancellerie MET 174674.jpg, Portière with the Chauvelin arms from a set called a Chancellerie, wool and silk, designed 1679 and 1700, borders , woven 1728–30 File:Portiere MET ADA337.jpg, Portière showing draft-excluding fringe on two sides, silk velvet, cotton, wool, File:Portiere MET ADA4.jpg, Close-up of draft-excluding fringe File:Portiere MET h1 2003.48.jpg, Silk velvet, and silk appliquéd and embroidered with silk and wool, silk damask, File:Portiere MET CT 26078.jpg, Close-up of appliquéd panel File:Morris_%26_COMPANY,_London_-_Acanthus_porti%C3%A8re_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, Acanthus portière,

Morris and Co. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furniture, furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Pre-Raphaelites. With ...

, silk embroidery on linen, 1890s File:Portiere MET ADA1.jpg, Design for a portière by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portiere Furnishings Textiles Doors

History

Rising portière

See also

Notes

References