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| Window Jewelry |
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These unusually long, 14-inch wrought iron spikes sheathed in brass with medallion ends would have protruded 8 to 10 inches for holding voluminous curtains.
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"The idea of pulling back draperies in an artistic way was facilitated by the pin," says William Seale, an architectural historian in Virginia. "These curtains were not tailored to stay in one place like today's are. The panels had to be carefully 'looped' over a pin to hold them back during the day, but this elaborate method is now a lost art." He speculates that heavier draperies required pins with greater diameters and longer iron shanks.
Fennimore notes that round, hollow curtain pins of embossed brass with tinted
lacquers simulating fire gilt flourished in the first third of the 19th century.
Ornate bands of brass also held back curtains. In 1830, Godey's Lady's Book
advised attaching bands to the wooden window trim either vertically or horizontally,
not diagonally, as is done today. By the mid-19th century, the curtain pin had diversified. Band designs became fancier, morphing into hands, for example, or a flower, with the stem holding the curtain. Translated into different kinds of glass, the earlier standard of a round floral motif in brass acquired sublime beauty. "There was an eruption of designs, particularly in all colors and fashions of pressed glass around 1850 because the function of curtains changed," explains Winkler. "Central heating and gas lighting were invented, and extreme window swathing with great weights and lengths of fabrics was no longer necessary. Curtains could be cut just to the floor and moved less actively day and night. The delicate glass designs were securing cords instead of the extreme weight and length of fabric." Winkler speculates that the term tieback entered the design lexicon
around this time, after central heat and gas lighting changed the function of
curtains. "As curtains began to be strictly decorative in American homes,
so did their tiebacks," she says.
| JUST THE FACTS |
· Period of popularity: 19th century.
· Country of origin: England.
· Forms: Circular brass disks evolved into diverse hand, flower,
and leaf motifs.
· Types of materials: The earliest curtain pins were small,
embossed disks of metal, such as brass or brass with a giltlike finish,
attached to iron screw shanks. Later, tiebacks offered larger sizes and
greater diversity of design in metal and glass.
· Conservation concerns: Embossed or pressed metals are hollow
and often show some dents; reproductions are cast and solid. Although hardware
was made in sets for many windows in a room, finding more than three matched
pairs is difficult. Gilt pins can have a matte or colored finish in the
recesses and a distinctive shiny finish on the raised surfaces to gleam
in the light of dim period rooms. Don't polish the original finish on brass
pins, even if it shows discoloration, because the fragile gilt finish will
be removed. |
| HOW TO USE THEM |
| Barbara Kirkconnell, independent consultant for textile
reproduction in historic houses, offers a rule of thumb for situating a
pair of antique tiebacks. "Historically, they're screwed into the window's
wood trim about a third of the window's height from the floor," she
says. "Plan ahead for enough fabric to make the belly of the curtain
swoop from the tieback with a length of tail to make the whole curtain graceful.
For 19th century authenticity, consult period manuals of drapery styles
such as James Arrowsmith's 1819 Analysis of Drapery and The Workwoman's
Guide of 1835, or period paintings and drawings to see how the curtain
is caught and draped over a tieback." Big windows and heavy sweeps
of fabric generally required larger pins or bands. |
RESOURCES: Drapery hardware from Aileen Minor Antiques (R), 410/758-1489, www.aileenminor.com.
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