February, 1919 
33 
PLASTERWORK in MODERN DECORATION 
The Various Methods of Plaster Detail for Ceilings and Walls — 
Designs from the Renaissance to the Present 
W. G. WARD 
Time and conditions are both full ripe for 
a plaster revival for domestic use. The rough 
sand-finished plaster wall is a rebellion against 
the ordinary bald, white plaster surface. The 
paneled wall and the paneled ceiling alike are 
protests against desert plaster walls and banal 
P LASTERWORK may be either a curse or 
a blessing. It rests with ourselves to decide 
which it shall be. 
It is an unmitigated curse when we use it 
only to create a plain, staring surface, as arid 
of interest as the Desert of Sahara or when we 
fashion ornamental cast devices that 
suggest the technique of the pastry cook 
and confectioner, smug, mechanically 
accurate, mechanically hard, mechan¬ 
ically stupid, without even the grace of 
occasional irregularity of texture to 
break the exasperating monotony of its 
brummagem perfection. 
It is a blessing when we employ it 
intelhgently to produce decorative 
charm of a sort that no other material 
is capable of in quite the same way. 
It is a step in the right direction that 
we are reproducing for domestic use 
some of the old English ceilings, but it 
is only a step and only reproduction. 
Material Advantages 
The material itself is a sympathetic 
medium and remarkably adaptable to 
divers modes of expression. Besides 
that, it is inexpensive and easy of me¬ 
chanical manipulation. It needs but 
the addition of artistry to render it 
again a most valuable adjunct for the 
fixed decoration of domestic interiors. 
Such artistry former ages possessed. 
Such artistry wejiave allowed to lapse, 
largely because we have ignored a part 
of our heritage that is worth while. 
plaster ceiling ornament. And all the various 
other wall and ceiling treatments we have sanc¬ 
tioned in the recent past are likewise protests 
against the same thing. The lesson is clear; 
people are bored by plaster as they usually 
know it, and wish to escape. The writer en¬ 
tertains a sincere regard for sand-fin¬ 
ished plaster walls, for paneled walls 
and ceilings, and for most of the other 
devices for attaining wall and ceiling 
interest, but he insists that plaster, too, 
has its place—that is, plaster intelli¬ 
gently used. There is room for them 
all, in their proper places. 
Besides the ordinary plaster, com¬ 
posed of sand, lime and hair, and show¬ 
ing considerable variation in quality, 
there must also be included, under the 
general head, stucco-duro—carbonate 
of lime carefully prepared and often 
toughened and regulated for setting by 
the addition of fig juice, curdled milk 
or some such glutinous size—the medi¬ 
um used by the old Roman stuccotori, 
and by their successors of the Renais¬ 
sance in Italy, England and France, 
to such good purpose; plaster of Paris 
(sulphate of lime); and fibrous plaster, 
which is plaster of Paris in combination 
with canvas. The widely varied quali¬ 
ties of plaster thus attainable render it 
a medium sensitive in the highest de¬ 
gree; suitable either for executing de- 
{ConLihued on page 62) 
The keystone of 
the fireplace sup¬ 
ports a brick 
bracket finished 
with a plaster or¬ 
nament that ex¬ 
tends around the 
ceiling. From an 
English house 
A reproduction of 
English Renais¬ 
sance molded plas¬ 
ter ceiling with 
geometrical rib¬ 
bing and low re¬ 
lief panels. Wil¬ 
son Eyre Mc- 
Ilvaine, architects 
Another English 
Renaissance mold¬ 
ed plaster ceiling 
is coved, with rib 
plaster ornaments 
and rosette designs 
at intervals. Wil¬ 
son Eyre & Mcll- 
vaine, architects 
