This panel is about 1.5 metre in length and sits on the first floor level of a street corner Neo-Romanian style house in the Dorobanti area of Bucharest. It contains at its centre the monogram of the house owner, the intertwined V and A initials, set among luxurious vegetation motifs. The design is typical for the 1920s period, in the first years after the First World War, when in Romania were still echoes in the decorative arts from the historicist styles (neo-baroque, neo-rococo) of the c19th, visible here in the lettering style reminding of the rococo architectural letter rendering or in the laurel wreath, a rare classical antiquity reverberation for a Neo-Romanian setting, embracing the monogram. The rest of the panel is filled by a dense symmetrical array, inspired from the Ottoman Islamic art, of grape and acanthus vines adorned with ample leaves, flowers and many grape fruit. The whole assembly is an epitome for the Neo-Romanian decorative concepts in the years before the emergence on the local scene of the Art Deco and International Modernist styles.
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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.
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If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contactpage of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 