Irkutsk > Decorating wooden buildings > Baroque wooden architraves

Baroque wooden architraves

Baroque wooden architraves with hood moulds comprised of two horizontally-mirrored spiral curls and a central element (acroterion) resembling an exotic flower are a long-established symbol of Irkutsk's wooden architecture. Such window architraves are traditionally decorated with high relief overlay carvings.

They became a part of the local wooden architecture in the late 18th - early 19th century. Their origin can be traced back to exuberant wood-carved iconostases commonly found in religious architecture.

This type of facade decoration is wonderfully represented by the wooden house at 15 Sedova Street.

Typical elements of local eaves decor are vertically-hung wood-carved bargeboards ('towels') with ornaments in shapes of leaves or sprouts and fascia boards with floral or geometric ornaments that symbolize fertility ('cataracts of heaven').

Wood-carved decor of Irkutsk buildings, 19th c.:

• Baroque hood moulid. Relief carving. (15 Sedova Street)
• 'Towel' pattern. Pierced relief carving
• 'Cataracts of heaven' pattern. Pierced relief carving