An architectural moulding is a shaped strip or band, usually of wood, plaster or stone, used to decorate surfaces and to define and frame architectural elements. Mouldings are used for cornices, dado and picture rails, skirtings, architraves around doors and windows, ceiling roses, panelling and furniture, and they play an important part in establishing the period character of a room.
Most mouldings derive from classical architecture, which developed a standard vocabulary of profiles including the ovolo, cyma recta and cyma reversa, cavetto, torus and bead, often enriched with ornament such as egg and dart, dentils, bead and reel, and acanthus leaves. Georgian mouldings tend to be refined and well-proportioned, Victorian examples are often heavier and more elaborate, and Arts and Crafts mouldings are simpler. In furniture, cabinetmakers used mouldings for cornices, plinths and drawer edges, cut by hand with moulding planes before machines took over. Original mouldings are an important feature of period buildings and should be retained or matched carefully during restoration.
