An architrave is a moulded frame surrounding a door, window or other opening, and in classical architecture it is also the lowest of the three main divisions of the entablature, the horizontal beam resting directly on top of the columns, beneath the frieze and cornice.
In the classical orders the architrave developed from the timber or stone lintel spanning from column to column, and its proportions and mouldings vary according to the order used, from the plain bands of the Doric to the stepped fascias of the Ionic and Corinthian. In interiors the term is used more generally for the decorative timber or plaster mouldings around openings, which hide the junction between frame and wall. Georgian architraves were often generous and finely profiled, sometimes with lugged or eared corners, while Victorian architraves became larger and more elaborate as mass-produced mouldings became available. In the restoration of period houses, matching original architraves is important for authenticity, and antique sections can be found through architectural salvage. Architraves also appear in miniature on furniture, framing the doors of bookcases, cabinets and clock cases designed in the architectural manner fashionable in the eighteenth century.
