Strapwork was introduced into England in the late 16th century by Flemish and German woodworkers, and it was made popular in 18th-century French decoration by Jean Berain, court designer to Louis XIV.

What is Strapwork architecture?

In the history of art and design, strapwork is the use of stylised representations in ornament of ribbon-like forms. These may loosely imitate leather straps, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings, and often interwoven in a geometric pattern.

When did ornamentation begin?

Since it became obvious that ornament so conceived served no good purpose at all, a reaction was inevitable; it began to appear in force by the 1870s. As early as the 1870s H.H.