Do you live in a house without a single curtain?
- Curtains are an invention typically used to slightly or fully block light, vision, water, or a specific view.
- ‘Curtains’ are also known as ‘drapes’, and they are typically used on windows, in doorways, in showers or on a stage.
- Curtains are usually made of fabric of various thicknesses, and they are generally classified as ‘sheer’, ‘uncoated’ or ‘coated’.
- Many curtains can be moved open or closed, often using human energy; by a string pulley; or mechanical interaction.
- ‘Curtain’ comes from the word ‘cortine’, which can be translated from the Old French word for the same meaning, and it has its origins in Latin and Greek.
Photo courtesy of Val Laird
- Curtains have been used for thousands of years, and those called ‘portières’, were commonly draped over doorways in Ancient Greek and Roman culture.
- Curtain designs became notably exquisite and extravagant during the Victorian era, and they were used to dress windows, as well as doorways.
- Curtains became increasingly widespread by the 1900s, when nearly every building contained at least one curtain.
- Colours, materials, shapes and sizes vary greatly among curtains; and different designs, particularly heights and materials, have different purposes.
- Curtains are generally held to a specific spot using hooks, rings, buttons or rods, or a combination of these.
Bibliography:
Curtain, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtain
Curtain, 2015, Encyclopaedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/147125/curtain/
