panelled ceiling (painted wooden ceiling)

According to medieval notices the ceiling of noble mansions, castles and peasants' houses in boroughs were usually painted. The oldest painted wooden ceilings in Hungary date back to the 16-17th century. Most of these works were ordered by noblemen or patrons. From the second half of the 16th century there were more and more such painted ceilings in common people's houses. These wooden ceilings were painted by the masters of bigger guild centres. The Kolozsvár carpenter guild played a very important role here during the 16-18th centuries. The furniture of contemporary customers was decorated with the same motifs as church furniture or painted wooden ceilings. It was general that painted wooden ceilings were divided into square panels. These were the panelled ceilings. Painter-carpenters did their job with different techniques. They used models or drew the patterns with their hands, although we can suppose that masters used model books. Their motifs originated from late Gothic renaissance style. Usually floral patterns survived, but there were some symbolic figure representations as well.

TI