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Hand Carved Corbels and Brackets
A corbel is an architectural bracket or block protruding from a wall and supporting (or appearing to support) a ceiling, beam or shelf. The name comes from the French word for crow, because of the corbel's beak-like shape. Typically made of wood, plaster, marble, bronze or other materials, corbels are a decorative way to ensure stability.
Corbels appear around the world in various incarnations. You can see them as gargoyles on the sides of churches and cathedrals, such as those found on Notre Dame in Paris. Romanesque corbels are often deceivingly plain in appearance; however, they may also be intricately carved with stylized human heads, animals, fantastical "beasts" or other motifs. In Italy and France, the corbels supporting balconies are often massive and elaborately carved. In England, wooden corbels are abundant, typically supporting windowsills or bay windows. "Corbelling," a technique that utilises rows of corbels to support a projecting wall or parapet has been used since Neolithic times, and is found in medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style.
Today, hand-carved corbels are a popular way to provide space—by replacing doorways with "corbelled arches"—and a cost-effective way to add period style and personality to a room, window treatment, doorway, even to pieces of furniture. At Agrell Architectural Carving, we can create hand-carved corbels for your clients from wood, stone or cast in bronze, in any style and quantity.
