Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to complete your home.
From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs in the area. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and more elevated than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move downwards or jet high into the air. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational gatherings.
Outdoor Wall Fountains: The Numerous Designs Available
Outdoor Wall Fountains: The Numerous Designs Available Small verandas or courtyards are a perfect place to install wall fountains because they add style to an area with limited space. Whatever style of outdoor wall fountain you are searching for whether it be traditional, modern, classic, or Asian you will certainly find the one you like most. Your tastes determine the type you buy so while there may not be a prefabricated fountain to satisfy you, you do have the option of having a customized one.The two types of fountains available to you are mounted and freestanding models.
Little, self-contained mounted wall fountains can be installed on any surface. Normally made of resin (to look like stone) or fiber glass, these kinds of fountains are lightweight and easy to hang. In large stand-alone fountains, otherwise known as wall fountains, the basin is set on the ground with the smooth side positioned against a wall. Water features such as these are typically manufactured of cast stone and have no weight limitations.
Landscape designers often propose a customized fountain for a brand new or existing wall. A professional mason is required to install the water basin against the wall and properly install all the plumbing inside or behind the wall. The wall will have to have a spout or fountain mask incorporated into it. Customized wall fountains lend to a unified look because they become part of the landscape rather than look like a later addition.
The Original Public Fountains of History
The Original Public Fountains of History Water fountains were at first practical in function, used to bring water from canals or springs to towns and villages, providing the residents with clean water to drink, wash, and cook with. The force of gravity was the power source of water fountains up until the conclusion of the nineteenth century, using the potent power of water traveling down hill from a spring or creek to force the water through valves or other outlets.
Fountains all through history have been designed as memorials, impressing local citizens and tourists alike. If you saw the first fountains, you probably would not identify them as fountains. A natural stone basin, crafted from rock, was the very first fountain, used for holding water for drinking and religious functions. 2000 B.C. is when the earliest known stone fountain basins were actually used. The force of gravity was the energy source that operated the initial water fountains. Drinking water was delivered by public fountains, long before fountains became decorative public monuments, as beautiful as they are practical. Fountains with flowery decoration started to show up in Rome in approx. 6 BC, normally gods and wildlife, made with stone or bronze. The City of Rome had an elaborate system of aqueducts that delivered the water for the countless fountains that were placed throughout the community.