DOOR AND DOORWAY, in art. The form of the doorway is determined by the archi tectural style of the building in which it is placed. In classical buildings, it is generally rectangular in form, though both Greeks and Romans, following the Egyptians, amongst whom the practice was almost universal, occasionally diminished the opening towards the top; and the Romans, iu later times, very frequently threw over it the circular arch, which was the characteristic feature of their style. Egyptian doorways are known to us, for the most part, only by the examples which remain in monumental structures; and these, like the other members of the style as thus exhibited, are of gigantic propor tions. The doorway of the temple at Edfu measures 74 ft. to its summit, but the lintel and cornice which cover it are so deep and massy as to occupy a space of no less than 23 ft.., so that the height of the aperture is only 51. With the Egyptians, the doorway was an architectural object of very brreat importance. On either side of it, colossal statutes or obelisks were placed, and the approach to it was often lined with rows of gigantic sphinxes.
The Greek doorway was surrounded by moldings, and as the lintel or top-stone which covered it projected on both sides beyond the jambs, the moldings which ran round both jutted out at the place of meeting, forming a sort of shoulders, as in a doorway of Erechtheium. This arrangement, however, was by no means uniform, the moldings of the jambs being frequently quite separated from those of the architrave. The doors themselves, in antiquity, in private dwellings, were generally of wood; and in structures devoted to religious or public purposes, of metal, and occasionally of marble. They were generally paneled, and turned on pivots working in sockets. With the exception of the forms of the windows, and the tracerrand foliage of the pillars, doorways are the most characteristic feature in all the styles of Gothic architecture. In the earliest, which we in this country are in the habit of calling Saxon, and which on the continent is commonly known as Romanic, they are of course very plain. There is seldom more than a few simple moldings, surrounding a semicircular arch, and in sonic of the earliest examples, the head of the opening is covered by two flat stones, leaning upon each other in the center, and their other ends placed on the imposts, so as to form a triangle. In the Norman style, they become gradually more ornamental. The arch still continued in general to be semicircular, though there are a few instances of the segmental or horse-shoe arch. As the style advanced, the moldings and enrichments became more various. Of these, that which is most characteristic of the style is the zigzag molding. Circular or octagonal shafts were now frequently placed in the jambs, and these, too, were often ornamented with zigzag or spiral moldings, their capitals being enriched with foliage or grotesque heads or figures. The opening of the doorway
often does not rise higher than the springing of the arch, and in this case it is generally flat, the semicircular space between it and the arch being frequently ornamented with a sculptured representation of some scriptural subject. The few Norman doors that exist arc devoid of ornament, with the exception of projecting nails, and a simple iron scroll-work projecting from the hinge, and stretching to a greater or less extent over the door. As the doorway adheres strictly to the characteristics of the style, early English doorways of course generally terminate in pointed arches. In these the mold ings are more numerous, the jambs contain a greater number of small shafts, some of which occasionally stand quite free, and on the whole the work is richer in form, and more finished in execution. The opening of the doorway is now frequently divided into two, either by a single shaft or a clustered column. In the decorated style, the doorways are not in general so deeply recessed as in the early English; and this circum stance takes from them in richness more than they gain in elegance by their greater height, and by the more delicate character of their ornamentation. In these, the mold ings are commonly enriched with flowers or foliage, either in running patterns or placed separately at short intervals. Of these, the commonest are the ball-flower (q.v.), and a flower of four leaves, which often projects boldly, and produces a fine effect. The iron scroll-work on the doors resembles that in the former style, except that the terminations are more frequently worked into leaves or flowers. In other cases, the doors are paneled, and covered with characteristic tracery. In the perpendicular style, though the door continues to be arched, it is usually placed under a heavy square external molding. The doorway in this style loses much of the depth and richness which belongs to it in the earlier styles which we haVe been considering. Shafts are still used iu the jambs, though not always, and they are generally small and few in number; the capitals of the jambs rarely possess the same richness of foliage, and frequently consist merely of plain mold ings. One or more large hollows are often left in the jambs, forming small niches, which frequently contain statues. This latter characteristic seems to be peculiar to the perpendicular style. In the doorways, as well as in the windows of this style, the four centered arch came into general use, but two-centered arches, and, in small doorways, ogees, are frequently to be met with. The doors in the perpendicular style, when ornamented, are usually paneled, the upper parts being sometimes covered with tracery, but the fine iron scroll-work of the earlier styles had entirely disappeared.