How to make a plinth for an architectural fragment?

Discover La Bulle's display solutions for architectural elements

La Bulle adapts to its clients' demands.

Our custom display stand creation capabilities are endless.

That's why we offer stands for masks, display stands for plates, standard products, or custom stands.

Find all our available products on our online store

To further assist you in developing your custom display stand projects, we have developed what we call La Bulle Solutions.
Simply put, every object is unique, but it can accommodate different display solutions according to your desires.

The choice is yours.
Thus, you will find our La Bulle Solutions for sculpted heads or Solutions for "coco-fesses" (buttock-shaped coconuts), for example.

Discover now all our display Solutions.

Today, we present La Bulle Solutions for displaying architectural elements, such as stone arches, column capitals, or pavement elements.

Stone architectural elements are remnants of a now completely disappeared past. Their motifs, shapes, and varied colors make them particularly appreciated by antique dealers.

➡️ Amazing fact: Ultimately, the way they were broken makes them unique objects.

But the wear and tear of time means that the contours of the fragments are often irregular, breaking the balance of the work.

That's why antique dealers and/or collectors turn to our services to restore balance and make the artwork presentable again.

Restoring the balance of an Italian porphyry pavement fragment

This fragment of Italian pavement is of particular beauty with its polychrome elements. Its functionality has been revisited. Indeed, due to its breakage, it can no longer be used as flooring. It was therefore decided to display it vertically like a painting or a bas-relief. But its weight and the irregularity of its contours prevent it from standing on its own.

That's why the creation of a custom steel stand was essential.

Cosmatesque pavement fragment, Carrara marble, porphyry, serpentine, between 11th and 13th centuries, Italy.

Side view of the custom-made steel stand created for a fragment of Carrara marble and porphyry pavement.

Back view of the custom-made black steel stand

For this custom display project, our client, the Alexandre Piatti gallery, wanted a stand capable of holding this fragment of Cosmatesque* pavement in Carrara marble, porphyry, and serpentine, dating from the Italian Middle Ages, between the 11th and 13th centuries, vertically.

💡 Did you know? The term Cosmatesque applies to rectilinear and geometric pavements typical of Renaissance Italy. Primarily developed in Rome, the use of this pavement style extended from the 11th to the 13th century.

This exceptional piece has a significant constraint: its weight. This piece of pavement is extremely heavy, which greatly influenced the creation of the custom stand.
Indeed, a custom stand with a very resistant support structure was required.

To achieve this, we chose to make the stand from steel. We paid particular attention to creating extremely resistant support feet that we welded onto a rectangular base.

To hold the artwork without altering it, a claw system is integrated into the structure from the back at two different levels. The structure is painted black. The choice of slightly visible claws from the front was unavoidable, as it was impossible to drill through the artwork.

Your column capitals on a custom stand

Custom-made black steel stand replaces the missing column.

System for holding the element on the custom stand.

If you own an architectural element like this Italian column capital, here's a perfectly suitable custom display system.

For this type of architectural element, and this is unusual, we drill the bottom of the capital. Into the hole thus created, we insert a resin in which we place a square-shaped insert. The resin is easily handled like modeling clay. As it dries, it hardens, allowing the insert to remain inside.
This square insert will then fit onto the custom stand.

This custom stand is made of brass, an ideal material for display stands because it is resistant and malleable. Brass reacts very well to patination. For this example, the patina chosen by the client is mottled.

A stone arch on a custom black steel stand

For this custom stand, we also had a constraint regarding the weight of the artwork.
We therefore created a steel stand with small retaining claws that fit into the openwork part of the arch.
These particularly resistant claws support the weight of the artwork.
Subsequently, the claws are painted in the tones of the arch to be less visible.

Architectural element on a custom black steel stand

Braided stone architectural element on a custom black steel stand.

Even with a very small architectural element, we can offer suitable custom stands.

Like this braided stone fragment, your artwork can be held by a flat rod fixed to a square base.

For this example, it was decided, in consultation with the client, to drill the back of the piece. The advantage of drilling is that the stand almost completely disappears. The retaining claws, however, remain visible.

Creating a custom stand for an architectural element allows the artwork to be held vertically and secured.

Generally very heavy, these pieces must be mounted on stands if you wish to display them.

You love your artworks and collectibles.

Don't hesitate any longer and offer them a custom stand to highlight their true value.

CONTACT US