Scrollwork

Ironwork Scroll on Railing and Red Door, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Charleston has an abundance of ornamental ironwork. The scroll is a very common ironwork motif. The origin of the word derives from a 13th century Anglo-French word that refers to "a roll of parchment" (for example, the Dead Sea scrolls).

This spiral shape is simple and graceful, and is commonly found in nature... as in sea shells, flower blossoms, fern fiddleheads, eddies in rivers, swirls in clouds, crop circles, and in the whipped cream atop cappuccinos. Yum!

Well perhaps the last few were a stretch, but you get the idea.