This Empire-style fluted scotia frame2 is an example of the use of an elaborately detailed frame for presenting a watercolour, the sort of frame we more commonly associate with oil paintings. Interestingly, it runs right to the sight edge with pattern work, rather than using a conventional slip to meet the edge of the image. It is more common to find works on paper presented with wide gilded flats or the conventional slip of a frame for an oil painting separating the image and the border formed by the frame. The profile is nevertheless tall, with a steep inclination of the fluted scotia, giving the frame a box-like form and sitting the picture plane of the watercolour back against the wall. The watercolour itself is stretched over a blind stretcher.
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