Corbels Guide

Throughout the history of corbels, there are basically two main time periods: the traditional and the modern. Each era is characterized by the use of different materials.

Traditional

To some extent this era has never ended. There are still corbels being used in the same ways that they were centuries ago: on the outside of stone buildings, in stone themselves. But basically the traditional era dates back to approximately medieval times and beyond. This is probably the image that many people have of corbels: marble and stone majestic support structures, outside stately and old buildings, often with gargoyles on top!

If we want to be even more exact, we can trace these pieces back into antiquity, when they were first brought into use during the Neolithic era. At that time we have the so-called Norman corbels which are very plain in design.

Nevertheless, the basic materials used remain the same: stone and marble. As time went on and humans became more sophisticated (and demanding), they began to carve more and more intricate designs into the stone before putting them to their final use on the sides of their impressive buildings.

Modern

In the modern era, we have seen a splitting away from the materials that were traditionally used to create corbels. Now it is much more common to see them being made out of wood and even plastic. This also coincides with the emergence of a much more affordable consumer market for the corbel.

Obviously, if you have a  house built of wood, you are most likely going to want to use wood support-structures. This only makes consistent design sense. A sort of “done up” composite plastic could also work in this situation.

It is also true that there are many different types of wood that are used. For instance, the cherry is a very popular choice, as is mahogany, maple, pine, poplar, etc. There is no real limit to which type of wood you can use. Any piece which can be carved should be suitable, especially if there will be little to no real weight resting on top of it. Today this is often the case, such as in countertops. Corbels are much more for design in this case.

The bottom line is that today’s marketplace has made many more materials available for use in the construction of corbels. It has also made them much more widely available “to the masses” versus the elite patterns of more ancient times. This can only be a good thing.