Sunday 13 July 2014

Doors, Knockers and Shutters ... Dreaming of France

 
I have a fascination with Doors and Shutters but now
with the Door Knockers too!!
 
I remembered reading  about Doors knockers
a few years ago, funny how some posts stick in your mind.

 
This was on Corey's blog Tongue in Cheek..
A fascinating blog , French orientated of course. Corey is an American
lady who has lived in France a long time, married to French husband.
Hope you go and have a read .  If you love France you will love this blog!!!
 
I have been reading about the history and it seems that it is connected to the Muslims.
 
One story  is that the hand -symbolizing the Hand of Fatima- was not only a talisman to protect a house from evil but also a sign for other Muslims in non-Muslim countries that in a certain house lived people of their faith
 
The ‘Hand of Fatima’ is particularly common on front doors in Morocco and from there spread to France,  then the rest of Europe, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its arrival in France  coincided with the period of Art Nouveau (circa, 1890-1910) and the European castings used for the Lady’s Hand became more sensuous and somewhat more elegant.
 
Hand of Fatima
 
 

 







 



In the picture below you can see the Ghost writing, I think that it is great
that they leave this up , to show us what it used to be.
 




 
Love this , but wonder who went through here, I am sure Diane will know!!




 
Fascinating mural and I love the colour!







 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
 

on
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28 comments:

  1. Liz Hinds13 July 2014 at 20:26

    I shall have to start paying more attention to knockers!
    I love to see old writing on buildings too, giving us a glimpse of its history.

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:28

      Hi Liz, certainly does, I just love how France seems to have been kept old so interesting..

      Delete
  2. GaynorB13 July 2014 at 21:25

    Fascinating. I'm going to keep an eye out for unusual ones.

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:29

      Hi Gaynor , thank you for commenting ,, they are fascinating , I am sure you will see interesting ones in your area of France.

      Delete
  3. Paulita 14 July 2014 at 03:24

    I love doors and shutters too. I'm not crazy about the hand of fatima knockers, but I liked that key knocker. Thanks for playing along. I think the picture with the bicycle and flowers is my favorite. Here’s my Dreaming of France meme

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:31

      Hi Paulita , I just think the hand is interesting , but also , love the key. I love the bike and flowers too.

      Delete
  4. Leslie:14 July 2014 at 07:06

    I am like Paulita in that I love the photo with the bicycle in front. Reminds me of a shot I took in Oxford near Radcliffe.

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:32

      Hi Leslie , yes you took the bicycle photo near the Café The Vaults :-)

      Delete
  5. Welshcakes Limoncello14 July 2014 at 15:38

    Some very interesting door knockers and beautifully photographed, Anne. x

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:33

      Hello Pat, thank you for your lovely compliment. Yes the door knockers are so interesting, lots to look out for. x

      Delete
  6. Rhodesia14 July 2014 at 20:34

    Anne this is a fabulous post, that ghost writing looks familiar :-) That little door I am sure you will find goes down to the cellar and it is probably where they stored the coal in the olden days. Now, if I had that cellar it would have all been cleaned out and turned into a wine cellar :-)))) Much more practical me thinks. Keep well and don't work too hard Diane xx

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:35

      Hello Diane , I think the ghost writing is near you but cannot remember now, just love it. Thank you for your lovely compliment , and so happy that you like the post. I thought you would know, yes I suppose it has a shoot to slide the coal down. Great idea I am with you , a WINE cellar, take care xx Anne

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  7. CherryPie14 July 2014 at 22:13

    That is a fascinating story about the Hand of Fatima, I had not heard of that before.

    I too love the bicycle photograph :-)

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:36

      Hello CherryPie , I am happy that you found this post fascinating , I had not hear before 2011 either, take care x

      Delete
  8. Esme15 July 2014 at 05:16

    I love the door knockers-have you been to Lyon-they had some amazing ones there.

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire15 July 2014 at 13:27

      Hello Esme, No I have not been to Lyon , I will have to sort that out . They seem to have so many different ones, not like the UK .

      Delete
  9. Arti16 July 2014 at 06:42

    Beautiful and artistic photos! I must visit France again and next time will spend much longer time, just to observe all the intricate details of doors, knockers, shutters, and windows. Thanks for this interesting post!

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:53

      Hi Arti , thank you for commenting , great to see new people , I do hope that you get back to France soon and have more time to observe and do your photography , I am sure you see so much too,, Glad you like this post,

      Delete
  10. LindyLouMac16 July 2014 at 16:58

    Love these photos, I have a very similar collection of captures like this myself only taken in Italy!

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:51

      A feel a post coming on Linda, I would love to see your photos xx

      Delete
  11. Trubes17 July 2014 at 13:30

    There are lots of fine door knockers in Lyon Anne, you must visit1
    Lyon is now considered to be the ' Gastronomique' capital of France, don't know what the Parisians will think about that.
    We stayed there on our way south many moons ago, I remember the city being on two sides of a river, with an abundance of fine eateries.....C`est fantastique,
    love Di.xx

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:51

      Hello Trubes , I think I must visit Lyon , sounds just the place for me , I will let you now if I go. To be honest I hardly eat out when I am in Paris , I am happy that this brought back happy memories of your trip to Lyon or should I say a reminder, Love anne xx

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  12. Genie -- Paris and Beyond20 July 2014 at 13:24

    What a lovely collection of doors and knockers. The photo with the bicycle is my favorite and I hope that you took an abundance of photos of that scene! The architecture fascinates me and I would love to have a peek inside that little door.

    Bises,
    Genie

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:48

      Hello Genie , thank you , yes I just love taking photos of doors, shutters and this time knockers , my boys think I am crazy . I took lots of photos of the bike and the scene, who would not? My friend Diane who I stayed with says the tiny door might lead down to a coal cellar , but we think it should be a WINE cellar , Bises Anne

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  13. Vagabonde22 July 2014 at 18:08

    You show such picturesque photos of door knockers and window shudders too. What I miss in the US is that they have window shudders but they don’t close over the windows – they are stuck next to the windows as decorations. Window shudders are great to close out the cold or the heat in summer.

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:46

      Hi thank you for calling over to my blog, love to see new readers. Yes I know exactly what you mean , what is the point of the shutters stuck to the sides , we want real shutters :-) ,, We should have them here in the UK too. Thank you for your lovely comment too.

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  14. lisa | renovating italy27 July 2014 at 08:16

    Gorgeous and I just love those knockers in the hand shape and want one for our big gates.
    love them all xx

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    1. Anne in Oxfordshire30 July 2014 at 16:44

      Hi Lisa , I love them too , and you can see such a variety over in France. I am not sure about Italy as I have not been on a trip where I have walked around a town or city , in much depth, I am sure they are out there. xx

      Delete

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