Joy recently had a question about a rod along the trim in the 95 Pride and Prejudice movie, which we answered here: Regency Reader Questions: Pride and Prejudice Gold Rods
Joy followed up with the following: About those golden rods in the Bennet home… Could they be the rods which held paintings or other wall art. My daughter thought of this answer and found pictures which showed paints hanging from chains attached to similar rods around rooms in that time period.
I love that this has become a family mystery to solve! I also want to slap my forehead that I didn’t think about portrait/tapestry rails (okay, I did slap my forehead). But I also love when other folks dig into history and make discoveries. It warms my tender, amateur historian heart.
Picture and tapestry rails began to be incorporated into trims around the 15th century. They were primarily wood or metal. In the Georgian era, they developed as simple moudlings near the ceiling for hanging paintings, most popular in parlours or other entertaining rooms, and they tended to mirror the Georgian preference for neo-classical symmetry. (Picture Rails | The Complete Guide | Interior Moulding – Skirting World (mdfskirtingworld.co.uk))
I found a video on Youtube of a modern lady using the historic picture rail if folks want a demonstration to how these may have been used (or could be used today): https://youtu.be/GqsmlTqdDac
Thanks to your daughter for her tenacity and thirst to dig into history! I think she is probably right, and either these were added for the production or were in the historic home at the time of shooting the film. It makes a lot more sense than my conclusion, although I am still thrown off at how much they stick out against the stark white.
