Contemporary Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs in the area. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains operated using the force of gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it.
Roman fountains usually depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains made to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
The Original Outdoor Water Fountains
The Original Outdoor Water Fountains Water fountains were initially practical in function, used to bring water from rivers or springs to cities and hamlets, providing the residents with fresh water to drink, bathe, and cook with. In the years before electricity, the spray of fountains was driven by gravity only, often using an aqueduct or water resource located far away in the nearby hills. Striking and impressive, big water fountains have been crafted as memorials in nearly all societies. The common fountains of modern times bear little resemblance to the first water fountains. Crafted for drinking water and ceremonial purposes, the very first fountains were very simple carved stone basins. 2000 B.C. is when the earliest identified stone fountain basins were actually used. The spray of water emerging from small spouts was pushed by gravity, the sole power source builders had in those days.
Positioned near aqueducts or creeks, the functional public water fountains provided the local populace with fresh drinking water. Beasts, Gods, and Spiritual figures dominated the initial ornate Roman fountains, beginning to show up in about 6 B.C.. The extraordinary aqueducts of Rome provided water to the eye-catching public fountains, most of which you can travel to today.