Sep 20, 2013 00:33
10 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
Native in: English (Variants: Canadian, US) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Italian to English
pilastre à demi-lunes en enduit
French to English
Art/Literary
Architecture
A detail of an Eastern European fortress/arsenal built following principles of French military architecture around the time of the Napoleonic wars
Proposed translations
(English)
| 2 +4 | pilaster with half-moon windows in render/stucco |
Sheri P
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| 4 +1 | pilaster with stucco ravelin/demilune |
Miranda Joubioux (X)
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Proposed translations
+4
13 hrs
Selected
pilaster with half-moon windows in render/stucco
Based on the photos I've seen of what may be the fortress/museum in question (see the D box), I believe the "demi-lunes" could be referring to the half-moon windows (lunettes) above the pilasters.
"Enduit" can be translated as "plaster" when referring to indoor applications (again, see D box), but "render" or "stucco" may be better for outdoor applications, which appears to be the case here.
"Enduit" can be translated as "plaster" when referring to indoor applications (again, see D box), but "render" or "stucco" may be better for outdoor applications, which appears to be the case here.
Note from asker:
| Yes, it is indeed the old fortress in Daugavpils, Latvia, which has been converted into a Mark Rohtko museum. One of the pictures in the D box appears to be pre-restoration, the other of the building's current state. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
B D Finch
: I think one can fairly safely call it "stucco". Even for indoor applications, not all "enduit" is "plaster". "Enduit" is a generic term, as is "render", (a bit like calling a bear a "plantigrade"). In English we tend to use a specific term where possible.
1 hr
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Thank you, B D. Good points, all. Yes, the reason I asked the asker in the D box if anything followed "enduit" in the text is precisely because it is such a generic term.
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| agree |
Miranda Joubioux (X)
: not 'render' - it really isn't suitable for this period.
1 hr
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Thank you, Miranda. You are a good sport. :-) And it was your posting of the photo that made me more confident about the one I had found. Point taken about "render".
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
2 hrs
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Thank you, g2!
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| agree |
Jocelyne Cuenin
: Well done!
23 hrs
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Thanks, Petitavoine!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
13 hrs
pilaster with stucco ravelin/demilune
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravelin
ravelin, demilune. In fortifications, a projecting outwork forming a salient angle.
Cyril M. Harris
Dictionary of Architecture and Construction
As for the use of the term plaster or render, I prefer the former for historical buildings. Yes, exterior plaster does exist. It is generally referred to as stucco.
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-09-20 16:08:32 GMT)
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OK - I've had time to research this further, and the demilune is not what I thought. It involves the actual structure of the fortification, whereas here we are just talking about a half-moon shaped window.
It just goes to show you, you've got to research something very thoroughly.
My hat goes off to Sheri. :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravelin
ravelin, demilune. In fortifications, a projecting outwork forming a salient angle.
Cyril M. Harris
Dictionary of Architecture and Construction
As for the use of the term plaster or render, I prefer the former for historical buildings. Yes, exterior plaster does exist. It is generally referred to as stucco.
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-09-20 16:08:32 GMT)
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OK - I've had time to research this further, and the demilune is not what I thought. It involves the actual structure of the fortification, whereas here we are just talking about a half-moon shaped window.
It just goes to show you, you've got to research something very thoroughly.
My hat goes off to Sheri. :-)
Note from asker:
| My thanks to all for your help. In the future I will try and be more diligent and detailed in providing context, though no one seems to have been hampered! And even "wrong" answers are illuminating. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
B D Finch
: I think I have to agree with both of you. Your answer would be more suitable for a specialist architectural document and Sheri's for a more popular one. (Askers really do need to supply better context information.) See my note to Sheri re plantigrades.
2 hrs
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Further research would seem to indicate that I got it wrong I'm afraid.
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Discussion
What a pity they didn't get a decent translator to produce the Rothko info: they even misspell his name in the header!
If so, then the pilasters are indeed outside, and B D would be correct that plaster would not be the best term. Also, notice the half-moon windows (lunettes) above the pilasters.
http://www.arhis.eu/?page_id=1742&lang=en
Whether it is internal or external also affects what the "demi-lunes" actually are. It seems from the tiny amount of context you give that they are decorative and not part of the defences, as e.g. used by Vauban. In either case, they could be described as "half-moons"
http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?la...
http://gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=17053053
I'm less sure about "à demi-lunes". At first I thought it might be referring to a decorative crescent motif, but I'm wondering if it actually means "half-round". There are lots of Google hits for "half-round pilaster".