Editing Door (section)

== History ==
<!-- This section contains verbatim text from the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (1911) article on doors. See References.-->

The earliest recorded doors appear in the paintings of [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] tombs, which show them as single or double doors, each of a single piece of wood. People may have believed these were doors to the afterlife, and some include designs of the afterlife. In Egypt, where the climate is intensely dry, doors were not framed against warping, but in other countries required framed doors—which, according to [[Vitruvius]] (iv. 6.) was done with stiles (sea/si) and rails ''(see: [[Frame and panel]])'', the enclosed panels filled with [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympana]] set in grooves in the stiles and rails. The stiles were the vertical boards, one of which, [[Mortise and tenon|tenoned]] or [[hinge]]d, is known as the hanging stile, the other as the middle or meeting stile. The horizontal cross pieces are the top rail, bottom rail, and middle or intermediate rails.

The most ancient doors were made of timber, such as those referred to in the Biblical depiction of [[Solomon's Temple|King Solomon's temple]] being in [[olive wood]] (I Kings vi. 31–35), which were carved and overlaid with gold. The doors that [[Homer]] mentions appear to have been cased in silver or brass. Besides olive wood, [[elm (wood)|elm]], [[cedar (wood)|cedar]], [[oak (wood)|oak]] and [[cypress (wood)|cypress]] were used. Two doors over 5,000 years old have been found by archaeologists near [[Zürich, Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2010/10/20/swiss_archaeologists_find_5000_year_old_door/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108222716/http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2010/10/20/swiss_archaeologists_find_5000_year_old_door/|url-status=dead|title=Swiss archaeologists find 5,000-year-old door|first=Frank|last=Jordans|date=October 20, 2010|archive-date=November 8, 2010|via=The Boston Globe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2019/01/close-the-door/|title=Close the door!|first=Samuel van|last=Willigen|date=January 17, 2019|website=Swiss National Museum - Swiss history blog}}</ref>

{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->| align             =
| total_width       = 550
| direction         = horizontal
| footer            = <!-- Image 1 -->
| image1            = stone door.jpg
| width1            =
| height1           =
| alt1              =
| caption1          = Stone door in [[Hampi]] (India)
<!-- Image 2 -->| image2            = Door-Post Socket (4690606141).jpg
| width2            =
| height2           =
| alt2              =
| caption2          = A massive door socket from [[Persepolis]] (modern-day [[Iran]])
}}

Ancient doors were hung by [[pintle]]s at the top and bottom of the hanging stile, which worked in sockets in the [[lintel]] and [[sill plate|sill]], the latter in some hard stone such as [[basalt]] or [[granite]]. Those Hilprecht found at [[Nippur]], dating from 2000 BC, were in [[dolerite]]. The tenons of the [[gate]]s at [[Balawat]] were sheathed with bronze (now in the [[British Museum]]). These doors or gates were hung in two leaves, each about {{convert|2.54|m|in|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|8.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} high; they were encased with bronze bands or strips, {{convert|25.4|cm|in|abbr=on}} high, covered with [[repoussé]] decoration of figures. The wood doors would seem to have been about {{convert|7.62|cm|in|abbr=on}} thick, but the hanging stile was over {{convert|360|mm|in}} diameter. Other sheathings of various sizes in bronze show this was a universal method adopted to protect the wood pivots. In the [[Hauran]] in Syria where timber is scarce, the doors were made of stone, and one measuring {{convert|1.63|by|0.79|m|in|abbr=on}} is in the British Museum; the band on the meeting stile shows that it was one of the leaves of a double door. At Kuffeir near Bostra in Syria, Burckhardt found stone doors, {{convert|2.74|to|3.048|m|ft|abbr=on}} high, being the entrance doors of the town. In [[Etruria]] many stone doors are referred to by Dennis.

[[File:Plaster cast of folding doors, Pompeii.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] folding doors at [[Pompeii]], from the first century AD, similar with Neoclassical doors from the 19th century]]

Ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] doors were either single doors, double doors, triple doors, [[sliding door]]s or [[folding door]]s, in the last case the leaves were hinged and folded back. In the tomb of Theron at [[Agrigentum]] there is a single four-panel door carved in stone. In the Blundell collection is a [[bas-relief]] of a temple with double doors, each leaf with five panels. Among existing examples, the bronze doors in the [[Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome|church of SS. Cosmas and Damiano]], in Rome, are important examples of Roman metal work of the best period; they are in two leaves, each with two panels, and are framed in bronze. Those of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] are similar in design, with narrow horizontal panels in addition, at the top, bottom and middle. Two other bronze doors of the Roman period are in the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran|Lateran Basilica]].

The Greek scholar [[Heron of Alexandria]] created the earliest known automatic door in the first century AD during the era of [[Roman Egypt]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162">{{Cite book|editor-last=Needham |editor-first=Joseph |year=1986 |title=Science and Civilization in China: Mechanical Engineering |volume=IV:2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=162 |orig-year=1965 |editor-last2=Wang |editor-first2=Ling |isbn=0-521-05803-1 |ol=7716140M}}</ref> The first foot-sensor-activated automatic door was made in China during the reign of [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] (r. 604–618), who had one installed for his royal library.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162" /> Gates powered by water featured in illustrations of the automatons of the Arab inventor [[Al-Jazari]].<ref>Howard R. Turner (1997), ''Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction'', p. 181, [[University of Texas Press]], {{ISBN|0-292-78149-0}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Archivio Italiano di Urologia e Andrologia |title=Primitive robotic procedures: Automotions for medical liquids in 12th century Asia minor|year=2014 |doi=10.4081/aiua.2014.4.300|last1=Penbegul |first1=Necmettin |last2=Atar |first2=Murat |last3=Kendirci |first3=Muammer |last4=Bozkurt |first4=Yasar |last5=Hatipoglu |first5=Namık Kemal |last6=Verit |first6=Ayhan |last7=Kadıoglu |first7=Ates |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=300–303 |pmid=25641458 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Copper and its alloys were integral in [[medieval]] architecture. The doors of the [[church of the Nativity]] at [[Bethlehem]] (6th century) are covered with plates of bronze, cut out in patterns. Those of [[Hagia Sophia]] at [[Constantinople]], of the eighth and ninth century, are wrought in bronze, and the west doors of the cathedral of [[Aachen|Aix-la-Chapelle]] (9th century), of similar manufacture, were probably brought from Constantinople, as also some of those in [[St Mark's Basilica|St. Marks, Venice]]. The bronze doors on the Aachen Cathedral in Germany date back to about 800 AD. Bronze baptistery doors at the Cathedral of Florence were completed in 1423 by Ghiberti.<ref>Architecture, European Copper Institute; {{cite web |url=http://eurocopper.org/copper/copper-architecture.html |title=Find out how useful copper is to design and architecture! |access-date=2012-09-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009005711/http://eurocopper.org/copper/copper-architecture.html |archive-date=2012-10-09 }}</ref> ''(For more information, see: [[Copper in architecture]]).''

[[File:Tür, Villa Boscoreale.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] wall painting of an ornate door, in the [[Villa Boscoreale]] (Italy), from the first century AD]]

Of the 11th and 12th centuries there are numerous examples of bronze doors, the earliest being one at [[Hildesheim]], Germany (1015). The Hildesheim design affected the concept of [[Gniezno Doors|Gniezno door]] in Poland. Of others in South Italy and Sicily, the following are the finest: in [[Amalfi Cathedral|Sant'Andrea]], [[Amalfi]] (1060); [[Salerno]] (1099); [[Canosa di Puglia]] (1111); [[Troia (FG)|Troia]], two doors (1119 and 1124); [[Ravello]] (1179), by Barisano of Trani, who also made doors for [[Trani cathedral]]; and in [[Monreale]] and [[Duomo di Pisa|Pisa]] cathedrals, by Bonano of Pisa. In all these cases the hanging stile had pivots at the top and bottom. The exact period when the builder moved to the hinge is unknown, but the change apparently brought about another method of strengthening and decorating doors—wrought-iron bands of various designs. As a rule, three bands with ornamental work constitute the hinges, with rings outside the hanging stiles that fit on vertical tenons set into the masonry or wooden frame. There is an early example of the 12th century in [[Lincoln Cathedral|Lincoln]]. In France, the metalwork of the doors of [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame]] at Paris is a beautiful example, but many others exist throughout France and England.

In Italy, celebrated doors include those of the [[Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)]], which are all in bronze—including the [[door frame]]s. The modeling of the figures, birds and foliage of the south doorway, by [[Andrea Pisano]] (1330), and of the east doorway by [[Lorenzo Ghiberti|Ghiberti]] (1425–1452), are of great beauty. In the north door (1402–1424), Ghiberti adopted the same scheme of design for the paneling and figure subjects as Andrea Pisano, but in the east door, the rectangular panels are all filled, with bas-reliefs that illustrate Scripture subjects and innumerable figures. These may the gates of Paradise of which [[Michelangelo]] speaks.

Doors of the mosques in [[Cairo]] were of two kinds: those externally cased with sheets of bronze or iron, cut in decorative patterns, and incised or inlaid, with bosses in relief; and those of wood-framed with interlaced square and diamond designs. The latter design is [[Copt]]ic in origin. The doors of the palace at [[Palermo]], which were made by Saracenic workmen for the [[Normans]], are fine examples in good preservation. A somewhat similar decorative class of door is found in [[Verona]], where the edges of the stiles and rails are beveled and notched.

[[File:Дом компании Зингер, Россия, Санкт-Петербург.JPG|thumb|upright|Glass door decorated with [[Art Nouveau]] elements, from the [[Singer House]] ([[Saint Petersburg]], Russia)]]

In the Renaissance period, Italian doors are quite simple, their architects trusting more to the doorways for effect; but in France and Germany the contrary is the case, the doors being elaborately carved, especially in the [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] and [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] periods, and sometimes with architectural features such as columns and entablatures with pediment and niches, the doorway being in plain masonry. While in Italy the tendency was to give scale by increasing the number of panels, in France the contrary seems to have been the rule; and one of the great doors at [[Fontainebleau]], which is in two leaves, is entirely carried out as if consisting of one great panel only.

The earliest [[Renaissance]] doors in France are those of the [[Aix Cathedral|cathedral of St. Sauveur]] at [[Aix-en-Provence|Aix]] (1503). In the lower panels there are figures {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}}. high in [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[niche (architecture)|niches]], and in the upper panels a double range of niches with figures about {{convert|2|ft|m|abbr=on}}. high with canopies over them, all carved in [[cedrus|cedar]]. The south door of [[Beauvais Cathedral]] is in some respects the finest in France; the upper panels are carved in high relief with figure subjects and canopies over them. The doors of the church at [[Gisors]] (1575) are carved with figures in niches subdivided by classic pilasters superimposed. In St. Maclou at [[Rouen]] are three magnificently carved doors; those by Jean Goujon have figures in niches on each side, and others in a group of great beauty in the center. The other doors, probably about forty to fifty years later, are enriched with [[bas-reliefs]], landscapes, figures and elaborate interlaced borders.

[[NASA]]'s [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] at the Kennedy Space Center contains the four largest doors. The Vehicle Assembly Building was originally built for the assembly of the [[Apollo program|Apollo]] missions' [[Saturn V|Saturn]] vehicles and was then used to support Space Shuttle operations. Each of the four doors are {{convert|139|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} high.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/718659main_VAB.pdf|title=Vehicle Assembly Building Fact Sheet|website=NASA|access-date=2016-06-03|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011224909/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/718659main_VAB.pdf|archive-date=2016-10-11}}</ref>

The oldest door in England can be found in [[Westminster Abbey]] and dates from 1050.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4743899.stm | work=BBC News | title=Abbey oak door 'Britain's oldest' | date=2005-08-03 | access-date=2010-05-01 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620190404/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4743899.stm | archive-date=2006-06-20 }}</ref> In England in the 17th century the door panels were raised with [[bolection]] or projecting moldings, sometimes richly carved, around them; in the 18th century the [[molding (decorative)|moldings]] worked on the [[stile]]s and [[Frame and panel|rails]] were carved with the [[egg-and-dart]] [[ornament (architecture)|ornament]].

<gallery widths="170" heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Short visual history of doors">
File:Fragment from a tomb door MET 23.3.174f-emf.jpg|Fragment from an [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|Ancient Egyptian]] tomb door, circa 2150 –1981 BC, in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:The Hercules Sarcophagus depicting the Twelve Labors of Hercules, 150-160 AD, Kayseri Archaeological Museum, Turkey (26261172056) (lighter version).jpg|[[Ancient Greek architecture|Ancient Greek]] door carved on the Hercules sarcophagus from the [[Kayseri Archaeology Museum]] ([[Kayseri]], Turkey)
File:Bronze door, Basilica di San Giovanni, 2013.jpg|[[Ancient Roman architecture|Ancient Roman]] bronze doors of the [[Curia Julia]], now in the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran]] (Rome)
File:Gate, ash-Shibak Fort, Ibra (North ash-Sharqiyah Governorate) Origin- Surat, India (Mughal Empire) Teak wood and brass.jpg|[[Indian architecture|Indian]] [[Mughal architecture|Mughal]] teak wood and brass door
File:Tenghua Jiuguan 21 2015-04.JPG|Traditional [[Chinese architecture|Chinese]] folding doors in [[The Old Museum of Wisteria]] ([[Changzhou]], China)
File:Lateral door church Theotokos Gorgoepikoos Athens, Greece.jpg|[[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] door of the [[Little Metropolis]] ([[Athens]], Greece)
File:Door in Morocco, 2010.jpg|[[Islamic architecture|Islamic]] door decorated with [[Islamic geometric patterns|geometric patterns]] in [[Morocco]]
File:'Berfrestone' (DB) door and tympanum arch St Nicholas Church Barfrestone Kent England 1.jpg|[[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] door of the Saint Nicholas' Church in [[Barfrestone]] ([[Kent]], England)
File:Doorway detail, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney.jpg|[[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] door of the [[St Magnus Cathedral]] ([[Kirkwall]], Scotland)
File:Iconography - Saint Basil's Cathedral (19970306871).jpg|[[Russian architecture|Russian]] door in [[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] (Moscow)
File:The entrance of the Antim Monastery Church.jpg|[[Brâncovenesc style|Brâncovenesc]] door of the [[Antim Monastery]] ([[Bucharest]], Romania), with a [[pisanie]] above it
File:Gdańsk (158).JPG|[[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] door in [[Gdańsk]] (Poland)
File:Chateau de Versailles Vestibule Haut 11 (lighter and fixed angles).jpg|[[Baroque]] door in the [[Palace of Versailles]] ([[Versailles]], France)
File:Porte rue Monsieur-le-Prince Paris.jpg|[[Rococo#Architecture|Rococo]] door on Rue Monsieur-le-Prince (Paris)
File:P1210063 Paris III rue des Francs-Bourgeois n26 rwk.jpg|[[Louis XVI style|Louis XVI]] door of the [[Hôtel Mortier de Sandreville]], on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois (Paris)
File:Pierre Rousseau - Double-Leaf Doors - 1942.2.12 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|[[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] painted double-leaf door, 1790s, by [[Pierre Rousseau (architect)| ]], in the [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] (US)
File:Brooklyn Museum 1994.92 Door with Lock (2).jpg|[[West Africa|African]] door with lock, late 19th or early 20th century, wood with iron, from [[Burkina Faso]], in the [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
File:Zespół klasztoru Gandan (39).jpg|A decorated door from the [[Gandantegchinlen Monastery]] ([[Mongolia]])
File:P1250574 Paris V rue Malebranche n3 porte gothique bis encours.jpg|[[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] door on Rue Malebranche (Paris)
File:Egyptian Revival mausoleum, Forest Home Cemetery.jpg|[[Egyptian Revival architecture|Egyptian Revival]] door of a mausoleum in the Forest Home Cemetery ([[Wisconsin]], US)
File:Armoiries de lIrlande à lambassade dIrlande à Paris.jpg|[[Rococo Revival]] door of the [[Hôtel de Breteuil]] (Paris)
File:3-5, Strada Icoanei, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg|[[Romanian Revival architecture|Romanian Revival]] door of the [[Școala Centrală National College]] on Strada Icoanei (Bucharest)
File:Paris Porte cochère rue La Bruyère 2012.jpg|19th century [[Eclecticism in architecture|Eclectic]] Classicist door on Rue La Bruyère (Paris)
File:Entrance of the George Enescu Museum.jpg|[[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] door of the [[Cantacuzino Palace]] (Bucharest)
File:Porte et marquise CCI Nancy.jpg|[[Art Nouveau]] metal and glass door in [[Nancy, France|Nancy]] (France), with a big transparent [[awning]] above it
File:49-53, Calea Victoriei, Bucharest (Romania) 10.jpg|[[Stripped Classicism|Stripped Classicist]] door of the [[Royal Palace of Bucharest]], now the [[National Museum of Art of Romania]]
File:La Maison Bleue, porte d'entrée - Angers - 20110119.jpg|[[Art Deco#Architecture|Art Deco]] door in [[Angers]] (France)
File:Fischerkirche (main door), Born a. Darß.jpg|Wooden church door in [[Born auf dem Darß]] (Germany)
</gallery>