Expert: Jennifer Pierce - 10/21/2009

Question
I inherited some older picture frames from an acquaintance.  Some of these picture frames have decorative metal corner pieces, though some of these corner pieces are missing or damaged.  What are these decorative corner pieces called and are they still available to refurbish some of my old picture frames?

Answer
I know what you mean, but I've never heard them called anything but "corner ornaments."  Do you know how old the frames are?  I ask because I recall Larson-Juhl (a moulding manufacturer) had some that were popular in the eighties; there were two styles, flat and rounded, and they came in  brass and a pewter color.  Those are the only metal ones I know of.  A framer will probably have a catalogue to show you.

Wooden or compo ones, however, are everywhere.  If your corner piece is simple it is possible that you might be able to match it.  A good framer will have access to some catalogues, or you can try searching "picture frame corner ornaments" for a few ideas.  Searching this, I saw several hardware stores online that carried corner ornaments.  

You could consider replacing all of the corner ornaments with a completely new style, if you can find a style to suit you.  The wood/compo ornaments can be finished in many ways, including gilding, so it's possible that you might find a substitute corner that will still keep the original look of the frame.

If you can't find a replacement and you don't want to replace all four corner ornaments, I have successfully reproduced parts of a frame using various casting methods.  The way I've done it is to make a liquid-latex mold of a part I want to copy, then fill the mold with something (plaster is what I've used; there is probably better stuff out there now, just make sure it doesn't shrink when it dries) and make a reproduction of the part.  Again, you can finish this in many ways that can approximate the look of the other pieces.

I hope this is helpful.  Good luck with the refurbishment!