One of the great arts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was plasterwork. The ceiling of the long gallery at Powis Castle, Welshpool, was made in around 1593. It made the long gallery one of the most beautiful rooms in Wales. It has a repeated pattern that runs its whole length. The main pattern is of curving ribbons. The designers must have had to draw this very carefully with compasses and using their knowledge of geometry. In between, they pictured many different plants and flowers with similar curves.
Plaster is a very difficult material to work in. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to draw the pattern exactly and then create it in plaster?