The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

. It has a far-reaching history, originating in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

with a subsequent development through the art of most of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, often in forms that bear relatively little resemblance to the original. In

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and Roman uses it is also known as the anthemion (from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

ανθέμιον, a flower). It is found in most artistic media, but especially as an architectural ornament, whether carved or painted, and painted on ceramics. It is very often a component of the design of a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

or border. The complex evolution of the palmette was first traced by

Alois Riegl Alois Riegl (14 January 1858 – 17 June 1905) was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. He was one of the major figures in the establishment of art history as a self-sufficient academic discipl ...

in his '' Stilfragen'' of 1893. The half-palmette, bisected vertically, is also a very common motif, found in many mutated and vestigial forms, and especially important in the development of plant-based scroll ornament.

Description

The essence of the palmette is a symmetrical group of spreading "fronds" that spread out from a single base, normally widening as they go out, before ending at a rounded or fairly blunt pointed tip. There may be a central frond that is larger than the rest. The number of fronds is variable, but typically between five and about fifteen. In the repeated border design commonly referred to as anthemion the palm fronds more closely resemble petals of the honeysuckle flower, as if designed to attract fertilizing insects. Some compare the shape to an open

hamsa The ''hamsa'' (, referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'),Zenner, 1988p. 284World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning (Belmont, Estados Unidos), 1991p. 219Drazin, 2009p. 268 also known as the hand of Fa ...

hand – explaining the commonality and derivation of the 'palm' of the hand. In some forms of the motif the volutes or scrolls resemble a pair of eyes, like those on the harmika of the Tibetan or Nepalese

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

and the eyes and sun-disk at the crown of Egyptian stelae. In some variants the features of a more fully developed face become discernible in the palmette itself, while in certain architectural uses, usually at the head of

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s or herms, the fan of palm-fronds transforms into a male or female face and the volutes sometimes appear as breasts. Common to all these forms is the pair of volutes at the base of the fan – constituting the defining characteristics of the palmette.

Evolution

It is thought that the palmette originated in ancient Egypt 2,500 years BC, and has influenced Greek art. Egyptian palmettes (Greek anthemia) were originally based on features of various flowers, including the

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

and the lotus or

lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

representing lower and upper Egypt and their fertile union, before it became associated with the palm tree. From earliest times there was a strong association with the sun and it is probably an early form of the halo. Among the oldest forms of the palmette in ancient Egypt was a 'rosette' or daisy-like lotus flower emerging from a 'V' of foliage or petals resembling the akhet hieroglyph depicting the setting or rising sun at the point where it touches the two mountains of the horizon – 'dying', being 'reborn' and giving life to the earth. A second form, apparently evolved from this, is a more fully developed palmette similar to the forms found in Ancient Greece. Third is a version consisting of a clump of lotus or papyrus blooms on tall stems, with a drooping bud or flower on either side, arising from a (primal) swamp. The lotus and papyrus clump occur in association with Hapi, the god of the crucial life-giving annual Nile inundation, who binds their stems together around an offering table in the sema-tawi motif – itself echoing the shapes of the 'akhet' of the horizon. This unification scene appeared on the base of the throne of several kings, who were thought of as preserving the union of the two lands of (upper and lower, but also physical and spiritual) Egypt and thereby mastering the forces of renewal. These 'binding' scenes, and the heliotropic swamp plants appearing in them, evoked the necessity of discerning and revealing the underlying harmony, the origin of all manifest forms, that re-connects the dispersed and separate-seeming fragments of everyday experience. The further implication is that it is from this apparently occult and magical, undivided source that fertility and new life spring. Nefertum MET DP361170

Another variant of this motif is a single lotus bloom between two upright buds, a favourite fragrant offering. The god of fragrance, Nefertem, is represented by such a lotus, or is shown bearing a lotus as his crown. The lotus in Nefertem's head dress typically incorporates twin 'menats' or necklace counterpoises (commonly said to represent fertility) hanging down from the base of the flower on either side of the stem, recalling the symmetrically drooping pair of stems in the lotus and papyrus clumps mentioned above. When depicted on Egyptian tomb walls and in formalized garden scenes, date palms are invariably shown in a similar stylistic convention with a cluster of dates hanging down on either side below the crown in this same position. The link between these hanging clusters and the volutes of the palmette is visually clear, but remains inexplicit. Rising and setting sun and opening and closing lotus are linked by the

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

legend to day and night, life and death and the nightly ordeal of the setting sun to be swallowed by night-sky goddess Nut, to pass through the Duat ("underworld") and be born anew each morning. The plants depicted with this solar fan of fronds or petals and 'supported' by pairs of pendant blooms, buds or fruit clusters all seem especially to emulate and share in the sun's sacrificial cycle of death and rebirth and to point to the lessons it holds for mankind. It seems likely that the underlying model for all these fertile shapes, echoed by the curling cows-horn wig and sistrum-volutes of maternity-goddess

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

, was the womb, with the twin egg-clusters of its

ovaries The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are endocr ...

. When the sun is reborn in the morning it is said to be born from the womb of Nut. The stylized palmette-forms of the lotus and papyrus showing the solar rosette or daisy-wheel emerging from the volutes of the calyx are similar magical enactments of the 'akhet' – this sacred moment of enhanced creation, the act of transcending or surpassing one's mortal form and 'going forth by day' as an akh or higher, winged, shining, all-encompassing and all-seeing form of life. Most early Egyptian forms of the motif appear later in Crete, Mesopotamia, Assyria and Ancient Persia, including the daisy-wheel-style lotus and bud border. In the form of the palmette that appears most frequently on Greek pottery, often interspersed with scenes of heroic deeds, the same motif is bound within a leaf-shaped or lotus-bud shaped outer line. The outer line can be seen to have evolved from an alternating frieze of stylized lotus and palmette. This anticipates the form it often took – from Renaissance sculpture through to Baroque fountains – of the inside of a half scallop shell, in which the palm fronds have become the fan of the shell and the scrolls remain at the convergence of the fan. Here the shape was associated with

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

and was typically flanked by a pair of dolphins or became a vehicle drawn by sea-horses. Later, this circular or oval outer line became a motif in itself, forming an open C-shape with the two in-growing scrolls at its tips. Much

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

furniture, stucco ornament or wrought-iron work of gates and balconies is made up of ever-varying combinations these C-scrolls, either on their own, back to back, or in support of full palmettes. File:Aker or ruti and the akhet.jpg, The hieroglyph akhet of the horizon guarded by the twin lions of Aker File:Egypt.ColossiMemnon.02.jpg, Hapi, god of the Nile inundation: by making offerings and ensuring that Upper and Lower Egypt remain unified, the Pharaoh helps to guarantee that the annual flood of the Nile will recur

Classical architecture

As an ornamental motif found in

classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

, the palmette and anthemion take many and varied forms. Typically, the upper part of the motif consists of five or more leaves or petals fanning rhythmically upwards from a single triangular or lozenge-shaped source at the base. In some instances fruits resembling palm fruits hang down on either side above the base and below the lowest leaves. The lower part consists of a symmetrical pair of elegant 'S' scrolls or

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an ...

s curling out sideways and downwards from the base of the leaves. The upper part recalls the thrusting growth of leaves and flowers, while the volutes of the lower part seem to suggest both contributing fertile energies and resulting fruits. It is often present on the necking of the capital of

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

columns; however in column capitals of the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

it takes the shape of a 'fleuron' or flower resting against the

abacus An abacus ( abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a hand-operated calculating tool which was used from ancient times in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, until the adoption of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. A ...

(top-most slab) of the capital and springing out from a pair of volutes which, in some versions, give rise to the elaborate volutes and acanthus ornament of the capital.

Botanical combinations

According to Boardman, although lotus friezes or palmette friezes were known in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

centuries before, the unnatural combination of various botanical elements which have no relationship in the wild, such as the palmette, the lotus and sometimes rosette flowers, is a purely Greek innovation, which was then adopted on a very broad geographical scale throughout the Hellenistic world.

Hellenistic "Flame palmettes"

From the 5th century, palmettes tended to have sharply splaying leaves. From the 4th century however, the end of the leaves tend to turn in, forming what is called the "flame palmette" design. This is the design that was adopted in

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

architecture and became very popular on a wide geographical scale. This is the design that was adopted by

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the 3rd century BC for some of its sculptural friezes, such as on the abaci of the

Pillars of Ashoka The pillars of Ashoka are a series of Monolith, monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected—or at least inscribed with Edicts of Ashoka, edicts—by the 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great, who reigned from to ...

, or the central design of the Pataliputra capital, probably through the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

or Hellenistic cities such as

Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a mili ...

Usage

In classical architecture the motif had specific uses, including: # the fronts of ante-fixae, # acroteria, # the upper portion of the stele or vertical tombstones, # the necking of the Ionic columns of the Erechtheum and its continuation as a decorative frieze on the walls of the same, and # the

cymatium Cymatium (from Greek κυμάτιον "small wave"), the uppermost molding at the top of the cornice in the classical order, is made of the s-shaped cyma molding (either ''cyma recta'' or ''cyma reversa''), combining a concave cavetto with a con ...

of a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

Variants and related motifs

The palmette is related to a range of motifs in differing cultures and periods. In

palmette motifs existed both as a form of flower and as a stylized tree, often referred to as a

Tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

. Other examples from ancient Egypt are the alternating lotus flower and bud border designs, the winged disk of

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

with its pair of Uraeus serpents, the

Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus, also known as left ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye, specular to the Eye of Ra (right ''wedjat'' eye), is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from th ...

and curve-topped commemorative

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

. In later Assyrian versions of the Tree of Life, the feathered falcon wings of the Egyptian winged disk have become associated with the

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s of the palm tree. Similar lotus flower and bud borders, closely associated with palmettes and rosettes, also appeared in Mesopotamia. There appears to be an equivalence between the horns of horned creatures, the wings of winged beings including angels, griffins and

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

es and both the fan and the volutes of the palmette; there is also an underlying 'V' shape in each of these forms that parallels the association of the palm itself with victory, energy and optimism. AntefixSharp

An image of Nike, winged goddess of victory, from an

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

vase of the 6th century BC (see gallery), shows how the sacrificial offering alluded to by the voluted altar and flame, the wings of the goddess and the victory being celebrated, all resonate with the same multiple underlying associations carried within the component forms of the palmette motif. Similar forms are found in the hovering winged disc and sacred trees of Mesopotamia, the

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; , ) is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris (mythology), Iris, the messenger of Hera. The s ...

wand of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

, the ubiquitous scrolled scallop shells in the canopy of the Renaissance sculptural niche, originating in Greek and Roman sarcophagi, echoed above theatrical

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

arches and on the doors, windows, wrought iron gates and balconies of palaces and grand houses; the shell-like

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...

over the door in Georgian and similar urban architecture, the gul and boteh motifs of Central Asian carpets and textiles, the

trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

of Neptune/Poseidon, both the trident and

lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, the 'bai sema' lotus-petal-shaped

boundary marker A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land Border, boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several ...

s of the Thai inner-temple, Vishnu's mount, Garuda, the vajra thunderbolt, diamond mace or enlightenment jewel-in-the- lotus of Tibet and South-East Asia, the symmetrically scrolled cloud and bat motifs and the similarly scrolled ruyi or ju-i scepter and lingzhi or fungus of longevity of the Chinese tradition. Both as a form of the lotus rising from the swamps to touch the sun and as a (palm) tree reaching from earth to heaven, the palmette carries the characteristics of the

axis mundi In astronomy, is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the is the axis of ...

or world tree. The

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

, which became a potent and enigmatic emblem of the divine right of kings, said to have been bestowed on early French kings by an angel, evolved in Egypt and Mesopotamia as a variant of the palmette. Weltliche Schatzkammer Wienc

Similarly, from the early 13th century to 1806 the divine right of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

s was conferred by investiture in the Imperial Regalia, which included the coronation mantle displaying the twin lions (recalling the twin lions of Aker above) guarding the palm in the form of a tree of life, with its two pendant clusters of fruit. Even everyday garden gates throughout Western suburbia are topped with almost identical pairs of scrolls seemingly derived from the motifs associated with the akhet and the palmette, including the related winged sun and sun disk flanked with a pair of eyes. Churchyard gates, tombs and gravestones bear the motif over and again in different forms. The anthemion is also the mint mark of the Mint of Greece, and it shows in all Greek euro coins destined for circulation, as well as in all Greek collectors' coins.

Gallery

File:Pithos Kamares-Stil 02.jpg,

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

palmette on a Kamares vessel, 1700-1650 BC, ceramic, Archaeological Museum of Heraklion,

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

, Greece File:Ceiling Pattern, Tomb of Qenamun MET DT10887.jpg,

Ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

palmettes on a ceiling pattern from the Tomb of Qenamun, illustrated by N. de Garis Davies, 1479–1400 BC, originally fresco, tempera on paper illustration,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York City File:Detail of a relief with Ashurnasirpal II, favorite of the gods, 9th century BC, alabaster, from Kalhu aka Nimrud (Iraq), purchase 1855, VA 950, Pergamon Museum (03).jpg, Assyrian palmette on a relief with Ashurnasirpal II, 9th century BC,

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

Pergamon Museum The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a Kulturdenkmal , listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Wilhelm II and accordi ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

File:Carved ivory from Nimrud (Kalhu), horse frontlet showing god Bes, 9th to 7th century BCE. From Nimrud, Iraq. Iraq Museum.jpg, Assyrian palmette on a carved ivory piece from Nimrud, 9th-7th centuries BC, ivory, Iraq Museum,

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

File:Carved ivory panel showing 2 mythical winged creatures. From Nimrud, Iraq. Iraq Museum.jpg, Assyrian palmettes of different types on a carved ivory piece from Nimrud, 9th-7th centuries BC, ivory, Iraq Museum Bricks with a palmette motif MET hb48 98 20a c.jpg, Black-and-white photo with

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

glazed ceramic bricks with a palmette, –4th century BC, glazed ceramic, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Painted terracotta from temple of Apollo, 550 BC, AM Corinth, Korm426.jpg,

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

palmettes on a fragment from the Temple of Apollo in

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

, Greece, 550 BC, painted terracotta, Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth File:Bowl MET DP119630.jpg, Etruscan palmettes (one seen frontal and the others seen from profile) on an offering tray, 550-500 BC, Bucchero, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Achaemenid gold rhyton in the shape of a lion, from Ecbatana, ca. 550-330 BC, Exhibition- 'Iran, Cradle of Civilizations', Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ), Spain.jpg,

palmettes in a

on a rhyton, 550-330 BC, gold, National Museum of Iran, Teheran File:Exekias, anfora con achille e aiace che giocano a dai, castore e polluce, da vulci, 540-30 ac ca. 04.JPG,

palmettes on the Achilles and Ajax playing dice amphora, by Exekias, 550-525 BC, pottery,

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

Terracotta antefix (roof tile) MET DP207966.jpg, Etruscan antefix of a female figure with palmettes, 520-510 BC, terracotta, Metropolitan Museum of Art Hektor arming Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2307.jpg, Ancient Greek band of palmettes on a vessel, , potter, Staatliche Antikensammlungen,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany File:Theseus Helene Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2309 n2.jpg, Ancient Greek bands of palmettes (a horizontal one and a vertical one) on a vessel, , pottery, Staatliche Antikensammlungen Kleophrades Painter ARV 189 78bis mission to Achilles.jpg, Ancient Greek band of palmettes and scrolls on a vessel, -470 BC, pottery, Staatliche Antikensammlungen File:Terracotta mug in the form of a woman's head MET SF061021205.jpg, Ancient Greek frieze of big palmettes at the top of a mug in the form of a woman's head, 500–490 BC, tarracotta, Metropolitan Museum of Art Detail Erechtheum Acropolis Athens.jpg, Ancient Greek detail of an Ionic

of the Erechtheum, Athens, 421–405 BC, unknown architect Manner of the Meidias Painter ARV 1328 97 woman and Eros.jpg, Ancient Greek

pyxis Pyxis is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Abbreviated from Pyxis Nautica, its name is Latin for a mariner's compass (contrasting with Circinus, which represents a draftsman's compasses). Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas-Louis ...

with lid, by the Meidias Painter, 420-400 BC, pottery,

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

File:Grave stele of Stephanos (National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 4-3-2018).jpg, Ancient Greek palmette decorated with a pair of

es, at the top of the

of Stephanos, first quarter of the 4th century BC, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Athens File:Etruscan antefix with head of Silen and anthemien nimbus, 4th century BC, from Cerveteri, Italy, ceramic, Antikensammlung TC 6681.2d, in the Neues Museum, Berlin (01).jpg, Etruscan palmettes on an antefix with a mascaron of

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...

, 4th century BC, ceramic, Neues Museum, Berlin File:Anthemion of a grave stele (4th cent. B.C.), Archaeological Museum of Piraeus (19 April 2018).jpg, Ancient Greek palmette of a grave stele, mid-4th century, marble, Archaeological Museum of Piraeus,

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, Greece Marble akroterion MET DT259543.jpg, Ancient Greek acroterion decorated with a double palmette, –325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art Ionic capital Erechtheum, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.jpg, Ancient Greek capital of an Ionic column of the Erechtheum, with a band of palmettes under it Didyma 2013-03-25q.jpg, Ancient Greek relief with palmettes from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at

Didyma Didyma (; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia in the domain of the famous city of Miletus. Apollo was the main deity of the sanctuary of Didyma, also called ''Didymaion''. But it was home to both of the Ancient ...

, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, 300-150 BC File:Lefkadia The Tomb of the Palmettes – V (37306799396).jpg, Ancient Greek palmette of the Tomb of the Palmettes, Mieza (Macedonia), Mieza, Greece, first half of the 3rd century BC File:Chapiteau ionique en marbre, antéfixe et cymaises en marbre et en terre cuite, découverts à Athènes. Page of L’Architecture Polychrome chez les Grecs, published in 1851.webp, Ancient Greek polychrome palmettes, illustrated by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, 1830 (published in 1851) File:Inlay, palmette MET LC-26 7 1218 EGDP023333 (cropped).jpg, Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemaic inlay with two palmettes, 100 BC–100 AD, glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Column Capital MET vs11.154.4a.jpg, Ancient Egyptian palmettes on a capital (architecture), capital, 41–68 AD, sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Chapiteau Syrie VIII IX albâtre gypseux 06958.jpg, Islamic architecture, Islamic palmettes on a capital, 750-800, carved gypsum alabaster, Louvre File:P1200898 Paris IV rue Charles-V n12 rwk.jpg, Baroque architecture, Baroque Mascaron (architecture), mascaron with a palmette above it, on the façade of the Hôtel d'Aubray (Rue Charles-V no. 12), Paris, unknown architect, 17th century File:Grilles fontaine Amphitrite.jpg,

palmette (right under the crown) of the grilles from Place Stanislas, Nancy, France, Nancy, by Jean Lamour, 1755 file:KarthauseBuxheimAnnakapelle07.JPG, Rococo palmettes (four, between to the festoons) on the ceiling of St. Anne's Chapel, Buxheim Charterhouse, Buxheim, Germany, by Dominikus Zimmermann, 18th century File:Nightstand, pair with OA 11743 - Louvre (01).jpg, Neoclassicism, Neoclassical palmettes on a nightstand, from the bedroom of Madame Récamier, by Georges II Jacob and François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter, before 1799, mahogany, ebony, copper, gilt bronze mounts and white marble, Louvre Detail of the Panthéon in Paris (07).jpg, Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical metal palmette on a table in the Panthéon, Paris, unknown architect, 18th or 19th centuries File:Jacos-Desmalter, Pliant de la salle du Trône de Saint-Cloud (1804).jpg, Neoclassical palmettes on a stool, by François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter, 1804, carved and gilded wood, and Beauvais Manufactory, Beauvais tapestry, in a temporary exhibition called ''Art and Court Life in the Imperial Palace'' at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada Paris - Palais du Louvre - PA00085992 - 1494.jpg, Neoclassical wrought iron detail of a door of the Louvre Colonnade, with rinceaux, two palmettes and a N for Napoleon, unknown architect, 1810 File:Border (France), 1815–25 (CH 18319363).jpg, Neoclassical palmettes on a border, 1815-1825, block-printed and flocked on handmade paper, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City 29 Rue de Cléry, Paris (01).jpg, Neoclassical Grille (architecture), grille of door of Rue de Cléry no. 29, Paris, unknown architect, 1850 File:Bucharest relief (7329527034).jpg, Neoclassical palmettes on the Hristu House (Calea Victoriei no. 129), Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect, 1871 File:Martial75-20150929111748.jpg, Baroque Revival architecture, Baroque Revival palmette, very similar to those from the Louis XIV style, of a wrought railing in the Château Burrus (Rue Maurice Burrus no. 74) Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines, France, by Jules Berninger and Gustave Krafft, 1900 File:13 Strada Temișana, Bucharest (04).jpg, Beaux Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts palmettes and cartouche on Strada Temișana no. 13, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1900 Paris Metro 5 Gare d'Austerlitz Detail.JPG, Beaux-Arts ceramic palmettes in the Gare d'Austerlitz (Paris Métro), Gare d'Austerlitz metro station of the Paris Métro, unknown architect, designed most probably around 1900, but the metro station was inaugurated in 1931 File:1 Strada Constantin Mille, Bucharest (12).jpg, Beaux-Arts palmette in Palatul Cercului Militar Național (Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta no. 20), Bucharest, by Dimitrie Maimarolu, 1911-1923 File:195 Bwy F sun jeh.jpg, Neoclassical palmettes of 195 Broadway, New York, by William W. Bosworth, 1912-1922 File:Grave of the Vlahuți-Slătineanu Family in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (12).jpg, Romanian Revival architecture, Romanian Revival palmette on the dome of the Vlahuți-Slătineanu Grave in the Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by Grigore Cerkez, 1913 File:15-17 Strada Jules Michelet, Bucharest (32).jpg, Art Deco palmettes in Strada Jules Michelet no. 15-17, Bucharest, by Victor Ștefănescu, 1920 File:58 Strada Ion Brezoianu, Bucharest (02).jpg, Art Deco palmettes at Strada Ion Brezoianu no. 58, Bucharest, by George Damian, 1930 File:Art Deco South Beach - Architectural detail, Miami Beach.jpg, Highly-stylized Art Deco palmette on the Congress Hotel (Ocean Drive (South Beach), Ocean Drive no. 1036), Miami Beach, Florida, Miami Beach, Florida, US, by Henry Hohauser, 1936

Notes

References

* Jessica Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon; , British Museum Pubns Ltd, 1984 *

, Stilfragen. Grundlegungen zu einer Geschichte der Ornamentik. Berlin 1893 * Helene J. Kantor, Plant Ornament in the Ancient Near East, Revised: 11 August 1999, Copyright 1999 Oriental Institute, University of Chicago * Idris Parry, Speak Silence, , Carcanet Press Ltd., 1988 * Ernst H. Gombrich, Gombrich, Symbolic Images: Studies in the Art of the Renaissance, London, Phaidon, 1972 * Ernst H. Gombrich, The Sense of Order, A Study in the Psychology of Decorative Art, Phaidon, 1985

External links

Ancient Egypt, the tree of life

Plant Ornament : Its Origin and Development in the Ancient Near East

Palmettes in Fine Weavings
{{Authority control Visual motifs Ornaments Ornaments (architecture)