An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and
curves—often seen in
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-,
[ or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircular curves or arcs that, as a result of a point of inflection from ]concave
Concave or concavity may refer to:
Science and technology
* Concave lens
* Concave mirror
Mathematics
* Concave function, the negative of a convex function
* Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex
* Concave set
In geometry, a subset o ...
to convex or ''vice versa'',[ have ends of the overall curve that point in opposite directions (and have tangents that are approximately parallel).
First seen in textiles in the 12th century, the use of ogee elements—in particular, in the design of arches—has been said to characterise various ]Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
architectural styles.[ The shape has many such uses in ]architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
from those periods to the present day, including in the ogee arch in these architectural styles,[ where two ogees oriented as mirror images compose the sides of the arch,] and in decorative molding designs, where single ogees are common profiles (see opening image).[ The term is also used in marine ]construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
. The word was sometimes abbreviated as o-g as early as the 18th century,[ and in millwork trades associated with building construction, ogee is still sometimes written similarly (e.g., as O.G.).
]
Use in architecture
Ogee arch
In architecture, the principal use of the term is to describe an arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vau ...
composed of two ogees, mirrored left-to-right and meeting at an apex.[ First seen in textiles in the 1100s CE, the use of ogee elements, and in particular in the design of arches, has been said to characterise Venetian Gothic and ]Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
architectural styles.[ Ogee windows and arches were introduced to European cities from the ]Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, probably via Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's tradin ...
. In particular, the ogee characterises Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
, especially in late Gothic decorative elements of the 14th and 15th century—styles called Flamboyant
Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...
in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and Decorated in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. In these, the usual pointed lancet arch
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. I ...
with a single curve to each side is supplemented by ogee arches, especially in windows. Ogee arches were also a feature of English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
in the later thirteenth century.[ Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, p. 391. ]
Moulding
A building's surface detailing, inside and outside, often includes decorative moulding
Moulding (spelled molding in the United States), or coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled woo ...
, and these often contain ogee-shaped profiles—consisting (from low to high) of a concave
Concave or concavity may refer to:
Science and technology
* Concave lens
* Concave mirror
Mathematics
* Concave function, the negative of a convex function
* Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex
* Concave set
In geometry, a subset o ...
arc flowing into a convex arc, with vertical ends; if the lower curve is convex and higher one concave, this is known as a Roman ogee, although frequently the terms are used interchangeably and for a variety of other shapes. Alternative names for such a true Roman ogee moulding include ''cyma reversa
Moulding (spelled molding in the United States), or coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled woo ...
'' and ''talon''.
The ogee curve is an analogue of a " cyma curve", the difference being that a cyma, or "cyma recta
Moulding (spelled molding in the United States), or coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled woo ...
", has horizontal rather than vertical ends. The cyma reversa form occurs in antiquity. For example, in ancient Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, the Tomb of Cyrus featured the cyma reversa. The cyma reversa is also evident in ancient Greek architecture, and takes its name from the cymatium. The ogee and Roman ogee profiles are used in decorative moulding, often framed between mouldings with a square section. As such, it is part of the standard classical decorative vocabulary, adopted from architrave and cornice mouldings of the Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...
and Corinthian order
The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
.
Ogees are also often used in building interiors, in trim carpentry, for capping a baseboard
In architecture, a baseboard (also called skirting board, skirting, wainscoting, mopboard, trim, floor molding, or base molding) is usually wooden or vinyl board covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the joint ...
or plinth elements, as a crown moulding
Crown moulding is a form of cornice created out of decorative moulding installed atop an interior wall. It is also used atop doors, windows, pilasters and cabinets.
Historically made of plaster or wood, modern crown moulding installation ma ...
trim piece where a wall meets a ceiling, and in similar fashion, at the tops of pieces of case furniture.
Other uses
Ogee is also a mathematical term, meaning an inflection point
In differential calculus and differential geometry, an inflection point, point of inflection, flex, or inflection (British English: inflexion) is a point on a smooth plane curve at which the curvature changes sign. In particular, in the case ...
. In fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them.
It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...
, the term is used to refer to aerodynamic profiles that bear such shapes, e.g., as in the ogee profile of the Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
supersonic aircraft. As well, ogee curves are used to minimize water pressure on the downstream face of a dam spillway.
In aesthetic facial surgery, the term is used to describe the malar or cheekbone prominence transitioning into the mid-cheek hollow. The aim of a mid-face rejuvenation is to restore the ogee curve and enhance the cheekbones, common parts of routine facelift
A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () "wrinkle", and () "excision", the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are mul ...
surgery.
Manufactured objects with the ogee description
Ogee is the name given to bubble-shaped chambers of pot still
A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol a ...
s that connects the swan neck to the still pot, in distillation apparatus
A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...
, that allow distillate to expand, condense, and fall back into the still pot.
"Ogee washers" are heavy washer
Washer most commonly refers to:
*Washer (hardware), a thin usually disc-shaped plate with a hole in the middle typically used with a bolt or nut
*Washing machine, for cleaning clothes
Washer may also refer to:
*Dishwasher, a machine for cleani ...
s used in fasteners that have a large load-bearing surface; they are used in marine timber construction to prevent bolt heads or nuts from sinking into the face of timbers. The term ogee is used to describe the ogee shape giving rise to radial symmetry around the centre of the washer. Due to the size and shape of such washers, they are generally manufactured as a cast iron product (in accordance with ASTM A47 or A48).
"Ogee clocks" were a common type of weight-driven 19th-century pendulum clock
A pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a harmonic oscillator: It swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on i ...
presented in a simplified Gothic style, with the original design attributed to Chauncey Jerome. Ogee clocks were typically made in the United States, as mantelpieces or to mount to a wall bracket, and are one of the most commonly encountered varieties of American antique clocks. The overall design was rectangular, with framing by moulding with an ogee-profile surrounding a central glass door with a painted scene below the clock face, a door that protected the clock face and pendulum. Weights supported by pulleys fell inside the ogee moulding and so were hidden from view.
See also
* Ogive
* Line of Beauty
References
Further reading
*
* Bill Owens, Bill & Dikty, Alan (2009) ''The Art of Distilling Whiskey'', p. 26.
{{Woodworking
Woodworking
Arches and vaults