An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of

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 ...

, and are commonly divided into the architrave (the supporting member immediately above; equivalent to the lintel in post and lintel construction), the

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 ...

(an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented), and the

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 ...

(the projecting member below the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

). 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 ...

and Roman temples are believed to be based on wooden structures, the design transition from wooden to stone structures being called petrification.

Overview

The structure of an entablature varies with the

orders of architecture An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civiliz ...

. In each order, the proportions of the subdivisions (architrave, frieze, cornice) are defined by the proportions of the column. In Roman and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

interpretations, it is usually approximately a quarter of the height of the column. Variants of entablature that do not fit these models are usually derived from them.

Doric

In the pure classical

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

entablature is simple. The architrave, the lowest band, is split, from bottom to top, into the guttae, the regulae, and the taenia. The frieze is dominated by the triglyphs, vertically channelled tablets, separated by metopes, which may or may not be decorated. The triglyphs sit on top of the taenia, a flat, thin, horizontal protrusion, and are finished at the bottom by decoration (often ornate) of 'drops' called guttae, which belong to the top of the architrave. The top of the triglyphs meet the protrusion of the cornice from the entablature. The underside of this protrusion is decorated with mutules, tablets that are typically finished with guttae. The cornice is split into the

soffit A soffit is an exterior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of the roof edge. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of rafters or trusses over the exterior of supporting walls, is t ...

, the corona, and the cymatium. The soffit is simply the exposed underside. The corona and the cymatium are the principal parts of the cornice.

Ionic

The

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) ...

of entablature adds the

fascia A fascia (; : fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; ) is a generic term for macroscopic membranous bodily structures. Fasciae are classified as superficial, visceral or deep, and further designated according to their anatomical location. ...

in the architrave, which are flat horizontal protrusions, and the dentils under the cornice, which are tooth-like rectangular block moldings.

Corinthian

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 ...

adds a far more ornate cornice, divided, from bottom to top, into the cyma reversa, the dentils, the

ovolo Ovolo is an Italian language, Italian word that means "little egg". The ovolo or echinus is a convex molding (decorative), decorative molding profile used in Ornament (architecture), architectural ornamentation. Its profile is a quarter to a half ...

, the

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

s, the fascia, and the cyma recta. The modillions are ornate brackets, similar in use to dentils, but often in the shape of acanthus leaves. The frieze is sometimes omitted—for example, on the portico of the caryatides of the Erechtheum—and probably did not exist as a structure in the temple of Diana at Ephesus. Neither is it found in the Lycian tombs, which are reproductions in the rock of timber structures based on early Ionian work. The entablature is essentially an evolution of the primitive lintel, which spans two posts, supporting the ends of the roof rafters. File:DoricParthenon.jpg, Entablature of the

Image:Ionic entablature.jpg, Entablature of the

File:CorinthianOrderPantheon.jpg, Entablature of the

Non-classical architecture

The entablature together with the system of classical columns occurs rarely outside classical architecture. It is often used to complete the upper portion of a wall where columns are not present, and in the case 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 (flattened columns or projecting from a wall) or detached or engaged columns it is sometimes profiled around them. The use of the entablature, irrespective of columns, appeared after the Renaissance.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Architectural elements