A fleuron is a flower-shaped ornament,
["Fleuron" ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009] and 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 ...
may have a number of meanings:
# It is a
collective noun
In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...
for the ornamental termination at the ridge of a
roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temp ...
, such as a crop,
finial
A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, t ...
or épi.
# It is also a form of stylised
Late Gothic
International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by t ...
decoration in the form of a four-leafed square, often seen on
crocket
A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier.
Description
...
s and
cavetto mouldings.
# It can be the ornament in the middle of each concave face of a
Corinthian abacus
The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the H ...
.
# Finally, it can be a form of
anthemion
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
, the decorative Greek floral decoration.
[
]
Gallery
File:Hôtel de ville de Bruxelles - Arcades 91.JPG, Fleuron at Brussels Town Hall
The Town Hall (french: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (B ...
, Belgium
File:Decorative roof finial, Buckfast Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 1159770.jpg, Fleuron as a finial
File:Corinthian (PSF).png, Fleuron is the uppermost flower decoration in the center of a Corinthian capital
File:Cornice plaster MET 40-170-267.jpg, Fleuron in a cornice molding
File:7192 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - Stele anthemion - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 2009.jpg, Fleuron as a ''anthemion'' (Greek word for flower)
File:Livré-sur-Changeon (35) Église Notre-Dame 05.JPG, Fleuron above a doorway
See also
*
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-t ...
References
{{reflist
Architectural elements
Ornaments (architecture)