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 ...
, a waterleaf is a distinctive
sculptural
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable s ...
motif used on the
capitals of
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 and
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s in European buildings during the late twelfth century. It is a highly simplified plant motif, characteristic of the "late
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
" style of
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
.
A waterleaf capital is formed of broad, smooth leaf-shapes (typically four in number), unribbed except for a central fold, which curve upward and outward before curling over at the tips where they meet the
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 ...
(the flat slab at the top of the column, normally square but sometimes
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...
al). The curled tip of the waterleaf may be small and neat or large and bulbous; it usually curves inward towards the abacus, but may occasionally turn outwards (both forms can sometimes be seen in adjacent capitals of the same period, as for example at
Geddington
Geddington is a village and civil parish on the A4300, previously A43, in North Northamptonshire between Kettering and Corby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,503, virtually unchanged from 1,504 at the 2001 census.
...
, Northamptonshire, UK.
''The Corpus of'' ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE ''in Britain and Ireland'' (CRSBI) website:
Geddington).
Gallery
File:Waterleaf capital - geograph.org.uk - 1179146.jpg, English Romanesque waterleaf capital
File:Waterleaf capital (geograph 2220255).jpg, English Romanesque waterleaf capital
File:Waterleaf capital - geograph.org.uk - 903008.jpg, Early English waterleaf capital in St.John the Evangelist's church
File:Waterleaf capital - geograph.org.uk - 903013.jpg, A variation on waterleaf on a 13th century respond capital in St.John the Evangelist's church
File:Early English capital - geograph.org.uk - 903007.jpg, Crocketed waterleaf capital in St.John the Evangelist's church
File:Waterleaf respond - geograph.org.uk - 1179152.jpg, English Romanesque waterleaf capital
See also
* Abacus (architecture)
In architecture, an abacus (from the Greek ''abax'', slab; or French ''abaque'', ''tailloir''; plural abacuses or abaci) is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is t ...
* Branchwork
* Pulvino
A pulvino (or impost block) is an architectural structural element (dosseret) having the shape of an inverted pyramid cushion, which is placed between the column capital and the arch base.
Overview
Usually decorated with fretwork or relief ornamen ...
* Rais-de-cœur
Rais-de-cœur (also known as leaf-and-dart and heart-and-dart) is an ornamental motif made up of heart-shaped leaves (or waterleaves inside hearts) alternating with spearheads (or darts). This motif was used in Ancient Greek and Roman architectu ...
may incorporate waterleaves.
References
*Pevsner, Nikolaus
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
''et al.'', ''The Buildings of England'' (glossary), Yale University Press
{{classical orders
Ornaments (architecture)
Columns and entablature