exam 3 design history terms

Impost Capital

• Definition: A block of stone, often shaped like an inverted pyramid or wedge, placed directly between the top of a column capital and the springline of the arch above it.

• Context: Traditional Classical Roman columns were designed to carry horizontal lintels. Byzantine architects used arches instead, which concentrated tremendous downward and outward thrust onto single points. The impost capital widened the surface area, shifting the structural load cleanly away from the delicate, undercut marble lace carvings of the capital below.

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byz/early christian characteristics

• issue of how to place a dome of heavy masonry on top of a square room

• hagia sophia,

• early christian= long. plan; byz = centralized

• The "Floating" Dome: Domes were not supported by solid walls but rested on pendentives or squinches. Architects pierced the very base of these domes with a continuous ring of closely spaced windows.

Squinch v. Pendentive

• Squinch: An architectural element (such as a small arch, corbel, or half-dome) built across the interior corners of a square room to transition it into an octagon, which can then support a circular dome.

• Pendentive: A highly sophisticated, triangular section of a sphere that flares out at the top and tapers at the bottom. Four pendentives transfer the massive weight of a circular dome down smoothly into four massive support piers at the corners of a square room.

• The Contrast: Squinches create a stepped, octagonal geometry (common in Islamic and later Romanesque architecture), whereas pendentives create the breathtaking, continuous illusion that a dome is floating in mid-air without visible support (famously executed at Hagia Sophia).

Blind Arch

An arch applied directly to the surface of a solid wall as a decorative element, having no actual opening, window, or doorway.

Polykandelon / Choros

• Polykandelon: A flat, circular or cross-shaped metal chandelier (usually made of bronze or silver) pierced with circular cutouts to hold glass oil lamps. Suspended by chains, these provided flickering, localized light that bounced off the gold-tesserae mosaics of church vaults.

• Choros: A massive, ring-shaped openwork chandelier forged from brass or bronze that encircles the central space directly beneath the main dome of a church. Decorated with icons, crosses, and candleholders, the choros was often intentionally swayed by monks during specific moments of the liturgy to simulate the rhythmic dance of the angels in heaven.

Horseshoe

ogee

foliage

arabesque

geometric

calligraphic

kaaba

the cube that muslims pray to

qibla

• the direction of prayer, towards mecca at the masjid al-haram mosque

madrassa

islamic teaching institution with a courtyard

minaret

• large spiral - like the one at the great mosque at samarra iraq

mihrab

apse that faces mecca, identifies the Qibla (direction of prayer)

minbar

raised pulpit on the right of the mihrab

mashrabiya

screen window for privacy

muqarna

honeycomb pattern that is used for the transition between wall and dpme

Damascening

metalworking technique - joining the metals with their expansion

iznikware

based on their interactions with india and asia

Unlike standard earthenware, İznik pottery is a fritware (or stonepaste) made from a soft, sandy grayish-white clay combined with quartz sand and finely ground glass frit, covered in a white slip

tulips (royalty and love), carnations, pomegranates, peacocks, fish, and the tree of life

romanesque characteristics

• short, low to the ground structures

• thicker columns and heavier masonry

• simple decor; not many frescos or paintings mostly just reliefs

• muted colors

• blin and rounded arches

• not centralized, more longitudinal basilica plan

• notable buildings: Pisa, fontenay abbey

  

  
  

gothic characteristics

• tall

• thin

  • pointed arhces that solve the problems with the round arches of romanesque (which is: to create taller arches, round arches also had to get wider; point arches fix that and distribute the force back towards the ground faster)

• structure is outside the building

• more religious elements/decor than romanesque which was more simple and muted

• tracery is made of stone

• people in the pillars/capitols

• st denis, notre dame, la saint chapel (the one prof said the colors couldnt be properly depicted in photos)

Fenestration

• Definition: The arrangement, proportion, and design of windows and doors in a building.

• Context: In Gothic architecture, advancements in skeleton-like stone vaulting allowed walls to be opened up with expansive fenestration, replacing thick Romanesque walls with vast areas of stained glass.

rose window

A large, circular stained-glass window decorated with intricate stone framing radiating outward like petals.

tracery

The stonework frameworks or intersecting ribbons of stone supporting the glass in a Gothic window.

trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil

• Definition: Clover-like decorative frameworks containing three (trefoil), four (quatrefoil), or five (cinquefoil) distinct lobes or leaves.

• Context: These geometric motifs were widely used in Gothic window tracery, stone carvings, and paneling, often carrying symbolic religious numbers (e.g., the Trinity for trefoils).

Reredos / Rood Screen

• Reredos / Rood Screen

  • Definition: Large, heavily decorated architectural partitions used in medieval churches.

    • Reredos: An ornamental screen or altarpiece positioned directly behind an altar, often featuring elaborate stone or wood carvings of biblical scenes.

    • Rood Screen: A prominent wooden or stone screen separating the chancel (where the clergy stood) from the nave (the main congregation area), traditionally topped by a large crucifix (the "rood").

Panel Furniture Construction: Mortise and Tenon / Rails and Stiles

• Definition: A classic framework system used to build rigid wooden furniture, doors, and wall paneling.

  • Rails and Stiles: The horizontal (rails) and vertical (stiles) wooden borders that interlock to form a rigid frame around a floating central wood panel.

  • Mortise and Tenon: The joinery technique used to lock the rails and stiles together, where a projecting peg (tenon) fits tightly into a corresponding square hole (mortise).

Credence

A small side table or shelf positioned near the altar in a church.

Linen-Fold Motif

A stylized wooden carving designed to mimic successive vertical folds of ironed linen or cloth.

Milles-Fleurs" Tapestry

A background style in medieval European tapestries characterized by hundreds of tiny, detailed wildflowers strewn across a dark background (hunt of the unicorn series)