![Illustrations of various examples of ancient Egyptian cornices](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Illustrations_of_various_examples_of_ancient_Egyptian_cornices.jpg)
A cavetto is 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
* The concavity
In ca ...
moulding with a regular curved profile that is part of a circle, widely used 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 building ...
as well as
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
,
picture frame
A picture frame is a protective and decorative edging for a picture, such as a painting or photograph. It makes displaying the work safer and easier and both sets the picture apart from its surroundings and aesthetically integrates it with them. ...
s, metalwork and other
decorative arts
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
. In describing vessels and similar shapes in
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, metalwork and related fields, "cavetto" may be used of a variety of concave curves running round objects. The word comes from Italian, as a diminutive of ''cave'', from the Latin for "hollow" (it is the same root as
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
). A vernacular alternative is "cove", most often used where interior walls curve at the top to make a transition to the roof, or for "upside down" cavettos at the bases of elements.
The cavetto moulding is the opposite of the
convex
Convex or convexity may refer to:
Science and technology
* Convex lens, in optics
Mathematics
* Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points
** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points
** Convex polytope ...
, bulging,
ovolo
The ovolo or echinus is a convex decorative molding profile used in architectural ornamentation. Its profile is a quarter to a half of a more or less flattened circle.
The 1911 edition of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' says:adapted from Ital. ''u ...
, which is equally common in the tradition of Western
classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
. Both bring the surface forward, and are often combined with other elements of moulding. Usually they include a curve through about a quarter-circle (90°). A concave moulding of about a full semi-circle is known as a "scotia".
Only a minor element of decoration in
classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
, the prominent cavetto cornice is a common feature of the ancient architecture of Egypt and the
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
.
Architecture
Ancient Egyptian architecture
Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles diff ...
made special use of large cavetto mouldings as a
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
, with only a short fillet (plain vertical face) above, and a
torus
In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle.
If the axis of revolution does not tou ...
moulding (convex semi-circle) below. This cavetto cornice is sometimes also known as an "Egyptian cornice", "hollow and roll" or "gorge cornice", and has been suggested to be a reminiscence in stone architecture of the primitive use of bound bunches of reeds as supports for buildings, the weight of the roof bending their tops out.
![Egyptian Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Egyptian_Building.JPG)
Many types of Egyptian capitals for columns are essentially cavettos running round the shaft, often with added decoration. These include the types known as "bell capitals" or "
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
capitals". These features are often reproduced in
Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat o ...
, as in the
Egyptian Building
The Egyptian Building is a historic college building in Richmond, Virginia, completed in 1845. It was the first permanent home of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College (later renamed the Medical College of Virginia, MCV) and now is a pa ...
(1845) in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
.
The cavetto cornice, often forming less than a quarter-circle, influenced Egypt's neighbours and as well as appearing in early Greek architecture, it is seen in Syria and
ancient Iran
The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian S ...
, for example at the
Tachara
The Tachara, or the Tachar Château, also referred to as the Palace of Darius the Great, was the exclusive building of Darius I at Persepolis, Iran. It is located 70 km northeast of the modern city of marvdasht in Fars Province.
History a ...
palace of
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
at
Persepolis
, native_name_lang =
, alternate_name =
, image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.
, map =
, map_type ...
, completed in 486 BC. Inspired by this precedent, it was then revived by
Ardashir I
Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...
(r. 224–41 AD), the founder of the
Sasanian dynasty
The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as ''Sasanian'' in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sasa ...
.
The cavetto took the place of the Greek
cymatium
Cymatium, the uppermost molding at the top of the cornice in the classical order, is made of the s-shaped cyma molding (either ''cyma recta'' or ''cyma reversa''), combining a concave cavetto with a convex ovolo. It is characteristic of Ionic colu ...
in many
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
temples, often painted with vertical "tongue" patterns, and combined with the distinctive "Etruscan round moulding", often painted with scales.
![Tachara, Persepolis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg)
This emphasis on the cavetto was very different from its role in mature
Ancient Greek architecture
Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...
, where cavetto elements were relatively small and subordinated to essentially vertical elements, setting the style for the subsequent Western classical tradition. Often an essentially cavetto section is heavily decorated, in
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 e ...
often smothering the shape beneath.
In general the Greeks made much more use of the cyma moulding, where a cavetto and ovolo were placed one above the other to produce a "S" shape; the
cymatium
Cymatium, the uppermost molding at the top of the cornice in the classical order, is made of the s-shaped cyma molding (either ''cyma recta'' or ''cyma reversa''), combining a concave cavetto with a convex ovolo. It is characteristic of Ionic colu ...
using this was a standard part of the cornice in the classical
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 or ...
, and often used elsewhere. There are two forms, depending on which curve is uppermost: in the ''cyma recta'' the cavetto is on top, in the ''cyma reversa'' the ovolo. A cavetto alone was sometimes employed in the place of the cymatium of a cornice, as in the
Doric order
The Doric order was 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 col ...
of the
Theatre of Marcellus
The Theatre of Marcellus ( la, Theatrum Marcelli, it, Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances o ...
in Rome, one of the standard models for revived
classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
from the Renaissance onwards. But small cavetto mouldings were normal at various places, including integrated ones, not distinguished as a distinct zone by lines or borders, at the bottom of the shaft of columns, beginning the transition to the wider base. These are called an
apophyge
An apophyge (Greek , a flying off), in architecture, is the lowest part of the shaft of an Ionic or Corinthian column, or the highest member of its base if the column be considered as a whole. The apophyge is the inverted cavetto
A cavetto is ...
, or "concave sweep".
Claude Perrault
Claude Perrault (25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and an amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.[Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...]
's rebuilding of the
Louvre Palace
The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Ga ...
, especially the
Louvre Colonnade
The Louvre Colonnade is the easternmost façade of the Palais du Louvre in Paris.
It has been celebrated as the foremost masterpiece of French Architectural Classicism since its construction, mostly between 1667 and 1674. The design, dominated by ...
, explained in his architectural textbook ''Ordonnance for the five kinds of columns after the method of the Ancients'' (1683) why he had replaced a cavetto with a cyma in his illustration of the Doric capital: "a cavetto is not as strong and is more readily broken than the other molding".
File:Molding-ovulo.svg, Ovolo moulding and resulting shadow pattern
File:Cyma recta.png, Cyma recta, with cavetto above ovolo
File:Cyma reversa.png, Cyma reversa, with ovolo above cavetto
File:Piranesi-4039.jpg, The Doric order
The Doric order was 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 col ...
of the Theatre of Marcellus
The Theatre of Marcellus ( la, Theatrum Marcelli, it, Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances o ...
in Rome, etched by Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...
.
Vessels
In plates and other flattish shapes, ''cavetto'' is used for the curving area linking the base and the rim. This is the case whether the rim is a broad flat surface (typical 20th-century Western plate), or merely the edge of the cavetto (typical modern cereal bowl). Normally the term refers to the top surface of the vessel; if the underside is meant (where the curve is now convex), that may be described as "under the cavetto", "under-cavetto" and so forth.
The cavetto is very often left undecorated, but may have decoration of a different sort from the middle or a flat rim, and the term is typically used when it is necessary to describe this. In complicated pottery shapes, where the normal vocabulary of mouldings is appropriate, cavetto may be used in that sense for any concave curving section.
In the terminology of
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, especially relating to pottery (and generally not used of pottery after antiquity, or outside archaeology), a cavetto zone or cavetto is a "sharp concavity encircling the body of a vessel", and also a "deep but narrow neck", both used in relation to mainly upright vessels for storing or cooking food.
[Gibson, 120 (quoted)]
Glossary, Tyne & Wear Museums
, with illustration; see the table of British Food Vessel type
at p. 124 here
/ref>
File:Kinesiska porslinsfat, 1735-1795, Qianlong - Hallwylska museet - 100905.tif, Pair of bowls with cavettos and no distinct rim. The decorated under-cavetto can be seen at right.
File:C.1500 Italian Maioloca dish (UBC).jpg, Here the main decoration continues over the cavetto
File:Missouri Pacific Lines Dining Car Service Plate.jpg, Here the cavetto is left plain, apart from an inscription.
File:Musée de la faïence-60-assiette.jpg, Completely plain cavetto
File:Baksida av tallrik, 1700-tal - Hallwylska museet - 99440.tif, Upturned Japanese bowl with a decorated under-cavetto.
File:Waster Bowls LACMA M.73.119.23 (2 of 2).jpg, Waster bowls; the profile of the cavetto can be seen at lower left.
File:Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch 045.JPG, Cavetto zone, with three rows of indentations in the upper part, on a Neolithic German pot.
File:RoxtonBronzeAgeCremationUrn.JPG, Bronze Age cremation urn, with cavetto, British
See also
* Cymatium
Cymatium, the uppermost molding at the top of the cornice in the classical order, is made of the s-shaped cyma molding (either ''cyma recta'' or ''cyma reversa''), combining a concave cavetto with a convex ovolo. It is characteristic of Ionic colu ...
Notes
References
*
*Gibson, Alex M., ''Prehistoric Pottery for the Archaeologist'', 1997, A&C Black, , 9780718519544
google books
* Perrault, Claude, ''Ordonnance for the Five Kinds of Columns after the Method of the Ancients'', translated by Indra Kagis McEwenand and edited by Alberto Perez-Gomez, 1996, Getty Publications, , 9780892362325
google books
* Summerson, John, ''The Classical Language of Architecture
''The Classical Language of Architecture'' is a 1965 compilation of six BBC radio lectures given in 1963 by Sir John Summerson. It is a 60-some page discussion of the origins of classical architecture and its movement through Antiquity, Renaissan ...
'', 1980 edition, Thames and Hudson
Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
''World of Art'' series,
*Winter, Nancy A., "Monumentalization of the Etruscan Round Moulding in Sixth Century BCE Central Italy", in ''Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture: Ideology and Innovation'', edited by Michael Thomas, Gretchen E. Meyers, 2012, University of Texas Press, {{ISBN, 0292749821, 9780292749825
google books
Architectural terminology
Pottery
Ancient Egyptian architecture