Crocket on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in
A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common 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 ...
. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
's crosier
A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Cathol ...
.
Description
A crocket is in the form of a stylized carving of curled leaves, buds orflower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s which are used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...
s, finials, pinnacles, and wimperg
In Gothic architecture, a wimperg is a gable-like crowning over portals and windows and is also called an ''ornamental gable''. Outside of immediate architecture, the wimperg is also found as a motif in Gothic carving.
Etymology
The word has ...
s.
As ornaments
When used to decorate the capital of columns, these are called crocket capitals. This element is also used as an ornament on furniture andmetalwork
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
in the Gothic style.
Examples
* All Souls College – Oxford * Canterbury Cathedral * Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris *León Cathedral
Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral is a Catholic church, the episcopal see of the diocese of León in north-western Spain, consecrated under the name of the Virgin Mary. It was the first monument declared by the Royal Order of Spain on A ...
– Spain
* Duke Chapel
Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is an ecumenical Christian chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Method ...
References
External links
* Church architecture Ornaments (architecture) {{architecturalelement-stub