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 ...

, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or

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 c ...

, or decorated with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

Paterae In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation (''omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in ...

are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither

columns 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 membe ...

nor

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 are expressed, on an

astylar Astylar (from Gr. ''ἀ-'', privative, and ''στῦλος'', a column) is an architectural term given to a class of design in which neither columns nor pilasters are used for decorative purposes; thus the Riccardi and Strozzi palaces in Florence ...

wall it lies upon the architrave ("main beam") and is capped by the moldings of the cornice. A frieze can be found on many Greek and Roman buildings, the

Parthenon Frieze The Parthenon frieze is the high-relief Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon’s naos. It was sculpted between c. 443 and 437 BC, most likely under the direction of Pheidias. Of the 160 meters (524 ft) ...

being the most famous, and perhaps the most elaborate. This style is typical for the Persians. In interiors, the frieze of a room is the section of wall above the

picture rail Moulding (spelled molding in the United States), or coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled woo ...

and under the

crown molding Crown moulding is a form of cornice created out of decorative moulding installed atop an interior wall. It is also used atop doors, windows, pilasters and cabinets. Historically made of plaster or wood, modern crown moulding installation ma ...

s or cornice. By extension, a frieze is a long stretch of painted, sculpted or even

calligraphic Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as ...

decoration in such a position, normally above eye-level. Frieze decorations may depict scenes in a sequence of discrete panels. The material of which the frieze is made of may be

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of ...

, carved wood or other decorative medium. In an example of an architectural frieze on the façade of a building, the octagonal

Tower of the Winds The Tower of the Winds or the Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower in the Roman Agora in Athens that functioned as a ''horologion'' or "timepiece". It is considered the world's first meteorological stat ...

in the Roman agora at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

bears relief sculptures of the eight winds on its frieze. A pulvinated frieze (or pulvino) is

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 polytop ...

in section. Such friezes were features of 17th-century

Northern Mannerism Northern Mannerism is the form of Mannerism found in the visual arts north of the Alps in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Styles largely derived from Italian Mannerism were found in the Netherlands and elsewhere from around the mid-century, e ...

, especially in subsidiary friezes, and much employed in interior architecture and in furniture. The concept of a ''frieze'' has been generalized in the

mathematical Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

construction of

frieze pattern In mathematics, a frieze or frieze pattern is a two-dimensional design that repeats in one direction. Such patterns occur frequently in architecture and decorative art. Frieze patterns can be classified into seven types according to their symmetri ...

Achaemenid friezes

File:Persian frieze designs at Persepolis.jpg, Achaemenid frieze designs 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 ...

Greek friezes

File:Erechtheum frieze Glyptothek Munich 242.jpg, Ionic frieze of the

Erechtheum The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropoli ...

(

), 421–406 BCE File:Greek frieze designs.jpg, Top: Kyanos frieze from

Tiryns Tiryns or (Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles performed his Twelve Labours. It lies south of M ...

. Bottom: Frieze of the

Erechtheion The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple- telesterion on the north side of the Acropoli ...

in (

), 4th BCE File:Frieze from Delphi lotus with multiple calyx.jpg, Frieze from Delphi incorporating lotuses with multiple calyxes

Indian friezes

File:Frieze of capital of Lat at Allahabad.jpg, Frieze of the lost capital of the Allahabad pillar, with two lotuses framing a "flame palmette" surrounded by small rosette flowers, 3rd BCE File:Rampurva bull capital detail.jpg, Rampurva bull capital, detail of 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 Hi ...

, with two "flame palmettes" framing a lotus surrounded by small rosette flowers, 3rd BCE File:Sankissa elephant frieze.jpg, Frieze of the

Sankissa Sankissa (also Sankasia, Sankassa and Sankasya) was an ancient city in India. The city came into prominence at the time of Gautama Buddha. According to a Buddhist source, it was thirty leagues from Savatthi.''Dhammapadatthakathā'', iii, 224 Af ...

elephant, 3rd BCE

References

External links

* {{Authority control Columns and entablature