entablature

(redirected from Entablatures)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.

entablature

(ĕntăb`ləcho͝or), the entire unit of horizontal members above the columns or pilasters in classical architecture—Greek, Roman or Renaissance. The height of the entablature in relation to the column supporting it varies with the three orders, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, but in Roman and Renaissance interpretations it is generally about one fourth the column height. The entablature's component members are the architravearchitrave
, in architecture, principal beam and lowest member of the classical entablature, the other main members of which are the frieze and the cornice. Its position is directly above the columns, and it extends between them, thus carrying the upper members of the order (see
..... Click the link for more information. , which rests directly upon the abacus, or top member of the column cap; the friezefrieze,
in architecture, the member of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice or any horizontal band used for decorative purposes. In the first type the Doric frieze alternates the metope and the triglyph; that of the other orders is plain or sculptured.
..... Click the link for more information. ; and the cornicecornice
, molded or decorated projection that forms the crowning feature at the top of a building wall or other architectural element; specifically, the uppermost of the three principal members of the classic entablature, hence by extension any similar crowning and projecting
..... Click the link for more information. , or topmost member. Essentially the entablature is a development from the primitive lintel, which spans two posts and supports the ends of the roof rafters. In Renaissance and modern designs the entablature is also used upon a wall as the crowning member or as a horizontal band, irrespective of columns.

Entablature

The superstructure composed of an architrave immediately above the columns, central frieze, and upper projecting cornice, consisting of a series of moldings. The proportions and detailing are different for each order, and they are strictly prescribed.

entablature

[en′tab·lə·chər]
(architecture)
A unit consisting of the architrave, frieze, and cornice of a wall.

entablature

entablature (Ionic)
1. In Classical architecture and its derivatives, an elaborate horizontal band and molding supported by columns; horizontally divided into three basic elements:architrave (the lowest member),frieze (the middle member), andcornice (the uppermost member). The proportions and detailing of an entablature are different for each order, and are strictly prescribed.
2. Any similar construction that crowns a wall, window, or doorway.

entablature

Architect
1. the part of a classical temple above the columns, having an architrave, a frieze, and a cornice
2. any construction of similar form
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
Niches, altars, tabernacles, granite bowls, marble urns, tombstones, smooth and carved, columns, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite, caryatids, friezes, acanthuses, entablatures and pediments, false vaults, real vaults, as well as stretches of brick wall, the gables of Cyclopean walls, lancet windows, rose windows, gargoyles, oriel windows, tympanums, pinnacles, paving stones, flying buttresses, pillars, pilasters, recumbent statues representing men in helmet, sword and armour, capitals with and without ornamentation, pomegranates, lilies, immortelles, campaniles, cupolas.
On translation, and on translating Saramago in particular
The double doors leading from the saloon with gilded pillars, exquisitely carved entablatures and pediments, are the most sumptuous I have ever seen.
Houghton and the lost treasures
Thinking that Adams's remark might well have been addressed to Jean-Bertrand Aristide or the Emir of Kuwait, I further remembered that I most recently had come across it in a speech that Kennan delivered in March to the Council on Foreign Relations, and on reaching the head of the receiving line it occurred to me that of all the people in the room he probably was the closest in temperament to the Doric entablatures and the Chippendale chairs.
Art and antiques
Replacement joinery affects architectural works adjoining: the jambs, sills, typed, mantling, railings, entablatures zinc, as well as treatment with tight structural work.
Architectural services for buildings
The entrances were placed symmetrically at the northeast and southwest corners and were marked by aedicular gateways with large hinged doors and pedimental entablatures that bore dedicatory inscriptions.
Aurelius Alexander Pius, Felix Augustus," a cadence precisely matching that of Gabinius' on the temple entablatures.
Finally, a fully articulated curving limestone entablature ran the length of the portico, with architrave and high inscriptional frieze.
The entablature of the curving portico, however, provides hints that prompt us to imagine these statues in the form of a series of city and province personifications.
Imagined Empire: representing imperial communities in Roman Dougga
At Baalbek, he aimed the camera upward to peer at temple entablatures.
A new art in an old civilisation: the opening exhibition at the Villa draws on the rich resources of the Getty's photography collections to show how early photographers responded to the monuments of ancient civilisations, as the exhibition's co-curator Claire L. Lyons reveals

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?