Tag Archives: Dictionary

DICTIONARY, LETTER V

Vaulting of the Interior of the Building

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A technique of vaulting includes building a structure made either of wood, natural or artificial stone, brick or concrete, glass or metal, with a curvilinear cross-section, used to cover a specific space of a building. The vaulting technique was already widely used in ancient Rome but greatly developed in medieval architecture of Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The principle of structural vaults is to induce internal compressive stresses that maintain the entire vault, the loads of which are transferred to the supports. The stone vaults are made of wedge-shaped voussoirs. In such a structural technique, the weight and spreading force of the vaulting are taken over by such supports, as walls and pillars.

Among the structural vaults, there are a variety of their types: barrel or tunnel vault, groined and ribbed vaults, cambered and domical vaults, cloistered, cove and trough vaults, along with ornamental vaulting, according to a layout of the ribs, divining it into sections, including star-vaulting, net-vaulting, fan-vaulting, cell-vaulting, and flying ribs.

Featured image: Rib vault of church Sint-Niklaaskerk in Ghent, Belgium. Photo by PetrusSilesius (2005). CC BY-SA 2.0 de. Photo and caption source: “Vault (architecture)” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Vault (architecture)” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3vZiFjg>. [Accessed 7th June, 2021].

Koch W. (2009) Style w architekturze. Arcydzieła budownictwa europejskiego od antyku po czasy współczesne. [Baustilkunde], pp. 478-480, 499. Baraniewski W., Kunkel R., Omilanowska M., Sito J., Zięba A., Żak K. trans. Warszawa: Świat Książki.

PWN (2007). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 380. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

DICTIONARY, LETTER T

The Megalithic Structure of Trilithon in the Worldwide Architecture

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The definition of trilithon or trilith is derived from the Greek words, which stand for “‘having three stones’ (τρι-/tri- ‘three’ + λίθος/lithos ‘stone’)” (“Trilithon” 2021). The word trilithon was primarily applied by an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman, William Stukeley (1687-1765), who had “a significant influence on the later development of archaeology. [He] pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire [and] published over twenty books on archaeology and other subjects during his lifetime” (“William Stukeley” 2021).

Haʻamonga ʻa Maui in the Kingdom of Tonga, a Polynesian country and archipelago including 169 islands. An appearance of such structures as trilithons in the furthest corners of the word means that the architectural solution was applied worldwide. Photo by Sarah Kelemen (2009). CC BY 2.0. Photo source: “Trilithon” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Most often, the term trilithon is used to describe a megalithic structure consisting of three boulders: two vertical and the third arranged horizontally. In such constructions, the two large vertical stones, called posts, constitute the only support for the third stone, which is set horizontally across the top, referred to as a lintel.

The definition of trilithon “is commonly used in the context of megalithic monuments”. Trilithons were built in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, possibly as religious objects or astronomical observatories. “The most famous trilithons are those of Stonehenge in England, those found in the Megalithic temples of Malta […] and the Osireion in Egypt. […] The term also describes the groups of three stones in the Hunebed tombs of the Netherlands and the three massive stones forming part of the wall of the [so-called] Roman Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, Lebanon. Far from Europe and the Middle East, another famous trilithon is the Haʻamonga ʻa Maui in Tonga, Polynesia” (“Trilithon” 2021).

Typical and most famous examples of trilithons at Stonehenge, England. Photo by Daveahern (2005). “Stonehenge Closeup”. Public domain. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.

Featured image: Although the three successive megalithic blocks are positioned here horizontally, they are also known as a trilithon. They are the main feature of the Temple of Jupiter Baal (“Heliopolitan Zeus”) in Baalbek, Lebanon. Photo by Brattarb – Own work (2009). CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo source: “Trilithon” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Trylit” (2013). In: Wikipedia. Wolna Encyklopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3fuUCTn>. [Accessed 27th May, 2021].

“Trilithon” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3vxh6Jd>. [Accessed 27th May, 2021].

“William Stukeley” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3yOIm7W>. [Accessed 29th May, 2021].

Daveahern (2005). “Stonehenge Closeup”. In Wikimedia Commons. Available at <https://bit.ly/3yVuUiX>. [Accessed 29th May, 2021].

DICTIONARY, LETTER E

Echinus in the Classical Greek Orders

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Latin: ‘bowl’.

The prominent rounded moulding below the abacus of a Greek Doric or Tuscan capital. The echinus is one of grooves of the the ‘necking’, which is the upper continuation of the shaft of the column; as such the echinus lies atop the necking and usually has a shape similar to a flat pillow or a circular block that bulges outwards towards the top to support the abacus.

“The echinus appears flat and splayed in early examples, deeper and with greater curve in later, more refined examples, and smaller and straight-sided in Hellenistc examples” (“Ancient Greek architecture” 2021). In the Doric order, the echinus is convex or a circular cushion-like stone. It features an ovolo moulding (a quarter-round convex), having an outline with several radii, whereas in the Ionic order, echinus is called cymatium; it has a a shape of circular moulding, decorated with an egg-and-dart motif, forming part of an capital between the volutes and under the balteus.

The term is also used to refer to the lower part of the head in Ionic order. More loosely, the echinus is any moulding of this type.

Featured image: Close-up on a capital of the Erechteum on the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. Corner Ionic capital with a diagonal volute or spirals, similar to those of the nautilus shell or ram’s horn, also showing details of the curved echinus, decorated with a stylized egg-and-dart ornament. Photo by © Guillaume Piolle (2008). CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo and caption source: “Ancient Greek architecture” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Ancient Greek architecture” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3yMBCpQ>. [Accessed 4th September, 2021].

“Classical order” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3jQc6fv>. [Accessed 4th September, 2021].

“Echinus” (2021). In: Wikipedia. Wolna Encyklopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/2WTCPhP>. [Accessed 4th September, 2021].

“Echinus. Definition&Meaning” (2021). In: Dictionary.com. Available at <https://bit.ly/3jM5Oxo>. [Accessed 4th September, 2021].

Lucie-Smith, E. (2003) The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms. London: Thames & Hudson World of Art, pp. 79, 159.

DICTIONARY, LETTER N

Nymphaeum and its Forms in Ancient Greek Landscape

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Greek: nymphaion; Latin: nimphaeum.

In ancient Greece, the term Nympaheum (plural: Nymphaea or Nymphaeums) initially described natural cavities, grottoes or groves with natural springs where nymphs and water deities were believed to have resided and as such they were worshiped. “Subsequently, artificial grottoes took the place of natural ones”; these were special well structures or pavilions, located at the water springs.

Nymphaeum of Monte Smith (2020) with all artificial caves and stairs carved in the rock of the Acropolis of Rhodes, leading directly to the temples on the summit. Photo source: “Nymphaeum of Monte Smith (picture 40936781)” “Nymphaeum auf dem Monte Smith”. In: mapio.net.

Featured image: Waterhouse Hylas and the Nymphs, Manchester Art Gallery 1896.15. By John William Waterhouse – Manchester Art Gallery (1896). Public domain. Photo and caption source: “Nymph” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Nymph” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3b7Tz9r>. [Accessed on 6th May, 2021].

“Nymphaeum” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3vYRogH>. [Accessed on 6th May, 2021].

Photo: “Nymphaeum of Monte Smith (picture 40936781)” (2020). In: mapio.net. Available at <https://bit.ly/2CqbU3a>. [Accessed on 6th May, 2021].

PWN (2007). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 279. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

DICTIONARY, LETTER O

Limestone Flakes of the ‘Ostraca’

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Greek: ostraca (plural) – oyster shells, ostracon (singular).

Ostracon is usually understood as a potsherd (“a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel” (“Ostracon” 2021) or a flat stone piece (normally a flake of limestone), which was mainly used by artists from ancient Egypt and Greece for their freehand sketches and written notes.

“Generally discarded material, ostraca were cheap, readily available and therefore frequently used for writings of an ephemeral nature such as messages, prescriptions, receipts, students’ exercises and notes” (“Ostracon” 2021). Very exceptional are “the so-called figural ostracons [featuring] drawings, often sketches by artists or architects. The artists sketched their ideas on them with great freedom, avoiding the limitations of official art, thanks to which their sketches were more spontaneous, not devoid of the sense of accurate observation and a clear satirical message. One of the most beautiful and known examples of an ostracon paintings is a representation of an Egyptian dancer performing a somersault (Deir el-Medina, the New Kingdom, between sixteenth and the eleventh centuries BC.; see: Egyptian Dancer from Turin and Her Acrobatic Somersault).

Ostrakon of Cimon, an Athenian statesman, telling his name (as “Kimon [son] of Miltiades”); 486 or 461 BC., Ancient Agora Museum in Athens. Photo by Marsyas (2005). CC BY-SA 2.5. Photo and caption source: “Ostracon” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Featured image: A possibly satirical ostracon depicting a scrawny cat giving a bolt of cloth and a trussed up goose as an offering to a seated mouse, likely representing either a noblemen or a noblewoman with bared breasts. Either a satire on upper-class life, or perhaps a scene from a fable. New Kingdom, either nineteenth or twentieth dynasties, circa 1295-1070 BC., from Thebes. Photo by Keith Schengili-Roberts (2007). CC BY 2.5. Photo modified. Photo and caption source: “Ostrakon” (2020). In: Wikipedia. Wolna Encyklopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Ostracon” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3iizilv>. [Accessed 2nd August, 2021].

“Ostrakon” (2020). In: Wikipedia. Wolna Encyklopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3rP7fNZ>. [Accessed 2nd August, 2021].

Lucie-Smith, E. (2003) The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms. London: Thames & Hudson World of Art, p. 158.