Fleuron (architecture)

A fleuron is a flower shaped ornament,^[1] and in architecture may have a number of meanings. (1) It is a collective noun for the ornamental termination at the ridge of a roof such as a crop, finial or épi. (2) It is also a form of stylised late gothic decoration in the form of a four-leafed square, often seen on crockets and cavetto mouldings. (3) It can be the ornament in the middle of each concave face of a Corinthian abacus. (4) Finally it can be a form of Anthemion, the decorative Greek floral decoration.^[2]

Gallery

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  Fleuron as a finial.

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  Fleuron is the uppermost flower decoration in the center of a Corinthian capital

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  Fleuron in a cornice molding

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  Fleuron as a anthemion (Greek word for flower)

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  Fleuron above a doorway

References

1. "Fleuron" Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009
2. Curl, James Stevens (2006). A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 880 pages. ISBN 0-19-860678-8.