antefix

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | 521 words | Copyright

antefix, antefixum (pl. antefixes, antefixa).
1. Decorative termination of the covering-tiles over the joints of the roof-tiles placed on the eaves-tiles or on top of the cyma of the cornice, and sometimes on the ridge-crest of a Greek temple. It was frequently embellished with the anthemion motif.

2. Ornament on the frieze of early Classical temples, or over pediment acroteria, often of terracotta. Antefixum (not antefixa) was also applied to lions'-heads on the cymatium of temples, but this appears to be an error.

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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "antefix." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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