Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star,[1] is an
ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex
ovolo profile of
moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typically an
egg-shaped object alternating with a V-shaped element[1] (e.g., an
arrow,
anchor, or
dart). The device is carved or otherwise fashioned into ovolos composed of wood, stone, plaster, or other materials.
Egg-and-dart enrichment of the
ovolo molding of the
Ionic capital was used by
ancient Greek builders, so it is found in
ancient Greek architecture (e.g., the
Erechtheion at the
Acropolis of Athens),[2] was used later by the Romans and continues to adorn capitals of modern buildings built in Classical styles (e.g., the Ionic capitals of the
Jefferson Memorial in
Washington, D.C., or the ones of the
Romanian Athenaeum from
Bucharest). Its ovoid shape (the egg) and serrated leaf (the dart) are believed to represent the
opium poppy and its leaves. [citation needed] The moulding design element continues in use in
neoclassical architecture.[3][4] As a mass-produced architectural motif at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, it can, when seen alongside
dentils (tooth-like blocks of wood in rows), be used to date a building to the
Edwardian period, which began with the death of
Queen Victoria in 1901.
Gallery
PolychromeAncient Greek egg-and-dart on the last molding on the top of the pediment from the
Propylaia, Athens, unknown architect, 437-432 BC
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on the
Erechtheion, Athens, Greece, unknown architect or sculptor, 421-405 BC[5]
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on an
Ionic capital of the Erechtheion
Roman egg-and-dart on an Ionic capital from the
Temple of Portunus, Rome, unknown architect or sculptor, early 4th century BC
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on the
abacus and with
palmettes on them between the
volutes of an Ionic column from the Temple of Artemis in
Sardis,
Turkey,
c.300 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical egg-art-dart on the cornice of Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta no. 59, Bucharest, unknown architect,
c.1900
Art Nouveau egg-and-dart on the Grave of the George Assan and Petre Petrini Family in the
Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor,
c.1900
Art Deco egg-and-dart on a door inside
Strada Paris no. 4, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor,
c.1930
^Shoe, Lucy T. (1936) Profiles of Greek Mouldings,[full citation needed] and Shoe, Lucy T. (1950) "Greek Mouldings of Kos and Rhodes", Hesperia19 (4, October-December): 338-369.
Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star,[1] is an
ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex
ovolo profile of
moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typically an
egg-shaped object alternating with a V-shaped element[1] (e.g., an
arrow,
anchor, or
dart). The device is carved or otherwise fashioned into ovolos composed of wood, stone, plaster, or other materials.
Egg-and-dart enrichment of the
ovolo molding of the
Ionic capital was used by
ancient Greek builders, so it is found in
ancient Greek architecture (e.g., the
Erechtheion at the
Acropolis of Athens),[2] was used later by the Romans and continues to adorn capitals of modern buildings built in Classical styles (e.g., the Ionic capitals of the
Jefferson Memorial in
Washington, D.C., or the ones of the
Romanian Athenaeum from
Bucharest). Its ovoid shape (the egg) and serrated leaf (the dart) are believed to represent the
opium poppy and its leaves. [citation needed] The moulding design element continues in use in
neoclassical architecture.[3][4] As a mass-produced architectural motif at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, it can, when seen alongside
dentils (tooth-like blocks of wood in rows), be used to date a building to the
Edwardian period, which began with the death of
Queen Victoria in 1901.
Gallery
PolychromeAncient Greek egg-and-dart on the last molding on the top of the pediment from the
Propylaia, Athens, unknown architect, 437-432 BC
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on the
Erechtheion, Athens, Greece, unknown architect or sculptor, 421-405 BC[5]
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on an
Ionic capital of the Erechtheion
Roman egg-and-dart on an Ionic capital from the
Temple of Portunus, Rome, unknown architect or sculptor, early 4th century BC
Ancient Greek egg-and-dart on the
abacus and with
palmettes on them between the
volutes of an Ionic column from the Temple of Artemis in
Sardis,
Turkey,
c.300 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical egg-art-dart on the cornice of Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta no. 59, Bucharest, unknown architect,
c.1900
Art Nouveau egg-and-dart on the Grave of the George Assan and Petre Petrini Family in the
Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor,
c.1900
Art Deco egg-and-dart on a door inside
Strada Paris no. 4, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor,
c.1930
^Shoe, Lucy T. (1936) Profiles of Greek Mouldings,[full citation needed] and Shoe, Lucy T. (1950) "Greek Mouldings of Kos and Rhodes", Hesperia19 (4, October-December): 338-369.