Pediment

Common card · No. 207186

Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns. In ancient architecture, a wide and low triangular pediment (the side angles 12.5° to 16°) typically formed the top element of the portico of a Greek temple, a style continued in Roman temples. Large pediments were rare on other types of building before Renaissance architecture. For symmetric designs, a pediment forms a center point and is often used to add grandness to entrances. The cornice continues round the top of a pediment, as well as below it; the rising sides are often called the "raking cornice". The tympanum is the triangular area within a pediment, often decorated with a pedimental sculpture, which may be freestanding, or a relief sculpture. The tympanum may hold an inscription or, in modern times, a clock face. The main variant shapes are the "segmental"...

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