Egg-and-dart

Egg-and-dart molding at the top of an Ionic capital at the Jefferson Memorial.

Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg and anchor, or egg and star, are terms that refer to 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 (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's found in ancient Greek architecture (e.g., the Erechtheion at the Acropolis of Athens), 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.). The moulding design element continues in use in neoclassical architecture.

Gallery

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  The ornament is used to decorate building exteriors and for interior stuccos
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  The egg-and-dart moulding on a building cornice
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  Archaeological site in Ostia Antica
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  Architectural fragment with egg-and-dart moulding in Antalya (Turkey)
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  The moulding in Hôtel d'Alluye at Blois (Loir-et-Cher, France)
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  Egg-and-dart motifs (on right) from Meyer's Ornament

Further reading

• Lewis, Philippa; G. Darley (1986). Dictionary of Ornament. New York: Pantheon. p. 116. ISBN 0-394-50931-5.

External links

• Media related to Egg and dart at Wikimedia Commons