View source for Cornice

{{Short description|Horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture}}
{{Distinguish|Corniche}}
{{About|the architectural feature|the overhanging snow form|Snow cornice}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
[[Image:Corniches.png|thumb|right|Illustrations of cornices in different styles]]
[[File:Illustrations of various examples of ancient Egyptian cornices.jpg|thumb|Illustrations of various examples of ancient Egyptian cornices, all of them having [[cavetto]]s]]

In [[architecture]], a '''cornice ''' (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge"<ref>Compare {{OEtymD |cornice |access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref>) is generally any horizontal decorative [[Moulding (decorative)|moulding]] that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a pedestal, or along the top of an interior wall. A simple cornice may be formed with a crown, as in [[crown moulding]] atop an interior wall or above kitchen cabinets or a bookcase.

A projecting cornice on a building has the function of throwing rainwater free of its walls. In residential building practice, this function is handled by projecting [[gable]] ends, roof [[eaves]], and [[rain gutter|gutters]]. However, house eaves may also be called "cornices" if they are finished with decorative moulding. In this sense, while most cornices are also eaves (overhanging the sides of the building), not all eaves are usually considered cornices. Eaves are primarily functional and not necessarily decorative, while cornices have a decorative aspect.

A building's projecting cornice may appear to be heavy and hence in danger of falling, particularly on commercial buildings, but it often is actually very light and made of pressed metal.

==In classical architecture==
[[File:Nimes maison carrée.jpg|thumb|Cornice of [[Maison Carrée]] ([[Nîmes]], France), a [[Roman temple]] in the [[Corinthian order]], with [[dentil]]s nearest the wall.]]
In [[Ancient Greek architecture]] and its successors using the [[classical order]]s in the tradition of [[classical architecture]], the cornice is the topmost element of the [[entablature]], which consists (from top to bottom) of the cornice, the [[frieze]], and the [[architrave]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leffler |first1=Lue |title=What Is Architrave? |url=https://mdfskirtingworld.co.uk/blog/what-is-architrave/ |website=MDF Skirting World |access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref>

Where a triangular [[pediment]] is above the entablature, the cornice continues all round the triangle, the two sides being "raking cornices".  The vertical space below the cornice is typically decorated by [[dentil]]s (little teeth) or the larger [[modillion]]s.  The [[soffit]], or horizontal space under a projecting cornice, may be elaborately carved with vegetal designs.

==In modern residential architecture==
=== Rake===
A ''rake'' is an architectural term for an eave or cornice that runs along the [[gable]] of the roof of a modern residential structure.  It may also be called a ''sloping cornice'', a ''raking cornice''. The trim and rafters at this edge are called ''rakes'', ''rake board'', ''rake fascia'', ''verge-boards'', ''barge-boards'' or ''verge-'' or ''barge-rafters''.<ref>Christy, Wyvill James (1879). "Bargeboard" in ''A universal dictionary for architects, civil engineers, surveyors, sculptors ...'' London: Griffith and Farren.</ref>  It is a sloped timber on the outside facing edge of a [[roof]] running between the [[Ridge (roof)|ridge]] and the [[eave]].<ref>{{Cite book
|title=Fundamentals of Residential Construction
|last1=Allen
|first1=Edward
|last2=Thallon
|first2=Rob
|year=2011
|page=251
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RY3G6SJ3_1cC&q=rake+&pg=PA251
|isbn=978-0-470-90512-8
}}</ref>  On a typical house, any gable will have two rakes, one on each sloped side.  The rakes are often supported by a series of [[lookout (architecture)|lookouts]] (sometimes also called ''strong arms'') and may be trimmed with a ''[[bargeboard|rake fascia]]'' board (which is not a true [[fascia (architecture)|fascia]]) on the outside facing edge and a ''rake [[soffit]]'' along the bottom.

===Types===
The cornices of a modern residential building will usually be one of three types: a ''box'' cornice, a ''close'' or ''closed'' cornice, or an ''open'' cornice.<ref name=anderson>{{Cite book
|title=Wood-frame house construction
|last=Anderson
|first=Leroy Oscar
|year=2002
|orig-date=1970
|publisher=Books for Business
|place=New York
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZDpdupFBoQC&q=%22cornice+return%22&pg=PA67
|isbn=0-89499-167-1
}}</ref>{{rp|p.63}}

{{anchor|Box cornice}}

====Box cornice====
[[File:Wide box cornice.jpg|thumb|A wide box cornice with lookouts]]
Box cornices enclose the cornice of the building with what is essentially a long, narrow box.  A box cornice may further be divided into either the ''narrow'' box cornice or the ''wide'' box cornice type.  A narrow box cornice is one in which "the projection of the rafter serves as a nailing surface for the soffit board as well as the fascia trim."<ref name=anderson/>{{rp|p.63}}  This is possible if the slope of the roof is fairly steep and the width of the eave relatively narrow.  A wide box cornice, a common practice on houses with gentle roof slopes and wide eaves, requires lookouts to support it and provide a surface to attach the soffits securely.  Box cornices often have ventilation screens laid over openings cut in the soffits to allow air to circulate within the cornice.

====Close cornice====
[[File:Close cornice.jpg|thumb|left|A close cornice]]
A closed or snub cornice is one in which there is no projection of the rafters beyond the walls of the building and, therefore, no soffit or fascia.  This type of cornice is easy to construct but provides little aid in dispersing water away from the building and is sometimes considered to lack aesthetic value.<ref name=anderson/>{{rp|p.65}}

====Open cornice====
[[File:Open cornice.jpg|thumb|An open cornice]]
In an open cornice, the shape of the cornice is similar to that of a wide box cornice, except that both the lookouts and the soffit are absent.  It is a lower-cost treatment that requires fewer materials and may even have no fascia board, but it lacks the finished appearance of a box cornice.

====Cavetto cornice====
{{main|Cavetto}}
[[Ancient Egyptian architecture|Ancient Egyptian]] architectural tradition made special use of large [[cavetto]] mouldings as a cornice, with only a short fillet (plain vertical face) above, and a [[Molding (decorative)#Types|torus]] moulding (convex semi-circle) below.  This cavetto cornice is sometimes also known as an "Egyptian cornice", "hollow and roll" or "gorge cornice". It has been suggested to be a reminiscence in stone architecture of the primitive use of bound bunches of reeds as supports for buildings, the weight of the roof bending their tops out.<ref>Brier, Bob, Hobbs, A. Hoyt, ''Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians'', p. 200, 2008, Greenwood Publishing Group, {{ISBN|0-313-35306-9}}, 9780313353062, [https://books.google.com/books?id=h1LsCh68d7kC&pg=PA200 google books]</ref>

The cavetto cornice, often forming less than a quarter-circle, influenced Egypt's neighbours and as well as appearing in early [[Ancient Greek architecture]], it is seen in Syria and [[ancient Iran]], for example at the [[Tachara]] palace of [[Darius I]] at [[Persepolis]], completed in 486 BC.  Inspired by this precedent, it was then revived by [[Ardashir I]] (r. 224–41 AD), the founder of the [[Sasanian dynasty]].<ref>Dominique Collon, et al. "Iran, ancient, II, 3." Grove Art Online, [[Oxford Art Online]], Oxford University Press, accessed 5 January 2017, [http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T041472 subscription required]</ref>

The cavetto took the place of the cymatium in many [[Etruscan architecture|Etruscan]] temples, often painted with vertical "tongue" patterns, and combined with the distinctive "Etruscan round moulding", often painted with scales.<ref>{{cite book | last = Winter | first = Nancy A. | chapter = Monumentalization of the Etruscan Round Moulding in Sixth Century BCE Central Italy | pages = 61–67 | title = Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture: Ideology and Innovation | editor-first1 = Michael | editor-last1 = Thomas | editor-first2 = Gretchen E. | editor-last2 = Meyers |date=2012 | publisher = University of Texas Press | isbn = 978-0-292-74982-5 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wOezNYCGLc4C&pg=PA61}}</ref> A typical example may be seen at the [[:File:Villa Giulia ricostruzione del tempio etrusco 01.JPG|reconstructed Etruscan temple]] at [[Villa Giulia]].

Additional more obscure varieties of cornice include the ''architrave'' cornice, ''bracketed'' cornice, and ''modillion'' cornice.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Harris | first1 = Cyril M. | author-link1 = Cyril M. Harris | title = American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | date = 2003 | page = 77 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G6bwEDoS6dAC&pg=PA77| access-date = 13 January 2014 | isbn = 978-0-393-73103-3}}</ref>

{{anchor|Cornice return}}

===Cornice return===
{{See also|Eave return}}
[[File:Härnösands rådhus 08.jpg|thumb|A gable roof with two cornice returns on the Härnösands rådhus]]

A ''cornice return'' is an architectural detail that occurs where a roof's horizontal cornice connects to a gable's rake.<ref name=anderson/>{{rp|p.67}}  It is a short horizontal extension of the cornice that occurs on each side of the gable end of the building (see picture of Härnösands rådhus with two of these). The two most common types of cornice return are the ''Greek return'' and the ''soffit return'' (also called a ''boxed'' or ''box'' soffit return).  The former includes a sloped hip shape on the inside of the cornice under the eaves, which is sheathed or shingled like the rest of the roof above it and is considered very attractive; the latter is a simple return without these features.<ref>{{Cite book
|title=Carpentry & Building Construction: A Do-It-Yourself Guide 
|last=Spence
|first=William P.
|editor-last=Neumann
|editor-first=Rodman P.
|date=1999
|page=273
|publisher=Sterling
|location=New York
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KKeipCXitkMC&q=%22open+cornice%22&pg=PA269
|isbn=978-0-8069-9845-9
}}</ref>

==As window treatment==
{{Main|Window cornice}}
The term cornice may also be used to describe a form of hard [[window treatment]] along the top edge of a window.  In this context, a cornice represents a board (usually wood) placed above the window to conceal the mechanism for opening and closing drapes.  If covered in a layer of cloth and given padding, it is sometimes called a soft cornice rather than a hard cornice.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Italianate1.png|Projecting cornice of a painted wooden [[Italianate]] residence
File:Louis Sullivan - cornice detail - Wainwright Building, Seventh + Chestnut Streets, Saint Louis, St. Louis City County, MO.jpg|The [[Wainwright Building]] by [[Louis Sullivan]]
File:Cornice plaster MET 40-170-267.jpg|Cornice with running leaf pattern from [[Nishapur]], 10th century, exhibited in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:DecorazioneASquame.jpg|Roman cornice of ionic order, from Imperial palace on the Palatine hill in Rome (Flavian epoch)
File:Valence-Corniche-Crabes-Coquillages.jpg|[[Art Nouveau]] corniche with crabs, shells and seaweeds, in [[Valence (city)|Valence]] (France)
File:Architecture v11 1905 p229.jpg|Bracketed cornice
File:Jassoy building storefront, Stillwater, Minnesota - DPLA - 903b364123cfa7c5cd7a54b5f8088247 (cropped).jpg|Elaborate cornice on Jassoy Building in Stillwater, Minnesota
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{wikt | cornice}}
* [[Eaves]]
* [[Geison]]

== References ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Columns and entablature]]
[[Category:Architectural elements]]