The Textbook of Architecture

Glossary · C

Cavetto cornice

Also called gorge, Egyptian gorge, cavetto, gorge cornice

The crowning moulding of Egyptian walls: a deep concave quarter-round (the gorge) that flares outward under a flat top band, set above a torus roll. It is thought to recall the tops of reed or palm-rib walls bent outward by their own weight.

See also: Torus moulding

Where it appears in the book

In the chapters The Ancient World.

A feature of Achaemenid Persian architecture.

Nearby in the glossary

Catena d’acqua · Catenary · Cavea · Cavetto · Cejiao · Cella · Centring · Chadar