Anentablature (/ɛnˈtæblətʃər/; nativization ofItalianintavolatura, fromin "in" andtavola "table")[1] is thesuperstructure ofmoldings and bands which lies horizontally abovecolumns, resting on theircapitals. Entablatures are major elements ofclassical architecture, and are commonly divided into thearchitrave (the supporting member immediately above; equivalent to the lintel inpost and lintel construction), thefrieze (an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented), and thecornice (the projecting member below thepediment).[1] TheGreek andRoman temples are believed to be based on wooden structures, the design transition from wooden to stone structures being calledpetrification.
The structure of an entablature varies with theorders of architecture. In each order, the proportions of the subdivisions (architrave, frieze, cornice) are defined by the proportions of the column. In Roman andRenaissance interpretations, it is usually approximately a quarter of the height of the column. Variants of entablature that do not fit these models are usually derived from them.
In the pure classicalDoric order entablature is simple. The architrave, the lowest band, is split, from bottom to top, into theguttae, theregulae, and thetaenia.
The frieze is dominated by thetriglyphs, vertically channelled tablets, separated bymetopes, which may or may not be decorated. The triglyphs sit on top of the taenia, a flat, thin, horizontal protrusion, and are finished at the bottom by decoration (often ornate) of 'drops' called guttae, which belong to the top of the architrave. The top of the triglyphs meet the protrusion of the cornice from the entablature. The underside of this protrusion is decorated withmutules, tablets that are typically finished with guttae.
The cornice is split into thesoffit, the corona, and thecymatium. The soffit is simply the exposed underside. The corona and the cymatium are the principal parts of the cornice.
TheIonic order of entablature adds thefascia in the architrave, which are flat horizontal protrusions, and thedentils under the cornice, which are tooth-like rectangular block moldings.
TheCorinthian order adds a far more ornate cornice, divided, from bottom to top, into thecyma reversa, the dentils, theovolo, themodillions, the fascia, and thecyma recta. The modillions are ornate brackets, similar in use to dentils, but often in the shape ofacanthus leaves.
The frieze is sometimes omitted—for example, on the portico of the caryatides of theErechtheum—and probably did not exist as a structure in thetemple of Diana at Ephesus. Neither is it found in the Lycian tombs, which are reproductions in the rock of timber structures based on early Ionian work.[1] The entablature is essentially an evolution of the primitivelintel, which spans two posts, supporting the ends of the roof rafters.
The entablature together with the system of classical columns occurs rarely outside classical architecture. It is often used to complete the upper portion of a wall where columns are not present, and in the case ofpilasters (flattened columns or projecting from a wall) or detached orengaged columns it is sometimes profiled around them.[2] The use of the entablature, irrespective of columns, appeared after the Renaissance.
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