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finial
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bronze finial Figure 153: Cast bronze finial from Luristan, 9th-8th century BC. In the Denver Art Museum, Colorado, Height 16 cm. kneeling youth from Samos copper finial elevation of a North Indian temple with the latina type of superstructure
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Hagia Sophia. Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople. Church of the Holy Wisdom. Church of the Divine Wisdom. Mosque.
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finial, in architecture, the decorative upper termination of a pinnacle, gable end, buttress, canopy, or spire. In the Romanesque and Gothic styles, it usually consists of a vertical, pointed central element surrounded by four outcurving leaves or scrolls. When the form it decorates has crockets (small, independent, sharply projecting ornaments, usually occurring in rows), the finial may be formed of four or more crockets surrounding the central upright. Finials in the form of candelabrum shafts occur frequently in early Renaissance work. The term now applies loosely to any small pinnacle, knob, or other decorative feature terminating a vertical motif. See also crocket.