Frieze

Lore & Background

In classical architecture, the frieze serves as the wide central part of an entablature, positioned above the architrave and below the cornice. It may be left plain in the Ionic or Corinthian orders, or adorned with bas-reliefs, and paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even on astylar walls without columns or pilasters, the frieze remains present, capped by the cornice moldings. The Parthenon Frieze is noted as the most famous and perhaps the most elaborate example, and friezes appear on many Greek and Roman buildings.

Reader's Guide

The frieze is a fundamental element of classical architecture, serving both structural and decorative roles. Its presence on iconic structures like the Parthenon and the Tower of the Winds demonstrates its enduring significance in ancient design. Beyond exteriors, the frieze extends to interior architecture, where it occupies the wall space above picture rails and under crown moldings, often featuring painted, sculpted, or calligraphic decoration in a sequence of discrete panels. The concept has also been generalized in the mathematical construction of frieze patterns. Variations such as the pulvinated frieze, convex in section, were typical of 17th-century Northern Mannerism, especially in subsidiary friezes and interior architecture and furniture. The term is sometimes used more loosely for any continuous horizontal strip of decoration on a wall, containing figurative or ornamental motifs.

Did You Know?

• Paterae are usually used to decorate friezes.
• The octagonal Tower of the Winds in the Roman agora at Athens bears relief sculptures of the eight winds on its frieze.
• A pulvinated frieze is convex in section and was typical of 17th-century Northern Mannerism.
• The concept of a frieze has been generalized in the mathematical construction of frieze patterns.