Roman Flashcards
Voussoirs
A wedge-shaped block used to construct an arch. The central vousoir
is called a keystone.
Keystone
keystone
The wedge-shaped or topmost
central stone of an arch.
Springer
The lowest voussoir on each side of an arch.
Impost
a projecting block resting on top of a column or embedded in a wall, serving as the base for the springer
Roman inventions
Concrete, arches, domes, aquaducts
Oculus
A circular opening found in the top of a
dome or a round window.
Coffered
A ceiling or suspended grid with
recessed geometric panels developed
in the Italian Renaissance.
The Pantheon
- Dome
- Coffered ceiling
- Slanted floor, water goes to cistern
Insula
Roman apartment building
- up to 16 apartment buildings per block
- retail lowest level
- three to four stories
- quality worsened as they got higher
- top apartments may not have had running water
courtyard
Pompeii
- South of Naples
- Mt. Vesuvius in background
- Summer retreat for wealthy
- In 79 AD, was vibrant town. Volcano erupted and burried town in 25 feet of lava.
Peristyle
2
A columned porch or open colonnade surrounding a court that may have an internal garden.
- Helps bring light into the plan
- Outdoor dining and bedrooms around the peristyle
Vestibulum
3
Covered area directly adjacent to the street, which enters into the main space.
Floor may have mosaics
Fauces
4
The narrow passage from the atrium of a Roman house to
the street.
- lowered ceiling
Atrium
1
In a Roman house, the principal room or courtyard; later it became
the forecourt of a Christian basilica, and today it is an open space in a
building or building complex.
- natural light
- welcoming area
Compluvium
A roof opening in a Roman residence above the
atrium through which rainwater could fall into
the cistern located under the floor, referred to
as the impluvium.
Impluvium
A basin or pool in the ancient Roman
house used to collect water from the roof
by means of the compluvium.
Lararium
A room within a Roman home reserved for worship of household gods.
Ala
6
Small rooms or recesses opening off the atrium in the ancient Roman
house.
Tablinum
8
In an ancient Roman house, a room opposite the entrance, off of the atrium, serving as an office and for storing genealogy and other important records.
Cubiculum
A Roman bedroom or room for sleeping in a Roman house.
Usually divided by curtains - spaces for an attendant, dressing, sleeping
Located around the atrium
Lectus
A Roman bed or reclining sofa designed for
sleeping and dining.
Triclinia
7 for indoor (off atrium), #9 for outdoor
Contains three couches (lectus) in a u-shaped formation for dining
Dado
Chair rail
Frescoes that trick the eye
Trompe l’oeil
Main field
Section of interior wall between dado and the frieze
Tesserae
Small pieces (tesserae) of glass, stone, marble, or tile set in mortar to form a pattern or design (mosaic).
Difference between Greek and Roman furniture
Roman furniture lacks delicate quality and attention to proportions
- As a seat of honor and a symbol of legal authority the stool was used by high magistrates or by the emperor.
- Romans felt the person seated has a higher status than the person standing beside him.
Cove seat like egyptian, but no inlay
Roman stool with double reverse curve
Trestle table
A table supported by two
or more trestles and a long
horizontal stretcher, popular
throughout history, especially in
ancient Rome, the Middle Ages,
the Renaissance, and Colonial
America.
Quadruped
Head and chest of an animal atached to its leg.
Style of table support.
cathedra
The Roman chair similar to the Greek klismos but much heavier in
proportion; also the chair for a bishop from which the term cathedral
is derived.
Throne chair
Lectus
A Roman bed or reclining sofa designed for
sleeping and dining.
Either made of wood or bronze
Lectus
A Roman bed or reclining sofa designed for
sleeping and dining.
Either made of wood or bronze
Fulcra
Often animal heads/busts
Head-rest and foot-rest
