Design and Tradition / A short account of the principles and historic development of architecture and the applied arts

by Amor Fenn

The Cavetto

The Cavetto is the culminating moulding of the Italian Doric cornice, and is a concave curve, which may be the result of a quarter circle.

The Cavetto profile is used in other positions, which would appear to challenge the previous statement, but reflection will confirm the contention.

For instance, the vertical face of the Frieze in some instances terminates with a cavetto curve which, though surmounted by the cornice, is yet at the top of the frieze. The upper extremity of the column shaft is similarly treated, and, it may be urged, so is the lower, but this, though an exception to the rule, is at least an æsthetic necessity.

The projection of the Cavetto is equal to the height of the curve, and the crowning Fillet may be from one-third to one-fourth the total height, preferably the latter.