egg and dart

noun

, Architecture.

a design for enriching an ovolo or echinus, consisting of a closely set, alternating series of oval and pointed forms.

egg and dart

1. an ornamental moulding in which a half egg shape alternates with a dart, tongue, or anchor shape
2. ( as modifier )
  egg-and-dart moulding

First recorded in 1870–75

It is especially frequently found carved with the egg-and-dart ornament.

Many ornamental motives, like the zigzag and the egg-and-dart, for example, had originally a symbolic value.

The neckings are worked with the capitals, and enriched by 'egg-and-dart' pointing upwards.

It is quite possible that the egg-and-dart pattern may have had a multiple origin.

Egg-and-Dart: An ornament consisting of an alternation of flattened balls or bosses with sharp pointed members like arrow heads.

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