bucranium

bucranium
/byooh kray"nee euhm/, n., pl. bucrania /-nee euh/.
(in classical architecture) an ornament, esp. on a frieze, having the form of the skull of an ox.
Also, bucrane /byooh krayn"/.
[1850-55; < LL bucranium < Gk boukráni(on) an ox-head, equiv. to Gk bou- (s. of boûs) ox + kraníon CRANIUM]

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      decorative motif representing an ox killed in religious sacrifice. The motif originated in a ceremony wherein an ox's head was hung from the wooden beams supporting the temple roof; this scene was later represented, in stone, on the frieze, or stone lintels, above the columns in Doric temples.

      The motif has been found on painted pottery in Iraq dating from 5000 BC. It was later imported into Bronze Age Crete as part of the bull and double-ax cult, where the bull's head was decorated with a garland of bay leaves. In Roman examples, the garland of bay leaves was omitted. The motif was also used in Renaissance architecture, for example, at the 17th-century Knole Palace in Kent, England.

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  • Bucranium — is also a spider genus (Thomisidae).Bucranium (plural bucrania) is the Latin word for the skull of an ox. It is also an architectural term used to describe a common form of carved decoration in Classical architecture, used to fill the metopes… …   Wikipedia

  • Bucranium — Bu*cra ni*um, n.; pl. L. {Bucrania}. [L., fr. Gr. ? ox head.] A sculptured ornament, representing an ox skull adorned with wreaths, etc. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bucranium — noun The head of an ox. On the second side of the gem, we see the victim, a running goat, and on the third side the symbol of sacrifice, the bucranium …   Wiktionary

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  • bucranium — bu·cra·ni·um …   English syllables

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  • bugrane — [ bygran ] n. f. • 1545; lat. bucranium → bucrane ♦ Plante épineuse (légumineuses), à fleurs roses ou jaunes, appelée aussi arrête bœuf. ● bugrane nom féminin (bas latin bucranium) Papilionacée épineuse des champs, aux longues et solides racines… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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