In architecture, a tympanum (plural, tympana) is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance bounded by a lintel and arch.[1] It often contains sculptures or other ornaments.[2] Most architectural styles include this element.[3] The tympanum was invented in ancient Egypt in the first half of the 3rd century BC, and later appears in Greek, Christian and Islamic architecture.[4] In Greek and Christian architecture, tympanums usually contained religious scenes.[5]
Bands of molding surrounding the tympanum are referred to as the archivolt.[6]
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Gallery
 Archivolts surrounding the tympanum in Strasbourg Cathedral |
 The three tympana on the main facade of Notre-Dame de Paris |
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 Religious scene in a tympanum, Saint Joseph church, Clermont-Ferrand, France |
 Scenes of the lives of Saint Peter and Mary, Saint Peter church, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
 High-relief bronze tympanum of Writing, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, DC |
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See also
Notes
- ^ "Glossary - Tympanum". Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ^ "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - tympanum". University of Pittsburgh. http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/tympanum.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ "Illustrated Architecture Dictionary - Tympanum". freenet.buffalo.edu. http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/DCTNRY/t/tym.html. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ Donald Routledge Hill (1996), "Engineering", in Roshdi Rashed, Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, p. 751-795 [769].
- ^ "Tympanum". www.OntarioArchitecture.com. http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/tympanum.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - archivolt". University of Pittsburgh. http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/archivolt.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: tympanums |
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Tympanum. |
- Sculpted tympanums Chartres Cathedral, West Front, Central Portal
- Tympanum of the last Judgment - western portal of the abbey-church of Saint Foy
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