What Is An Ogee Pattern?

An ogee is a decorative form combining a concave curve and a convex curve into a single S-shaped profile, used both as an architectural moulding (the "ogee moulding" or cyma reversa moulding) and as an arch type (the "ogee arch", a pointed arch with a reversed curve near the apex). The ogee profile is one of the foundational decorative forms of Western architecture, appearing in late Gothic English Decorated style (c.1290–1380), in Venetian Gothic palace fronts (c.1300–1500), in Indo-Saracenic and Mughal Indian architecture, in eighteenth-century Georgian and Federal furniture, and in contemporary printed wallpaper, ceramic, and surface-pattern design.

According to Merriam-Webster's entry on ogee, the two main senses are precise: "a molding with an S-shaped profile" and "a pointed arch having on each side a reversed curve near the apex". The two senses are different applications of the same underlying S-curve geometry: as a moulding profile (the S-curve runs along a decorative band) or as an arch shape (the S-curve outlines the springing of an arch).

The basics

• Form: a single S-shaped profile combining a concave and a convex curve
• Two main applications: ogee moulding (decorative band along a cornice or panel edge) and ogee arch (pointed arch with reversed-curve apex)
• Synonyms and related terms: cyma reversa (Greek/Latin name for the same moulding), ogive (in some usages, especially French and mathematical contexts)
• Origin: late Gothic English (Decorated style, c.1290–1380), with parallel developments in Venetian Gothic and Islamic architecture
• Modern uses: cabinetry (the "ogee foot" of furniture), architectural moulding (window sills, picture-frame edges), printed wallpaper and surface-pattern design (the ogee shape as a tessellating pattern element)

The cyma: classical predecessor of the ogee

The ogee profile is a direct descendant of the classical Greek and Roman cyma moulding. Merriam-Webster's entry on cyma defines the parent form: "a projecting molding whose profile is an S-shaped curve". The Greeks distinguished two cyma variants: cyma recta (concave-above, convex-below S-curve, the classical "ogee" used on the cornice of a Doric or Ionic order) and cyma reversa (convex-above, concave-below S-curve, used on architrave mouldings and cornice fillets). The English-language "ogee" most strictly refers to cyma reversa, but the term is used loosely for both cyma variants in modern moulding terminology.

The Greek cyma moulding survived into Roman Imperial architecture, then into Byzantine and early Italian Romanesque ecclesiastical building, and from there into Italian Renaissance revival of classical mouldings. From the fifteenth century onward the ogee/cyma S-curve was a standard part of the European architectural vocabulary, although in the High Renaissance it was largely subordinated to the more rigid classical moulding profiles based on Vitruvian rules.

The ogee arch and late Gothic architecture

The ogee arch (the pointed arch with reversed-curve apex) is a specifically late-medieval architectural form. It appears in English Decorated-style church window tracery from about 1290 onward, and in Venetian Gothic palace front arcades from about 1340 onward. The ogee arch's complex S-curve silhouette gave late-Gothic buildings their characteristic flowing, exotic, Eastern-influenced appearance, distinct from the simpler pointed arches of the earlier Lancet and Geometric styles.

Merriam-Webster's entry on ogive records the closely related architectural term: "a diagonal arch or rib across a Gothic vault", plus the secondary sense "a pointed arch". The English words "ogee" and "ogive" are etymologically related (both from medieval French ogive), and in some usages the two terms are nearly synonymous; in modern strict architectural terminology, "ogive" is more often used for the diagonal vault rib (a Gothic structural element) and "ogee" for the S-curve moulding profile or arch shape.

Venetian Gothic and the ogee window

The Venetian Gothic ogee window is the most-recognisable single application of the ogee arch in European architecture. From about 1340 (the construction of the Doge's Palace) through 1500 (the late-Gothic palazzi along the Grand Canal), Venetian palace fronts featured row after row of ogee windows: pointed arches with the reversed curve at the apex, often filled with traceried quatrefoils, and assembled into long arcaded loggias along the canal-front piano nobile. The Doge's Palace, Ca' d'Oro (c.1430), Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Bembo, and dozens of other Venetian palaces preserve this ogee-window architectural vocabulary as one of the unique visual signatures of the Venetian Gothic.

The Venetian ogee derives both from the local Byzantine architectural tradition (which contributed the curve-and-pointed-apex silhouette) and from Islamic architectural influence transmitted through Venetian Mediterranean trade networks (Venice's commercial empire reached as far as the Levant, Egypt, and the Black Sea, and Islamic architectural motifs entered Venetian decoration through fourteenth-century trade and travel).

The ogee in Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architecture

The ogee arch appears in Islamic architecture from at least the tenth century, and is one of the major arch types of the broad Islamic architectural tradition (alongside the round arch, the pointed arch, and the horseshoe arch). Ogee arches appear in the Alhambra (Granada), the Friday Mosque at Isfahan, the Sultan Hasan Mosque in Cairo, and many regional Islamic monuments. From there the ogee passed into Mughal Indian architecture (the Taj Mahal's interior arcades use ogee profiles) and into the late-nineteenth-century British "Indo-Saracenic" architectural revival, which combined Islamic and Indo-Mughal arch forms with Western structural and decorative principles.

The ogee in furniture, cabinetry, and surface design

Beyond architecture, the ogee profile is foundational to European cabinetmaking and furniture design. The "ogee foot" (a curving S-profile bracket foot) appears on chests of drawers, sideboards, and case furniture from the late seventeenth century onward; the ogee-edge moulding is the standard finish for Georgian and Federal-period furniture, picture frames, and architectural panelling. Modern kitchen cabinetry frequently includes ogee-profile counter edges and door panels, and the ogee remains one of the most-recognised decorative profiles in contemporary woodworking and joinery.

As a surface pattern, the ogee shape (the bulb-and-pointed-tip silhouette of the architectural arch, repeated as a tile or wallpaper unit) appears in printed wallpaper, fabric, and ceramic glazing. The ogee-tile pattern is one of the most-distributed decorative-pattern repeats in contemporary interior design, often produced in jewel-tone or neutral colour palettes for hallways, bathrooms, and accent walls.

For wallpaper across ogee, Gothic-revival, and architectural-pattern traditions, browse the full archive at William Morris Wallpaper.

FAQ

What is an ogee pattern?

A pattern based on the S-shaped curve known as the ogee, applied either as an architectural moulding profile (the "ogee moulding" along a cornice or edge) or as an arch shape (the "ogee arch", a pointed arch with reversed-curve apex). As a surface pattern, the ogee shape is one of the foundational decorative-pattern repeats, used in printed wallpaper, fabric, ceramic glazing, and tile design.

Where does the word "ogee" come from?

From Middle English and Middle French ogive, meaning a pointed arch or arched diagonal vault rib. The English-language "ogee" diverged from "ogive" in the seventeenth century to refer specifically to the S-curve moulding profile, while "ogive" remained in use for the diagonal vault rib. Both terms ultimately derive from medieval Latin architectural vocabulary, and both refer to forms central to late-Gothic architectural construction.

What's the difference between an ogee and a cyma?

"Cyma" is the older Greek/Latin name for the same S-curve moulding form ("kyma" = wave); "ogee" is the English-language name from medieval French. The terms are largely interchangeable in modern usage, with "cyma" preferred in classical-architecture contexts and "ogee" preferred in late-medieval, Gothic-revival, and modern decorative contexts. Strict classical terminology distinguishes cyma recta (convex-below S-curve) from cyma reversa (concave-below S-curve), and "ogee" most strictly refers to cyma reversa.

Where can you see ogee arches today?

Most famously on Venetian palace fronts (the Doge's Palace, Ca' d'Oro, Palazzo Ducale, and dozens of other late-medieval Venetian buildings, c.1340–1500), in late-Gothic English Decorated-style church windows (c.1290–1380), in Mughal Indian architecture (the Taj Mahal's interior arcades), in the Alhambra of Granada and many other major Islamic monuments, and in nineteenth-century British "Indo-Saracenic" colonial architecture across India and Southeast Asia.