Ball flower

Ball-flower ornamentation at Gloucester Cathedral
Ball-flowers at the top of a capital
in St Mary's Church, Bloxham, in Oxfordshire

The ball-flower (also written ballflower) is an architectural ornament in the form of a ball inserted in the cup of a flower. It came into use in the latter part of the 13th century in England and became one of the chief ornaments of the 14th century,[1] in the period known as Decorated Gothic.[2]

Ball-flowers were generally placed in rows at equal distances in the hollow of a moulding, frequently by the sides of mullions.[1] Examples are found in many churches of the period including Gloucester Cathedral; St Mary's Church, Bloxham; St. Michael's Church, Swaton (c. 1300);[3] and Tewkesbury Abbey (c. 1330).[4] The presence of ball-flowers on the west part of Salisbury Cathedral has helped date this facade to the 14th century.[5]

  1. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ball-flower". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 270.
  2. ^ Gibbs, W. J. R. (1931). English History Notes from the Earliest Times to the League of Nations. Cambridge University Press. p. 55.
  3. ^ Gardner 1922, p. 216
  4. ^ Gardner 1922, p. 177
  5. ^ Gleeson White (898). Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Salisbury (2nd ed.) – via Project Gutenberg.