Ogee#Moulding

{{Short description|S-curved form used in woodworking, moulding, textile weaving, and architecture}}

{{More citations needed|date=June 2021}}File:Cyma recta et reversa.pngs of two types of decorative moldings used in buildingAs described in {{cite book | author = Lewis, Philippa & Darley, Gillian | date = 1986 | title = Dictionary of Ornament | location = New York | publisher = Pantheon Books | isbn = 0-394-50931-5 | url-access = registration | pages = [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoforna00phil/page/218 218], 222, 73, 97, and 116 | url = https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoforna00phil | access-date = January 9, 2020 | quote = ogee. Combination of a concave and convex line, two recurve shapes, producing a serpentine shape, either as a moulding (an S form in cross section) or as an elaborated pointed arch. It is particularly characteristic of the Venetian Gothic Revival, Gothick and Gothic Revival styles, although ogee forms appeared in textiles from the 12th century. In the 18th century the word was sometimes written as o-g. A nodding ogee is an arch in which the head projects. See also syma recta/reversa; keel moulding. [p. 218] / ovolo. Convex moulding (usually a quarter of a circle in section)... [p. 222] / cavetto moulding or hollow chamfering (Latin, cavare, to hollow). One of the principal forms of moulding, a concave version of the ovolo moulding, usually a quarter of a circle in section. [p. 73] / cyma recta (Latin, cyma, wave). Important compound moulding, combining the ovolo and cavetto with the convex moulding below. In section the moulding is a double curve, concave above, convex below. Also known as ogee moulding. cyma reversa... [presenting concave below, convex above, p. 97]}}The ogees are the nonlinear parts of the profile, only; the shaded area represents the side of the molding facing the wall of the building's room that is being decorated.]]

An ogee ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|dʒ|iː}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|oʊ|dʒ|iː}}) is an object, element, or curve—often seen in architecture and building trades—that has a serpentine- or extended S-shape (sigmoid).{{rp|218}} Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircular curves or arcs that, as a result of a point of inflection from concave to convex or vice versa,{{rp|218}} have ends of the overall curve that point in opposite directions (and have tangents that are approximately parallel).

File:Ogee-shaped arch.svg.{{rp|218}} The midpoint of the two blocks on each side that compose the ogee, the point at which the overall curve changes direction, is the inflection point referred to in the lead.]]

First seen in textiles in the 12th century, the use of ogee elements—in particular, in the design of arches—has been said to characterise various Gothic and Gothic Revival architectural styles.{{rp|218}} The shape has many such uses in architecture from those periods to the present day, including in the ogee arch in these architectural styles,{{rp|218}} where two ogees oriented as mirror images compose the sides of the arch,{{cite book | last1=Davies | first1=Nikolas | last2=Jokiniemi | first2=Erkki | title=Architect's Illustrated Pocket Dictionary | year=2011 | publisher=Architectural Press | location=Oxford, England | isbn=9780080965376 | page=318}} and in decorative molding designs, where single ogees are common profiles (see opening image). The term is also used in marine construction, particularly in shipbuilding, where ogee curves are used in hull design to improve hydrodynamics.{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=David W.|title=The Speed and Power of Ships: A Study of the Steady Flow Around a Ship's Hull|publisher=Institute of Naval Architects|year=1910|page=145}}

The word was sometimes abbreviated as o-g as early as the 18th century,{{rp|218}} and in millwork trades associated with building construction, ogee is still sometimes written similarly (e.g., as O.G.).{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Use in architecture

=Ogee arch=

File:A 14th century lady - geograph.org.uk - 1341596.jpg, in the United Kingdom.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Lloyd |first2=David |series=The Buildings of England |title=Hampshire and the Isle of Wight |year=1967 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth |page = 505}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3954504|title = Geograph:: Effigy in the Recess © Bill Nicholls cc-by-sa/2.0}}]] In architecture, the principal use of the term is to describe an arch composed of two ogees, mirrored left-to-right and meeting at an apex. First seen in textiles in the 1100s AD, the use of ogee elements, and in particular in the design of arches, has been said to characterise Venetian Gothic and Gothic Revival architectural styles.{{rp|218}} Ogee arches were also a feature of English Gothic architecture in the later thirteenth century.Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) A World History of Art. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, p. 391. {{isbn|9781856695848}}

=Moulding=

A building's surface detailing, inside and outside, often includes decorative moulding, and these often contain ogee-shaped profiles—consisting (from low to high) of a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, with vertical ends; if the lower curve is convex and higher one concave, this is known as a Roman ogee, although frequently the terms are used interchangeably and for a variety of other shapes. Alternative names for such a Roman ogee moulding include cyma reversa and talon.{{cite book|last=Parker|first=John Henry|author-link=John Henry Parker (writer)|title=A glossary of terms used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Architecture|volume=1|year=1850|publisher=David Bogue|location=London|page=159|oclc=719426|quote=Cyma recta…which is hollow in the upper part, and round in the lower; and Cyma reversa, (Talon…) which is hollow in the lower part and round in the upper.}}

File:Kilfane Church, 13th Century Door Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.jpg, Ireland (13th century)]]

The ogee curve is an analogue of a "cyma curve", the difference being that a cyma, or "cyma recta", has horizontal rather than vertical ends. The cyma reversa form occurs in antiquity. For example, in ancient Persia, the Tomb of Cyrus featured the cyma reversa.Hogan, C. Michael (2008) [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18264 Tomb of Cyrus], The Megalithic Portal, ed. A.{{Page needed|date=December 2009}} The cyma reversa is also evident in ancient Greek architecture, and takes its name from the cymatium.Dinsmoor, William Bell & Anderson, William James (1973) The Architecture of Ancient Greece: An Account of its Historic Development, Unknown location:Biblo & Tannen. {{isbn|0-8196-0283-3}}.{{Page needed|date=December 2009}}{{Page needed|date=December 2009}} The ogee and Roman ogee profiles are used in decorative moulding, often framed between mouldings with a square section.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} As such, it is part of the standard classical decorative vocabulary, adopted from architrave and cornice mouldings of the Ionic order and Corinthian order.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Ogees are also often used in building interiors, in trim carpentry, for capping a baseboard or plinth elements, as a crown moulding trim piece where a wall meets a ceiling, and in similar fashion, at the tops of pieces of case furniture.{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Charles H.|title=English Period Furniture: An Historical Survey|publisher=Batsford|year=1959|page=129}}

Other uses

File:Eli Terry Ogee clock.jpg

Ogee is also a mathematical term, meaning an inflection point.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-02 |title=Ogee Curves – InkTrap |url=https://typedesign.fba.up.pt/ogee-curves/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |language=en-US}} The term also gets used in steam locomotive design, referring to a specific shape of saddle tank on small shunting locomotives, such as the GER Class 209. In fluid mechanics, the term is used to refer to aerodynamic profiles that bear such shapes, e.g., as in the ogee profile of the Concorde supersonic aircraft.{{Cite web |title=Concorde wing |url=https://www.heritageconcorde.com/the-wing |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=heritage-concorde |language=en}} As well, ogee curves are used to minimize water pressure on the downstream face of a dam spillway.{{Cite web |last=Ago |first=Shivohum2015in #water • 7 Years |date=2017-08-11 |title=Ogee Spillway |url=https://steemit.com/water/@shivohum2015/ogee-spillway |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Steemit |language=en}}

In aesthetic facial surgery, the term is used to describe the malar or cheekbone prominence transitioning into the mid-cheek hollow.{{cite journal|last1=Lemmon|first1=Mark|title=The Ogee Curve in Facial Rejuvenation: A New Perspective|journal=Aesthetic Surgery Journal|date=2009|volume=29|issue=2|pages=123–130}} The aim of a mid-face rejuvenation is to restore the ogee curve and enhance the cheekbones, common parts of routine facelift surgery.{{cite book|last=Rohrich|first=Rod J.|title=Facial Topography: Clinical Anatomy of the Face|publisher=Thieme|year=2020|page=57}}

=Manufactured objects with the ogee description=

Ogee is the name given to bubble-shaped chambers of pot stills that connects the swan neck to the still pot, in distillation apparatus, that allow distillate to expand, condense, and fall back into the still pot.{{cite book |doi=10.1201/9781315155050-2 |chapter=Distillation Processes and Distillates |title=Post-Fermentation and -Distillation Technology |year=2017 |last1=Vriesekoop |first1=Frank |last2=Ostrowski |first2=Dawid |pages=41–80 |isbn=978-1-315-15505-0 }}

"Ogee washers" are heavy washers used in fasteners that have a large load-bearing surface; they are used in marine timber construction to prevent bolt heads or nuts from sinking into the face of timbers.{{cite web|url=https://www.mcmaster.com/products/ogee-washers/|title=Ogee Washers – McMaster-Carr|publisher=McMaster-Carr|access-date=March 7, 2025}} The term ogee is used to describe the ogee shape giving rise to radial symmetry around the centre of the washer.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} Due to the size and shape of such washers, they are generally manufactured as a cast iron product (in accordance with ASTM A47 or A48).{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

"Ogee clocks" were a common type of weight-driven 19th-century pendulum clock presented in a simplified Gothic style, with the original design attributed to Chauncey Jerome.{{Cite book |title=New Haven Clocks & Watches |last=Ly |first=Tran Duy |date=1997 |publisher=Arlington Press |isbn=978-0-930163-75-4 }}{{pn|date=March 2023}} Ogee clocks were typically made in the United States, as mantelpieces or to mount to a wall bracket,{{Cite web |title=Ogee clock {{!}} Antique, Pendulum, Movement {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/ogee-clock |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} and are one of the most commonly encountered varieties of American antique clocks.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The overall design was rectangular, with framing by moulding with an ogee-profile surrounding a central glass door with a painted scene below the clock face, a door that protected the clock face and pendulum.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} Weights supported by pulleys fell inside the ogee moulding and so were hidden from view.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Ogee Skirting Boards and Architraves

In contemporary interior design, the ogee profile has been adapted for use in architectural finishing elements such as skirting boards and architraves. These products are typically manufactured from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and are designed to replicate the traditional double-curved (ogee) moulding profile in a modern, cost-effective form. The ogee skirting board provides a graceful transition between the floor and wall while also concealing minor surface imperfections, whereas ogee architraves are used to frame doorways and windows, lending a subtle classical detail to interior spaces.

For example, the "Ogee 1 MDF Skirting Board" available from MDF Skirting World exemplifies how the ogee profile is applied in contemporary building finishes. This product features a refined double-curved design that echoes traditional moulding aesthetics while meeting modern installation and durability standards. Variations in the profile—such as differences in depth, width, and curvature—allow designers to select products that suit a range of interior styles, from classical to modern minimalist.

{{cite web|url=https://mdfskirtingworld.co.uk/ogee-1-mdf-skirting-board/|title=Ogee 1 MDF Skirting Board|publisher=MDF Skirting World|access-date=2025-03-07}}