Broken pediment

Broken pediment

Architecture

A pediment open or broken at the apex, base or both, and the gap often filled with an urn, cartouche, or other ornament

Found in classical Greek and Roman architecture and derivatives, including Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Neoclassical, Italianate, Italian Renaissance Revival, Beaux Arts Classical styles

On windows, broken pediments are found in Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Neoclassical, Queen Anne styles

See also: Triangular pediment ..... Round/Segmental pediment

The pediment was the crowning feature of the Greek temple front.

The Romans adapted the pediment as a purely decorative form to finish doors, windows, and especially niches. Their pediments frequently appeared in a series consisting of alternating triangular and segmentally curved shapes, a motif revived by High Renaissance Italian designers.

Following a late Roman precedent, in which the line of the raking cornice is broken before it reaches the apex, the designers of the Baroque period developed many varieties of fantastic broken, scrolled, and reverse-curved pediments.

- Encyclopaedia Britannica (online October 2020)

Furniture

Used in furniture

"Swan's neck" is referred to as bonnet top

Examples from Buffalo:

Illustration above: Round/segmented pediment broken at the apex - 245 North Street (YWCA)
Round/segmented pediment broken at the apex
Triangular pediment broken at the base
Triangular pediment broken at both the apex and base
- 470 Linwood Avenue
Swan's neck pediment
- Rand House
- Genesee Building/Hyatt Regency Hotel

Other examples:

Triangular pediment broken at the apex - Drayton Hall, Charleston, S.C.
Furniture: Broken apex, cabinet - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Furniture: Bonnet top, Chippendale style bookcase - Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Furniture: Colonial Revival (Federal) bookcase - Old Editions Book Shop and Café