Illustrated Architecture Dictionary ............... Illustrated FURNITURE Glossary
Cinquefoil
SINGK foil, SANGK foil
ArchitectureA five-lobed circle or arch formed by cusping
In French, "foil" means "leaf." The number of foils involved is indicated by a prefix, e.g. trefoil, quatrefoil, sexfoil, multifoil
Used in windows and arches
Found in Gothic Revival, Tudor Revival styles
Furniture
Botany
Cinquefoil plant (Potentilla)
The cinquefoil bears bright yellow colored flowers from May to August in the fall.
Heraldry
"In heraldry, the cinquefoil emblem or "potentilla" signified strength, power, honor and loyalty. Depiction of the five-petaled flower appears as early as 1033, in the architecture of the church built in the village of Reulle-Vergy (Burgundy, France)... The cinquefoil emblem was used generously in the architecture of numerous churches built in Normandy and Brittany, through the 15th century." Wikipedia:Potentilla
Examples from Buffalo:Other examples:
- Illustration above: Spencer Kellogg Jr. House
- Annunciation RC Church
- Miller House
- Clement House/Red Cross
- Unitarian Universalist Church
- Buffalo Seminary Tracery
- Furniture: Choir seats - St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
- Furniture: Chancel chair - Episcopal Church of the Ascension
