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113 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abacus
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The uppermost portion of the capital of a column.
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abbess
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the chief nun who presides over an abbey
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abbey
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a monastic community under the rule of an abbot or abbess
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abbot
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the chief monk who presides over an abbey
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abrasion
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the rubbing or grinding of stone or another material to produce a smooth finish.
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acropolis
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greek, "high city", usually the site of the city's most important temple(s)
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additive light
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the sum of all the wavelengths composing the visible spectrum.
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additive sculpture
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a kind of sculpture technique in which materials are built up or added to create form
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agora
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an open square or space used for public meetings or business in ancient greek cities
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aisle
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the portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers
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altarpiece
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a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar
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alternate-support system
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in church architecture the use of alternating wall supports in the nave, usually piers and columns or compound piers of alternating form
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amazonomachy
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in greek mythology, the legendary battle between the greeks and amazon
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ambo
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a church pulpit for biblical readings
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ambulatory
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a covered walkway, outdoors or indoors; especially the passageway around the apse and the choir of a church
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amphiprostyle
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the style of greek building in which the colonnade was placed across both the front and back, but not along the sides.
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amphitheater
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greek, "double theater". a roman building type resembling two greek theaters put together. the roman amphitheater featured a continuous elliptical cavea around a central arena
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amphora
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a two-handled jar used for general storage purposes, usually to hold wine or oil
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amulet
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an object worn to ward off evil or to aid the wearer
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andron
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dining room in a greek house
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antae
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the molded projecting ends of the walls forming the pronaos or opisthodomos of an ancient greek temple
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apadana
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the great audience hall in ancient persian palaces
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apotheosis
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elevated to the rank of gods, or the ascent to heaven
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apse
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a recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a roman basilica or at the east end of a church
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arabesque
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"arab-like". a flowing, intricate pattern derived from stylized organic motifs, usually floral; generally, an islamic decorative motif
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arcade
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a series of arches supported by piers or columns
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arch
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a curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of edge-shaped blocks that transmit the downward pressure laterally
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archaic smile
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in archaic greek sculpture, the smile sculptors represented on faces as a way of indicating that the person portrayed is alive
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architrave
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the lintel or lowest division of the entablature; also called the epistyle
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archivolt
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the continuous molding framing an arch
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arcuated
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arch shaped
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arena
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in a roman amphitheater, the central area where bloody gladiatorial combats and other boisterous events took place
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armature
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the crossed or diagonal arches that form the skeletal framework of a gothic rib vault. in sculpture the framework for a clay form
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arrises
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in doric columns the raised edges of the fluting
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ashlar masonry
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carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction fitted together without mortar
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atlantid
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a male figure that functions as a supporting column
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atrium
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the court of a roman house that is partly open to the sky
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attic
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the uppermost story of a building
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attribute
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a unique characteristic that identifies a figure
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attribution
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assignment of a work to a maker or makers
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baldacchino
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a canopy on columns, frequently built over an altar
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balustrade
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a railing held up by small posts, as on a staircase
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baptistery
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in christian architecture, the building used for baptism
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base
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in ancient greek architecture, the lowest part of ionic and corinthian columns
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basilica
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in roman architecture, a civic building for legal and other civic proceedings
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battlement
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a low parapet at the top of a circuit wall in a fortification
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bay
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the area between the columns or piers in the nave or aisles of a church
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ben-ben
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a pyramidal stone; a fetish of the egyptian god Re
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bestiary
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a collection of illustrations of real and imaginary animals
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bilingual vases
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experimental greek cases produced for a short time in the late 6th centure bce; one side featured black-figure decoration, the other red-figure
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black-figure painting
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in early greek pottery, the silhouetting of dark figures against a light background of natural, reddish clay, with linear details incised through the silhouettes
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blind arcade
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an arcade having no actual openings, applied as decoration to a wall surface
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block statue
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in ancient egyptian sculpture, a cubic stone image with simplified body parts.
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breviary
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a christian religious book of selected dialy prayers and psalms
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burin
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a pointed tool used for engracing or incising
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buttress
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an exterior masonry structure that opposes the lateral thrust of an arch or a vault. a pier buttress is a solid mass of masonry
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caduceus
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in ancient greek mythology, a magical rod entwined with serpents carried by hermes
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caldarium
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the hot-bath section of a roman bathing establishment
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caliph
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muslim rulers, regarded as successor of muhammad
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calligraphy
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greek, "beautiful writing." handwriting or penmanship, especially elegant writing as a decorative art
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cames
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the lead strips in stained-glass windows that join separate pieces of colored glass
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campanile
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a bell tower of a church, usually, but not always, freestanding.
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canon
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a rule, for example, of proportion
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canopic jar
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in ancient egypt, the container in which the organs of the deceased were placed for later burial with the mummy
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capital
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the uppermost member of a column
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Capitolium
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an ancient roman temple dedicated to the gods jupiter, juno, and minerva
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cardo
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the north-shouth street in a roman town
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Caroline minuscule
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the alphabet that carolingian scribes perfected, from which our modern alphabet was developed
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Carolingian
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pertaining to the empire of Charlemagne and his successors
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carpet pages
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in early medieval manuscripts, decorative pages resembling textiles
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caryatid
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a female figure that functions as a supporting column
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casting
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pouring a fluid substance such as bronze into a mold
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castrum
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a roman military encampment
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catacombs
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subterranean networks of rock-cut galleries and chambers designed as cemeteries for the burial of the dead
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cathedral
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a bishop's church
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cavea
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latin, "hollow place or cavity" the seating area in ancient greek and roman theaters
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cella
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the chamber at the center of an ancient temple
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centaur
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in ancient greek mythology, a fantastical creature, with the front or top half of a human and the back or bottom half of a horse
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centauromachy
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in ancient greek mythology, the battle between the greeks and centaurs
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cestrum
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a small spatula used in encaustic painting
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chamfer
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the surface formed by cutting off a corner of a board or post; a bevel
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chaplets
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metal pins driven through the investment to connect it to the clay core in the lost-wax process of casting
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chevet
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the eats, or apsidal, end of a gothic church
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chimera
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a monster of greek invention with the head and body of a lion and the tail of a serpent. a secion head, that of a goat, grows out of one side of a body
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chiton
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a greek tunic, the essential garment of both men and women
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choir
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the space reserved for the clergy and singers in the church
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christogram
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the three initial letters of christ's name in greek (XPI), which came to serve as a monogram for christ
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chryselephantine
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fashioned of gold and ivory
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ciborium
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a canopu, often freestanding and supported by four columns
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cista
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an etruscan cylindrical container made of sheet bronze with cast handles and feet, often with elaborately engraved bodies, used for women's toilet articles
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city-state
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an independent, self-governing city
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clerestory
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the fenestrated part of a building that rises above the roofs of the other parts
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cloison
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a cell made of metal wire or a narrow metal strip soldered edge-up to a metal base to hold enamel or other decorative materials
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cloisonnè
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a process of enameling employing cloisons; also, decorative brickwork in later byzantine architecture
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cloister
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a monastery courtyard
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codex
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separate pages of vellum or parchment bound together at one side; the predecessor of the modern book
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coffer
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a sunken panel, often ornamental, in a vault or a ceiling
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colage
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a composition made by combining on a flat surface various materials, such as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text and illustrations, photographs, and cloth
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colonnade
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a series or row of columns, usually spanned by lintels
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colonnette
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a thin column
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color
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the value or tonality of a color is the degree of its lightness or darkness
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column
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a vertical, wight-carrying architectural member
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complementary colors
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those pairs of colors, such as red and green, that together embrace the entire spectrum
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Composite capital
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a capital combining ionic volutes and corinthain acanthus leaves
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composition
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the way in which an artist organizes forms in an artwork
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compound pier
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a pier with a group, or cluster, of attached shafts, or responds, especially characteristic of gothic architecture
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conch
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half-dome
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concrete
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a building material invented by the romans and consisting of various proportions of lime mortar, volcanic sand, water, and small stones
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confraternity
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in late antiquity, an association of christian families pooling funds to purchase property for burial
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congregational mosque
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a large mosque designed to accommodate a community's entire population for the friday noonday prayer
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continuous narration
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in painting or sculpture, the convention of the same figure appearing more than once in the same space at different stages in a story
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contour line
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in art, a continuous line defining the outer shape of an object
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contrapposto
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the disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned in opposition to another part, creating a counterpositioning of the body about its central axis.
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