CUL DE LAMPE

CUL DE LAMPE. A. An isolated corbel serving as a support for an oriel, turret, statue,

CUL DE LAMPE (BRACKET); S. STEPHEN'S CHAPEL, WESTMINSTER.

column, or the like; particularly one having a mass resembling an inverted pyramid or cone. B. A conical, convexly rounded or pyramidal lower termination of a pendant, a newel post, or the like.

The term is of French origin, probably derived from a fancied resemblance to the bottom of a hanging lamp.

CUL DE SAC. A street, passage, or alley having only one issue, i.e., closed at the further end and without branches or cross streets. Properly speaking, the cul de sac is the remote end or closed portion of such a passage or impasse.

CULINA. In Latin, a kitchen in the sense of a room especially appropriated to cooking; differing from the atrium, in which, in early times, was situated the hearth where all the cooking was done. In Pompeii, some rooms exist which may be called either atrium or culina, as they are open with the compluvium, while there exists another atrium without a hearth.

CULL LUMBER. (Abbreviated often as culls.) Inferior material; wood of the lowest grade and not fit for the usual purposes of construction. The term is used loosely in the lumber trade, the exact meaning varying in different parts of the country. Specifically, the inferior lumber not sufficiently good to be graded in one of the standard classes.

CULMIS, DE. (See Dechaume, Nicolas.) CULVER HOLE. An aperture in masonry to receive the end of a timber. (Compare Culver House.)

CUNNINGHAM

CUM. (In Latin, with, the preposition); in English ecclesiological use, denoting the combination of two parishes into one; in such phrases as Bolton-cum-Stowe.

CUM CEILING. Same as Camp Ceiling; a corrupt form, prevalent in England, and sometimes used to designate simply the sloping part of an attic ceiling.

CUNEUS. A. Literally, a wedge; a Latin term for the wedge-shaped or trapezoidal bodies of seats between the aisles or climaces of ancient theatres or amphitheatres.

B. In the writings of Vitruvius, a species of zigzag or fret painted on flat bands.

CUNICULUS. A low underground passage, as to a burial chamber of an Etruscan tomb. CUNNINGHAM, GENERAL SIR ALEXANDER, K. C. I. E. ; archæologist: b. 1814; d. Nov. 28, 1893.

In 1831 he entered the service of the East India Company, and from 1840 to 1860 held the important office of constructor of public works in the Indian army. He won special distinction in the Sikh campaign of 1846. In 1858 he was appointed chief engineer of the northwest provinces. In 1846-1847 he published The Temples of Kashmir and Ladakh, Physical, Statistical, Historical. In 1861 Cunningham was intrusted by the viceroy with the Archæological Survey of India, and continued that work until his retirement in 1885. In 1871 he published Ancient Geography of India, and in 1892 his work on Gaya.

Obituary in Journal R. I. B. A. (1893-1894, p. 77).

CUNTZ

CUNTZ; architect.

Cuntz appears as architect of the cathedral of Strasburg in 1382. He was succeeded by Michael von Freibourg (see Michael von Freibourg). He probably built the screen connecting the two towers in the third story of the façade.

Gérard, Les Artistes de l'Alsace.

CUPBOARD. Originally a set of shelves upon which dishes, silver plate, and the like could be displayed; by transition, and as the decorative piece of furniture in question has disappeared from use, a small and shallow closet.

CUPOLA. A. A bowl-shaped vault; and the imitation of such a vault in lighter ma

CUPOLA OVER THE MIHRAB OF THE MOSQUE AT CORDOVA, SPAIN.

terials.

The significance of the term is in its form, and while it is erroneous to speak of a lath and plaster imitation of a Gothic roof as a vault, it is still correct to call a bowl-shaped roof a cupola even if it is hung from the roof timbers. A distinction is then to be made between (1) those cupolas which are of solid construction as in the Pantheon at Rome, about 142 feet internal diameter; the cathedral at Florence, about 141 feet; the church of S. Peter at Rome, about 139 feet; the ruined laconicum of the therma of Caracalla, about

CUPOLA

126 feet; the mosque of S. Sophia at Constantinople, about 100 feet; and the mausoleum of Sultan Mahmud at Bijapur in northern India, which appears to be 124 feet wide, and is built on such terms of construction as to make it a marvel of lightness.

In all these cases the support of the cupshaped vault, as by Pendentives or by a Drum, is of especial importance.

(2) Those cupolas which are partly of masonry; thus, the cathedral of S. Paul, in London, has the innermost curved ceiling, which is visible from the pavement, of solid masonry; and the haunches of this support a cone of brick which carries very sufficiently the lofty and elaborate stone lantern; but the rounded outer shell of the cupola is of wood and lead, resting upon the circular drum of stone and upon the brick cone. The Dôme des Invalides in Paris, where now is the tomb of Napoleon I.; built in a similar way of wood above two inner structures of stone, but having in this case a wooden lantern also. The church of the Val-de-Grâce, in Paris; of beautiful contour, but similar in structure. The church of S. Mark at Venice, which has five masonry cupolas seen from within, the largest about 47 feet span, and each of these capped by a high outer shell of wood and metal.

(3) Those cupolas which are not of masonry in any part, but, if of any pretensions to size or permanence, usually of iron. Of these, the most interesting are those of the Halle au Blé at Paris (for which see Iron Construction). Capitol at Washington; of great dimensions and built out in an ingenious way beyond and around the original drum of masonry. That of the Paris Exhibition of 1878, somewhat more than 100 feet in diameter, and an admirable piece of engineering. That of the Paris Exhibition of 1889, nearly as large and very successful in design.

There are also the cupolas of special character, such as those of wrought iron with the spaces filled in with tile which roof the readingroom of the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. These are not large, having each only about 32 feet diameter, but nine of them are combined in one roof; the supports being four slender wrought iron columns, and twelve piers built into the outer walls of the room. In like manner, the later Byzantine buildings of Greece and other parts of the Levant, and those imitations of the Byzantine style which constitute a large part of Russian architecture, have cupolas of which the drums are singularly lofty, and are pierced with elaborate systems of windows, while the cupola proper or rounded part becomes a mere roof to a tall cylindrical shaft.

B. In popular usage, a small structure built upon a roof either for a lookout or to complete a design. Such buildings are commonly

CUPOLATED. Having one or more cupolas, or formed like a cupola or series of cupolas. CURB. A piece or series of pieces along the edge of a structure to protect, strengthen, or retain other parts or materials, especially when rising above an adjoining level. Specifically:

A. A dwarf wall or similar structure, acting more or less as a retaining wall; as the upper part of the wall surrounding a well and which projects above the ground: a well curb.

B. A line of vertical stones along the edge of a sidewalk, often called curbstone, or collectively, curbstones.

C. A retaining member or belt, forming a ring at the base of a dome, as an iron framework, or connected stones of a course.

D. A similar horizontal member set between two successive slopes of a roof, retaining the feet of the upper tier of timbers (hence Curb Roof, which see under Roof); a coaming.

CURBSTONE.

-D. N. B. S.

A stone forming a curb or part of a curb, or intended for that purpose. (See Curb, B.)

CURF. An incision, groove, or cut made by a saw or other cutting tool, especially one across the width of a board or moulding, usually for the purpose of facilitating its being bent to a curve. Chimneys and piers which have leaned from the vertical are sometimes restored to verticality by cutting a curf in the side from which they lean. In shaping a square timber from the log by hewing, it is common first to cut along one side of the log a series of curfs; that is, notches, the depth of which is regulated so as to form a gauge for the subsequent cutting away of the wood between. (Written also Kerf.)

CURIA. A structure intended for the use of a tribal court, one of those provided for the early organization of the Romans; hence, at a later time, a building occupied by the Senate. It took different forms and was embodied in different structures, as described in the following articles.

CURIA CORNELIA. Built after the destruction of the Curia Hostilia, but soon after destroyed in the reign of Augustus.

CURIA HOSTILIA. A building traditionally ascribed to a king of Rome, Tullus

CURTAIN

Hostilius, who is thought to have produced it by altering and enlarging a temple. This building was destroyed by accident in 52 B.C.

CURIA JULIA. Built by Augustus, though perhaps begun during the lifetime of Julius. This building, although altered by Domitian, seems to have remained undestroyed until the reign of Diocletian, and the building of the fourth century has been identified with the church of S. Adriano on the northeast side of the Forum. The plan of the building with its appendages, as probably left by Diocletian, is given by Lanciani (Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome), and references are given to other works. The actual meeting room was not very large, apparently 55 by 82 feet, nor was it considered a splendid building. Some vestige of earlier republican simplicity carried to affectation prevented any approach to the complicated and splendid character of modern legislative buildings; at the same time it is not clear what were the accommodations for the business of the Senate apart from its general sessions, as for its committee work and the like. CURRADI, RAFFAELE; sculptor.

A sculptor who was employed by Cosimo II. de' Medici, Duke of Florence, to decorate the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. He was noted for his skill in working porphyry. The grotesques which he made for the portal of the Palazzo Fenzi, Florence, are especially fine.

Gurlitt, Geschichte des Barockstiles in Italien; Ebe, Spät-Renaissance; Ebe, Schmuckformen der

Monumentalbauten.

CURTAIL. In stair building, the outward curving portion of the hand rail and of the outer end of the lower step or steps of a flight; possibly an abbreviation of curved tail. An ample curtail to the lowest two or three steps not only enhances their appearance, but offers an easier start to persons approaching from the side. A plain semicircular curtail to the lowest step is called a bull nose. (See these terms under Step.)

CURTAIN (I.). A. In fortification, the wall between two towers or bastions, and in this sense accurately descriptive of a part of the defensive works.

B. By extension, in a building having pavilions, projecting masses, and the like, the flat wall between any two such masses. (See Curtain Wall.)

CURTAIN (II.). A hanging, usually of soft and pliant material, and usually for screening, protecting, or hiding something, or for closing an opening, as a doorway. Those which hang in the church doorways of Europe are often of leather, and heavily lined and stuffed; but curtains generally are assumed to be easily movable, and even capable of being compressed into narrow folds, for which purpose they are hung to rings which slide on a rod.