MOLDING

also spelled Moulding, in architecture and the decorative arts, a defining, transitional, or terminal element that contours or outlines the edges and surfaces on a projection or cavity, such as a cornice, architrave, capital, arch, base, or jamb. The surface of a molding is modeled with recesses and reliefs, which either maintain a constant profile or are set in rhythmically repeated patterns. Of primary importance in the design of a molding is the type of shadow it will cast. Moldings doubtlessly originated in prehistoric building, where they served specific structural functions, such as supporting, binding, or separating surfaces. As monumental architecture developed, moldings were gradually translated from wood or other ephemeral materials into more permanent ones, most often stone. In this gradual transition, moldings were retained as a matter of conservatism or taste; in stone they were elaborated and refined, contributing order and richness to a decorative system. Although their original structural function was often satisfied by other means, moldings were used in a manner that implied a structural logic. From this usage, best characterized in the orders of architecture of ancient Greece, it was possible later to develop theories for the correct form and employment of moldings, according to which several basic shapes were standardized in the vocabulary of architectural design, as follows: