Palmetta

Nine-leaf palmettes, Afghanistan , 2nd century BC e.

Palmette ( French palmette ) - a floral ornament in the form of a fan-shaped leaf of a palm tree ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} . An ornament where palmettes alternate with leaves and lotus flowers, honeysuckle, is called anemia (anemia) ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} . It was common in Egyptian and Hellenistic architecture - as antefixes , in the completion of memorial stelae and tombstones, in capitals of Ionic and Corinthian columns, in the decorations of cornices .

For the first time, the Palmette motif originated in Egypt; recorded various types of Egyptian palmettes - simple, with a single flower; single with the motive of the rising sun; flower brushes; flower or palm branch resting on a scroll . From Egypt, the palmette motif spread to Crete , to Mesopotamia and Persia , where some of the earliest palmettes were found, probably based on ancient Egyptian motifs.