A section of the cut-sandstone entrance centrepiece at Kilshannig, County Cork. Set against a facade of red brick, this comprises Doric pilasters with moulded capitals and plinths, these supporting an entablature with alternating bucrania and fruit and flowers metopes set between triglyphs. Kilshannig was built c.1765 for Abraham Devonsher, a local banker and Member of Parliament to the design of Davis Duckart. Its interior features some of the Lafranchini brothers’ finest stuccowork.
More on Kilshannig in the coming weeks.
What is the round part called? And would it have had a statue, or an urn. It looks very blank now.
That is an oculus, a kind of niche in which sometimes a bust or urn would have sat. Not on this occasion I think (there was formerly a statue in a larger niche above the door); here it is just used as an architectural device to provide variation to the façade. Altho’, having written that, the fact there is a bracket plinth at its base does suggest this was meant to support something…
Thanks for once again imparting so much knowledge.
If there had been a statue, would there have been an adjective to describe it – an oculus statue; a oculean statue; or , just, a statue.
On much more modern houses, I have seen holy statues in openings in the facades of houses – generally gable fronted. One has a circle with a statue of Mary behind glass ( a gabled feature between a pair of semi-d houses). I did not have any adjective to distinguish these type of grottos and was wondering if oculus grotto would apply?
Is that Coade stone between the triglyphs?
Thank you for getting in touch. I don’t think it is Coade stone, the house being built slightly before the material was invented.