{{short description|Element marking the top or end of some object; decorative feature}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} [[File:Top of the main dome.JPG|thumb|Finial of the dome of the Taj Mahal]]
A '''finial''' ({{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|finis}}|end}})<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Finial |volume=10 |page=376}}</ref> or '''hip-knob''' is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Curl|first1=James Stevens|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Lu6BwAAQBAJ|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture|last2=Wilson|first2=Susan|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|language=en}}</ref>
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower, roof, or gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ching|first=Francis D. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yBzVBAAAQBAJ|title=Architecture: Form, Space, and Order|date=13 October 2014|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-74513-7|language=en}}</ref> A finial is typically carved in stone. Where there are several such elements they may be called pinnacles. The very top of a finial can be a floral or foliated element called a bouquet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Cyril M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6n4JLmyooTwC|title=Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture|date=1 January 1983|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=978-0-486-24444-0|language=en}}</ref>
Smaller finials in materials such as metal or wood are used as a decorative ornament on the tops or ends of poles or rods such as tent-poles or curtain rods or any object such as a piece of furniture. These are frequently seen on top of bed posts or clocks. Decorative finials are also commonly used to fasten lampshades, and as an ornamental element at the end of the handles of souvenir spoons. The charm at the end of a pull chain (such as for a ceiling fan or a lamp) is also known as a finial. The finial of a fountain pen refers to the top decorative piece, whereas the bottom decorative piece is known as a ''tassie''.
== In architecture == [[File:Gopuram - View of the top portion. Chennakesava Temple , Belur 01.jpg|thumb|Kalasha finials on top of a gopuram]]
=== On roofs === [[File:Sirrako slate roof.jpg|thumb|A slate roof in Syrrako (Greece), built with a curved valley layout and finials on top.]] Decorative roof-finials are a common feature of Malaysian religious and residential architecture.<ref name=":0" /> In Malacca, Malaysia, there are 38 mosques with traditional roof finials, with layered and crown-shaped designs, which are known as ''Makhota Atap Masjid''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Zakaria|first1=Ros Mahwati Ahmad|last2= Ismail|first2= Nurfarahhanna |last3= Ramli|first3= Zuliskandar|last4= Ali|first4= Muhammad Shafiq Mohd|date= 14 July 2019|title= Mapping the "Mahkota Atap Masjid" or Decorative Roof Finial of Traditional Mosques in Malacca|url= https://ebpj.e-iph.co.uk/index.php/EBProceedings/article/view/1760 |journal= Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal|language= en|volume= 4 |issue=1 1|pages= 129–136|doi= 10.21834/e-bpj.v4i11.1760|issn= 2398-4287|doi-access= free}}</ref> On mosques built after the 20th century, these finials have been replaced by "bulbous domes".<ref name=":0" /> Other terms for roof finials include: ''Tunjuk Langit'' and ''Buah Buton'' (East Coast) as well as ''Buah Gutung'' (Kelantan and Terengganu).<ref name=":0" /> The ''Makhota Atap Masjid'' finials are made of mixed concrete, and the ''Buah Buton'' are made of wood.<ref name=":0" />
In Japanese architecture, ''chigi'' are finials that were used atop Shinto shrines in Ise and Izumo and the imperial palace.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Waterson|first= Roxana|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wDjRAgAAQBAJ|title= Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in South-East Asia|date=22 May 2012|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0601-7|language=en}}</ref>
In Java and Bali, a rooftop finial is known as ''mustaka'' or ''kemuncak''.
In Thailand finials feature on domestic and religious buildings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1= Sthapitanond|first1= Nithi|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hC5TMZ5QTV0C&pg=PP1|title= Architecture of Thailand: A Guide to Tradition and Contemporary Forms|last2= Mertens|first2= Brian|date= 2012|publisher= Editions Didier Millet|isbn= 978-981-4260-86-2 |language=en}}</ref> Hti is a kind of finial found on Burmese Buddhist temples and pagodas. On Buddhist stupas, the layered umbrella (Skt. ''chhatra''; Pali: ''chhatta'') tiers have cosmological significance as representing the realms of heavens or the trunk of a cosmic tree.<ref>{{Cite book|last1= Conway|first1= Hazel|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FtvqA0_Id3sC&pg=PP10|title= Understanding Architecture: An Introduction to Architecture and Architectural History|last2= Conway|first2= Rowan|last3= Roenisch|first3= Rowan|date= 2005 |publisher= Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-32059-7|language=en}}</ref> Even the stupa itself (comparatively smaller) can be a finial to a Stupa or other Buddhist religious structure.
The kalasha is a finial on Hindu temples.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dhaky|first=M. A.|date=1974|title=The "Ākāśaliṅga" Finial|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3249703|journal=Artibus Asiae|volume=36|issue=4|pages=307–315|doi=10.2307/3249703|jstor=3249703|issn=0004-3648|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the Dravidian style of temple architecture, the kalasha is placed on top of a dome with an inverted lotus flower shape in between.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Hardy|first=Adam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aU0hCAS2-08C&pg=PR9|title=Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries|date=1995|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-312-0|language=en}}</ref> There may also be lotus petals at the top, before the kalasha narrows to a single point, or bindu.<ref name=":1" />
There are two guldastas, or finials, per facade at Humayun's Tomb.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=ASHER|first1=CATHERINE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC|title=Architecture of Mughal India|last2=Asher|first2=Catherine Blanshard|last3=Asher|first3=Catherine Ella Blanshard|last4=Asher|first4=Catherine B.|date=24 September 1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|language=en}}</ref>
Finials are decorative elements in a variety of American domestic architectural styles, including French colonial, Georgian, Victorian, and Romanesque Revival.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Carley|first=Rachel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8aiSslZKFoC|title= The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture |date=15 March 1997|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-8050-4563-5|language=en}}</ref>
Roof finials can be made from a variety of materials including clay, metal, or wood.
A folklore tradition in the eastern United States portrays finials as discouraging witches on broomsticks from landing locally.<ref> {{cite web | url = https://robinneweiss.com/2016/06/06/a-fondness-for-finials/ | title = A Fondness for Finials | last = Weiss | first = Robinne | date = 6 June 2016 | access-date = 11 July 2023 | quote = Folklore in the eastern U.S. suggests that finial posts were not just attractive, but also prevented witches from landing their broomsticks on the roof. }} </ref>
=== Flagpoles === [[File:Drapeau-3e-reg-suisse-napoleon-p1030181.jpg|thumb|French Imperial Eagle finial on a regiment banner of the ''Grande Armée'']] {{See also|glossary of vexillology#Flag elements}}A "ball-style" finial is often mounted to the top of a stationary flagpole.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Koppes |editor1-first=Wayne F. |editor2-last=Roehm |editor2-first=Jack M. |title=Metal Flagpole Manual |year=1980 |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers |page= 21}}</ref> The United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard employ a variety of different finials depending on the flag in question, the Marines and Coast Guard deferring to the Navy's protocols.<ref>[http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r840_10.pdf#page=61 Army Regulation 840-10 ''Flags, Guidons, Streamers, Tabards, and Automobile and Aircraft Plates'', Chapter 8 "Flagstaffs and Flagstaff Heads (Finials)", § 8-2, 1 November 1998] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607221710/http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r840_10.pdf |date=7 June 2010 }}</ref>
== On furniture == thumb|A round finial on a bed post
=== Bed posts and curtain rods === Public garden or park railings often end in finials, and wooden posts tend to have turned wood finials. Turned wood finials are used on various pieces of furniture.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dunbar|first=Mike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBtjDwAAQBAJ|title=Woodturning Techniques – Furniture & Cabinetmaking|date=2 March 2017|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4403-4957-7|language=en}}</ref> While the purpose of finials on bed posts is mostly decorative,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gilbert|first1=Christopher|last2=Thornton|first2=Peter|date=1980|title=The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23404800|journal=Furniture History|volume=16|pages=i–194|jstor=23404800|issn=0016-3058}}</ref> they serve a purpose on curtain rods, providing a way to keep a curtain from slipping off the end of a straight rod.
Curtain rod finials can be seen to act much like a barometer of public taste. Many designs hark back to the Gothic and Neogothic of architectural finials, while other contemporary finials reflect minimalist, Art Nouveau, and other traditional styles of decor. The use of different materials is as wide as the range of designs with brass, stainless steel, various woods, and aluminum being employed with a variety of finishes such as 'satin steel' and 'antique brass'. The durability, strength, and machinability of modern alloys have lent themselves to increasingly intricate and dazzling designs.
== Use as headgear == During the various dynasties in China, a finial was worn on the tops of the hats civil or military officials wore during formal court ceremonies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60889|access-date=25 June 2022|website=www.metmuseum.org |title=Hat finial, China}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Garrett|first=Valery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhPRAgAAQBAJ|title=Chinese Dress: From the Qing Dynasty to the Present Day|date=28 April 2020|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0694-9|language=en}}</ref> The finial was changed to a knob for other daily usage (including semi-formal ceremonies). The Pickelhaube is a Central European military helmet with a finial topped by a spike.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Herr|first1=Ulrich|last2=Nguyen|first2=Jens|last3=Kozeluh|first3=Anne|title=The German artillery from 1871 to 1914 : uniforms and equipment|year=2016|isbn=978-3-902526-80-9|location=Vienna|oclc=1017095569}}</ref>
== See also == * Acroterion * Alem (finial) * Crocket * Chigi (architecture) * Giboshi * Mandir kalasha * Souvenir spoon
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Finials}} {{Wikisource|Translation:Dictionary of French Architecture from the 11th to 16th Century/Volume 5/Floret|Floret}} {{Wiktionary}}
*[http://wordsmith.org/words/finial.html Word-of-the-day on ''finial'']
Category:Ornaments (architecture) Category:Roofs