Patera (architecture)

In architecture, patera (pl. paterae) is an ornamental circular or elliptical bas-relief disc.^[1][2] The patera is usually used to decorate friezes and walls, and to interrupt moldings.^[3] Patera is also used in furniture-making. It can be carved, incised, inlaid, or even painted.^[4][5]

The patera is found in the ancient Roman architecture and in almost all later western styles of architecture.^[6] The patera is used both within the civil and church architecture is usually made of marble or Istrian stone. It has a variable diameter between 20 and 80 cm, while the thickness is around 10 cm. The subject represented in the bas-relief is generally of floral or animal type, but there are also figures symbolizing trades or people.^[7] Being mainly a decorative element, the patera may also perform an apotropaic function to keep away evil spirits.

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  Patera in the Corte seconda del Milion court and the romanesque archway Sotoportego del Teatro in Venice.
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  Detail of the church Santa Margherita in Venice.
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  Lunette above the entrance to the Fondaco dei Turchi reconstructed in neobyzantine stile by Federico Berchet AD 1869 in Venice.
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  Entrance to the Carmini church in Venice.
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  Volto Santo on the Strada Nuova in Cannaregio Venice.

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