Architectural sculpture

Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that are part of the original design are also considered to be architectural sculpture. The concept overlaps with, or is a subset of, monumental sculpture.

It has also been defined as "an integral part of a building or sculpture created especially to decorate or embellish an architectural structure."

Architectural sculpture has been employed by builders throughout history, and in virtually every continent on earth save pre-colonial Australia.

Modern understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based mainly on the religious monuments that have survived since antiquity, which are carved stone with post and lintel construction. These religious monuments dedicated to the gods or pharaohs were designed with a great deal of architectural sculpture inside and out: engaged statues, carved columns and pillars, and wall surfaces carved with bas-reliefs. The classic examples of Egyptian colossal monuments (the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Abu Simbel temples, the Karnak Temple Complex, etc.) represent thoroughly integrated combinations of architecture and sculpture.

Obelisks, elaborately carved from a single block of stone, were usually placed in pairs to flank the entrances to temples and pyramids.

Reliefs are also common in Egyptian building, depicting scenes of everyday life and often accompanied by hieroglyphics.

The Fertile Crescent architectural sculptural tradition began when Ashurnasirpal II moved his capitol to the city of Nimrud around 879 BCE. This site was located near a major deposit of gypsum (alabaster). This fairly easy to cut stone could be quarried in large blocks that allowed them to be easily carved for the palaces that were built there. The early style developed out of an already flourishing mural tradition by creating drawings that were then carved in low relief. Another contributing factor in the development of architectural sculpture were the small carved seals that had been made in the area for centuries.

The most significant Greek introduction, well before the Classical period, was pedimental sculpture, fitting in the long, low triangle formed by the pediment above the portico of Greek temples. This remained a feature of later Greek and Roman temples and was revived in the Renaissance, with many new examples, by then mostly on large public buildings, created in the 19th and 20th centuries.