Human Headed Corbel (1) at The Grand Curtius Liege, Belgium

myminifactory

In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, while a console is a piece applied to the structure. In the UK, a projecting timber was called a "tassel" or a "bragger." The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic times. It's common in Medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style as well as in classical architecture vocabulary, such as modillions of a Corinthian cornice, Hindu temple architecture and ancient Chinese architecture. The word "corbel" comes from Old French and derives from Latin corbellus, a diminutive of corvus ("raven"), which refers to the beak-like appearance. Similarly, the French refer to a bracket-corbel, usually a load-bearing internal feature, as a corbeau ("crow"). This object is part of "Scan The World." Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open source community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help. Scanned by Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan).