Flame palmette

The flame palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree.

From the 4th century BCE however, the end of the leaves tend to turn in, forming what is called the "flame palmette" design.

[1] The first appearance of flame palmettes seem to occur with the stand-alone floral akroteria of the Parthenon (447–432 BCE),[2] and slightly later at the Temple of Athena Nike.

The flame palmette design that was adopted in Hellenistic architecture and became very popular on a wide geographical scale, especially following the conquests of Alexander the Great.

In the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai-Khanoum, founded circa 280 BCE, the antefixae display a flame palmette design, as do floral mosaics.

Flame palmette terracotta antefix , Athens .
Flame palmette antefix , Temple of Jupiter Stator , Rome .
Greek and Indian flame palmettes. Left : Flame palmette at Didyma , Ionia , c.300 BCE. Middle : Pataliputra capital , India , 3rd c.BCE. Right : Ashoka 's Diamond throne , Bodh Gaya , India, 250 BCE.