Boss (architecture)

In architecture, a boss is a decorative knob on a ceiling, wall or sculpture.

Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the keystones at the intersections of a rib vault.

Many feature animals, birds, or human figures or faces, sometimes realistic, but often Grotesque: the Green Man is a frequent subject.

[2] The Romanesque Norwich Cathedral in Norfolk, United Kingdom, has the largest number of painted carved stone bosses in the world; an extensive and varied collection of over one thousand individual pieces.

Many of these decorated bosses still bear the original gilt and pigments from the time of their creation.