rocaille

American  

[roh-kahy, raw-kah-y^uh] / roʊˈkaɪ, rɔˈkɑ yə /

noun

1. Fine Arts. any of the fantastic ornamental, often asymmetrical, combinations characteristic of the Rococo period, consisting of rock, shell, and plant forms combined with artificial forms, esp C -curves.

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rocaille British  

/ rɒˈkaɪ /

noun

1. decorative rock or shell work, esp as ornamentation in a rococo fountain, grotto, or interior

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Etymology

Origin of rocaille

1855–60; < French: pebble-work, derivative of roc rock ¹

Example Sentences

Most of the time it is turgid rocaille, nothing more.

From Time Magazine Archive

The style was called rococo�itself an onomatopoeic image of the art �from the French word rocaille, meaning fancywork in rocks and shells.

From Time Magazine Archive

This was in keeping with the delicate French rocaille tradition on which Papillon was nurtured; to him any other contemporary style of book decoration was evidence of bad taste.

From John Baptist Jackson 18th-Century Master of the Color Woodcut by Kainen, Jacob

He had a most marvelous power of invention and lavished ornament on everything, carrying the rocaille style to its utmost limit.

From Furnishing the Home of Good Taste A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today by Throop, Lucy Abbot

After the death of its owner society, in a fit of madness, plunged into the rocaille.

From The House in Good Taste by Wolfe, Elsie de