Rocaille

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ornamental style featuring irregular shells, pebbles, and other natural materials arranged in grottos or decorative schemes, or a type of artistic ornamentation characterized by asymmetrical scrollwork and naturalistic motifs
2. Decorative ornamentation combining shells, pebbles, and asymmetrical scrollwork to create elaborate grotto-like embellishments or whimsical artistic effects
3. An artistic embellishment style employing irregular natural objects such as shells and stones alongside curved, fanciful designs to produce ornate grottos and surface decorations

Etymology: In French, "rocaille" meant loose stones or rubble, a heap of rock fragments built from "roc", meaning rock. Garden designers and decorators later applied the term to rockwork: grottoes, fountains and garden features made from stone, pebbles and, most decoratively, shells arranged into fanciful patterns. English borrowed the term directly from French and kept its sense of ornamental shell and stonework. The same French root gave rise to "rococo", the style of curling, asymmetrical decoration that drew heavily on rocaille motifs, so the stony origin still lies beneath much later ornament.