What is a sima?
A sima is the uppermost member that finishes the cornice in the entablature of a classical building such as a Greek temple. It was more than decoration: as an upturned edge along the eaves, it caught rainwater from the roof and carried it away, so it was effectively the temple’s gutter. The word is related to the Greek kyma (wave), referring to its undulating profile.
Form and decoration
The sima sits on top of the geison, the projecting slab of the cornice. A sima also runs along the sloping sides of the pediment (the raking sima). Typical features:
- Profile: often a wave-shaped moulding similar to an ogee (a cyma recta in classical terms), although other shapes such as a cavetto also occur.
- Ornament: leaves, palmettes, wave scrolls or tendrils, originally often painted.
- Water spouts: along the long sides of a temple, the sima was regularly pierced by spouts in the shape of lion heads that threw water clear of the walls.
On early temples the sima was made of terracotta; later it was also carved in marble.
Application: the sima in later buildings
The classical entablature has been copied again and again since the Renaissance. On neoclassical facades of banks, museums, courthouses and townhouses you can recognise the sima as the top, usually ogee-shaped moulding of the cornice. Sometimes a gutter still runs behind it; sometimes it is purely decorative.
Maintenance points:
- Check the gutter behind. Where a cornice still drains water, the junction between gutter and moulding is the usual weak spot.
- Inspect the capping. Historic cornices are often capped with lead or zinc; splits in the capping let water into the masonry or timber.
- Match the profile. When replacing part of a moulding, take the exact profile from existing work with a template. Any deviation shows immediately, especially on a listed building.
Related terms
- Cornice
- Entablature
- Pediment
- Ogee moulding
- Gargoyle
- Listed building
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