Finials might have first been used prominently in Asian cultures around 700 A.D. as decorative elements on pagodas. As people of different parts of the world met and traded, ideas about architectural style traveled with them.

What is the purpose of a finial?

While the purpose of finials on bed posts is mostly decorative, they serve a purpose on curtain rods, providing a way to keep a curtain from slipping off the end of a straight rod. Curtain rod finials can be seen to act much like a barometer of public taste.

What is finial architecture?

finial, in architecture, the decorative upper termination of a pinnacle, gable end, buttress, canopy, or spire. In the Romanesque and Gothic styles, it usually consists of a vertical, pointed central element surrounded by four outcurving leaves or scrolls.