A room with bookshelves, tables or an entertainment center provides plenty of space for finial decor. A decorative finial serves as a focal centerpiece atop a dining table or fireplace mantel. On a bookshelf, matched finials serve as bookends, holding up books on each shelf.

Where did finials come from?

Finials have been around for a long time, and isolated examples can be found on ancient Greek and Roman buildings. Finials might have first been used prominently in Asian cultures around 700 A.D. as decorative elements on pagodas.

What are finials in 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.