Niche

Generally, a niche is a special place within the scheme of things. It sometimes denotes the function or position of a thing within a structure. Niche is an English word of French origin.

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The niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea (AD 64-69) was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras; sheathed in dazzling polished white marble, such curved surfaces concentrated or dispersed the daylight.

Exedra: In architecture an exedra is a semicircular recess, headed by a half-dome, which is usually set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense (a seat out of doors) was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical c...

Apse: This article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis....

Domus Aurea: :"Good! Now at last I can begin to live like a human being!"...

Niche related Images and Photos (experimental)

Grapes Peaches And Quinches In A Niche 1883

A Group Portrait of Three Children Standing at a Niche a Garden Beyond