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Imbrex
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Rows of curved reddish-brown imbrices form ridges covering the seams between flat tegula tiles on a traditional tiled roof. satyr
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Plural:
imbrices
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Rows of curved reddish-brown imbrices form ridges covering the seams between flat tegula tiles on a traditional tiled roof.
imbrices Ridges of imbrices cover the seams between the flat tegula tiles on a roof.

Imbrex

architecture
Also known as: imbrices
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Last updated
•History

Imbrex, in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a raised roofing tile used to cover the joint between the flat tiles. Used in a series, they formed continuous ridges over the aligned flat tiles.

satyr
satyrEtruscan roof tile (antefix) with the head of a satyr, terra-cotta, 4th century bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Imbrices were generally of two types. In the more commonly used form the tile was approximately semicircular, and in the monumental marble examples the imbrex had vertical sides and an angular top. At the lower end of each row of imbrex tiles was an antefix, or decorative terminal.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Virginia Gorlinski.