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Octagonal Shape:
His monument, the dome of Florence Cathedral (1420-1434), one of the three largest domes in existence, is Renaissance only in its scale and bold conception. Although Brunelleschi had studied the Pantheon, Rome, his dome is more like that of the Baptistery in its pointed octagonal shape and its structure. Except for the lantern on top of it, which was added a generation later (1446-1447), no Roman details are evident.The octagonal plan was introduced about the middle of the 9th century and after the llth century became accepted as the standard shape for a pagoda. A great number of pagodas of this type, enriched by tou-kung under the eaves, were built in north China from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The best-known example is the pagoda of the T'ien-ning Ssu, Peking, a structure of the llth century which has been much repaired.
ROQUE, rok, a variant of croquet developed in the United States early in the present century. It is played on a 60 X 30-foot clay court, the four corners of which are cut off so that the shape is octagonal, the hypotenuse of each cut-off corner triangle being six feet. The court is surrounded by a concrete border several inches high, permitting the use of the principle of "English," as in billiards.
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