Roman ornament
Consisted usually of one scroll growin out of another scroll and ending in a flower. The Romans did not excel either in sculpture or painting, and in many cases show great vulgarity of sentiment. They were fine judges of rare marbles, however, and in many instances made up for their lack of skill in painting by their tasteful selection of rich marbles for dados, wall surfaces, pilasters, and friezes. These were imported from every part of the known world, and no expense was spared to produce the richest effects possible with these materials. (International Textbook, 1922)