In architecture, ornament is a decorative detail used to embellish parts of a building or interior furnishing. Ornament can be carved from stone, wood or precious metals, formed with plaster or clay, or impressed onto a surface as applied ornament. A wide variety of decorative styles and motifs have been developed for architecture and the applied arts, including ceramics, furniture, metalwork and textiles.

In a 1941 essay[1], the architectural historian Sir John Summerson called it "surface modulation". Decoration and ornament has been evident in civilizations since the beginning of recorded history, ranging from Ancient Egyptian architecture to the apparent lack of ornament of 20th Century
 

Styles of ornamentation can be studied in reference to the specific culture which developed unique forms of decoration, or modified ornament from other cultures. The Ancient Egyptian culture is the first recorded civilization to add decoration to their buildings. Their ornament takes the forms of the natural world in that climate, decorating the capitals of columns and walls with images of papyrus and palm trees. Assyrian culture produced ornament which shows influence from Egyptian sources and a number of original themes, including figures of plants and animals of the region.

Ancient Greek civilization created many new forms of ornament, with regional variations from Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian groups. The Romans Latinized the pure forms of the Greek ornament and adapted the forms to every purpose