Gadrooning is any decorative motif consisting of convex curves in a series. In furniture and other interior accessories, the term is applied to, among other things an ornamental carved band of tapered, curving and alternating concave and convex sections, usually diverging obliquely either side of a central point, often with rounded ends vaguely reminiscent of flower petals. It was widely used during the Italian Renaissance, and in the 18th century.
In medieval European metalwork gadroons on circular dishes are often tapering, ending in a point on a central circular zone, and run diagonally across the surface in a spiral. Similar, but typically not tapered, designs were popular in rococo porcelain and metalwork. In Renaissance or neo-classical work they are normally thinner and straighter.
The term may also be applied to the concave curves running up a classical column.