FESTOON, an ornament developed from the representation of a garland of leaves, fruit or flowers, cloth or ribbon, supported at two or more points and hanging in curves between. The festoon appears occasionally in late Greek work, particularly as a decora tion for Hellenistic altars, but it was the Romans who gave it definite form. Roman festoons are usually made of fruit, grain, leaves and flowers, treated with extreme naturalism, although in wall paintings and stucco decoration simpler and more conven tional types are found. The festoon was a favourite motive of the early Italian Renaissance. In Baroque work through Europe many fantastic treatments of the cloth festoon exist.