foliate

A gold cuff thought to have been decoration on a royal stool is embossed with lavish foliate patterns suggestive of leaves on a kum tree, a type of banyan for which Kumasi is named.

"A gadroon rim above a pierced gallery leading to a foliate and scroll decorated body surrounding a plain central cartouche, raised upon four claw and ball feet" is a fairly elaborate way of describing "a tray".

Also included are a champagne swizzle stick and a metal-mounted foliate cocktail stick holder.

The design featured a foliate design on an "ornate aubergine coloured" background, the catalogue said.

They are normally described by art historians as foliate heads, and they are, essentially, a decorative trope.