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CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)
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See also:CAPITAL (See also:Lat. caput, See also:head) , in See also:architecture, the crowning member of the See also:column, which projects on each See also:side as it rises, in See also:order to support the See also:abacus and unite the square See also:form of the latter with the circular See also:shaft. The bulk of the capital may either be See also:convex, as in the Doric capital; See also:concave, as in the See also:bell of the Corinthian capital; or bracketed out, as in the Ionic capital. These are the three See also:principal types on which all capitals are based. The capitals of See also:Greek, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders are given in the See also:article ORDER. From the prominent position it occupies in all monumental buildings, it has always been the favourite feature selected for ornamentation, and consequently it has become the clearest See also:indicator of any See also:style. The two earliest capitals of importance are those which are based on the See also:lotus (fig. 1) and See also:papyrus (fig. 2) See also:plants respectively, and these, with the See also:palm See also:tree capital, were the See also:chief types employed by the Egyptians down to the 3rd See also:century B.C., when, See also:Surface-Tensions of Liquids at their Point of Solidification. From Quincke. Table of Surface-Tension at 2o° C. (Quincke). Liquid. Specific Tension of surface See also:Angle of contact with separating the liquid from See also:glass in presence of Gravity. See also:Air. See also:Water. See also:Mercury. Air. Water. Mercury. Water . . I 81 418 25° 32' 26° 8' Mercury 13.5432 540 418 . . 51° 8' 26° 8' Bisulphide of See also:Carbon 1.2687 32.1 41.75 372'5 32° 16' 15° 8' .. See also:Chloroform ... . . P4878 30.6 29.5 399 • See also:Alcohol 0.9906 25.5 . 399 25° 12' See also:Olive Oil 0.9136 36.9 20.56 335 21° 50' 17° 47° 2' See also:Turpentine 0.8867 29.7 11.55 250.5 37° 44' 37° 44' 47°2' See also:Petroleum. . . 0.7977 31.7 27.8 284 36° 20' 42° 46' . . Hydrochloric See also:Acid . 1.1 70. I .. 377 See also:Solution of Hyposul- 1.1248 77.5 442'5 23° 20' 10° 42' phite of Soda 276 under the Ptolemaic dynasties, various See also:river plants were employed decoratively and the lotus capital goes through various modifications (fig. 3). Some See also:kind of See also:volute capital is shown in the See also:Assyrian bas-reliefs, but no Assyrian capital has ever been found; those exhibited as such in the See also:British Museum are bases. The See also:Persian capital belongs to the third class above mentioned, the brackets are carved with the See also:lion (fig. 4) or the See also:griffin projecting right and See also:left to support and lessen the bearing of the See also:architrave, and on their backs carry other brackets at right angles to support the See also:cross timbers. The profuse decoration underneath the See also:bracket capital in the See also:palace of See also:Xerxes and elsewhere, serves no structural See also:function, but gives some variety to the extenuated shaft. The earliest Greek capital is that shown in the See also:Temple-See also:fresco at See also:Cnossus in See also:Crete (IGoo B.e.); it was of the first type—convex, and was probably moulded in See also:stucco: the second is represented by the richly carved example of the columns (fig. 5) flanking the See also:tomb of See also:Agamemnon in See also:Mycenae (c. I',Do B.C.), also convex, carved with the See also:chevron See also:device, and with an See also:apophyge on which the buds of some See also:flowers are sculptured. The Doric capital of the temple of See also:Apollo at See also:Syracuse (c. 700 B.c.) follows, in which theechinus moulding has become a more definite form: this in the See also:Parthenon reaches its See also:culmination, where the convexity is at the See also:top and bottom with a delicate uniting See also:curve. The sloping side of Mycenae. the See also:echinus becomes flatter in the later examples, and in the Colosseum at See also:Rome forms a See also:quarter See also:round. In the Ionic capital of the Archaic temple of See also:Diana at See also:Ephesus (56o B.C.) the width of the abacus is twice that of its See also:depth, consequently the earliest Ionic capital known was virtually a Greek capital of Bassae and the See also:Roman version of the temple of See also:Mars Ultor (fig. 7). The foliage of the Greek Corinthian capital was based on the See also:Acanthus spinosus, that of the Roman on the Acanthus mollis; the capital of the temple of See also:Vesta and other examples at See also:Pompeii are carved with foliage of a different FIG. 7.-Roman Capital from the Temple type. of Mars Ultor, Rome. See also:Byzantine capitals
are of endless variety; the Roman composite capital would seem to have been the favourite type they followed at first: subsequently, the See also:block of See also: The Romanesque and See also:Gothic capitals throughout See also:Europe See also:present the same variety as in the Byzantine and for the same See also:reason, that the artist evolved his conception of the design from the block he was See also:carving, but in these styles it goes further on See also:account of the clustering of columns and piers. The earliest type of capital in See also:Lombardy and See also:Germany is that which is known as the, See also:cushion-cap, in which the See also:lower portion of the See also:cube block has been cut away to meet the circular shaft (fig. 11). These See also:early types were generally painted at first with various geometrical designs, afterwards carved. In Byzantine capitals, the See also:eagle, the lion and the See also:lamb are occasionally carved, but treated conventionally. In the Romanesque and Gothic styles, in addition to birds and beasts, figures are frequently introduced into capitals, those in the Lombard See also:work being rudely carved and verging on the See also:grotesque; later, the See also:sculpture reaches a higher See also:standard; in the cloisters of See also:Monreale .iuuili (fig. 12) the birds being wonderfully true to FIG. nature. In See also:England and See also:France (figs. 13 and 14), the figures introduced into the capitals are sometimes full of See also:character. These capitals, however, are not equal to those of theEarlyEnglish school, in which the foliage is conventionally treated as if it had been copied from See also:metal work, and is of See also:infinite variety, being found in small See also:village churches as well as in cathedrals. Reference has only been made to the' leading examples of the Roman capitals; in the See also:Renaissance See also:period (fig. 15) the feature became of the greatest importance and its variety almost as See also:great as in the Byzantine and Gothic styles. The See also:pilaster, which Alv "' in IMri ~~lc . l~ll~l n' If `ry"~ 14.-Gothic Capitals from See also:Amiens See also:Cathedral. S. Maria dei Miracoli, Venice. was employed so extensively in the Revival, called for new combinations in the designs for its capitals. Most of the See also:ornament can be traced to Roman See also:sources, and although less vigorous, shows much more delicacy and refinement in its carving. (R. P. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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