Editing Capital (architecture)

{{Short description|Upper part of a column}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2007}}

{{multiple image|perrow =3|total_width=500
| image1 = S F-E-CAMERON 2006-10-EGYPT-PHILAE-0047.JPG
| image2 = Chapiteau-Parthenon.jpg
| image3 = Ionic capital from the Erechtheum at the British Museum.jpg
| image4 = The Pantheon, Rome (14995115321).jpg
| image5 = Hagia Sophia (15468276434).jpg
| image6 = Capital Louvre MAO2012 n01.jpg
| image7 = Magdeburg, domtsjerke, kapiteel.jpg
| image8 = Engelszell Stiftskirche - Nepomukaltar 4 Kapitell.jpg
| image9 = Castel Bérenger 1008.jpg
| footer = A few examples of capitals in different styles: [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|Egyptian]] Composite, [[Ancient Greek architecture|Ancient Greek]] [[Doric order|Doric]], Ancient Greek [[Ionic order|Ionic]], [[Ancient Roman architecture|Roman]] [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]], [[Byzantine architecture#Columns|Byzantine]] basket-shaped, [[Islamic architecture|Islamic]], [[Gothic architecture#Capitals|Gothic]], [[Rococo]] and [[Art Nouveau#Architecture and ornamentation|Art Nouveau]]
}}

In [[architecture]], the '''capital''' ({{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|caput}}|head}}) or '''chapiter''' forms the topmost member of a [[column]] (or a [[pilaster]]). It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface.  The capital, projecting on each side as it rises to support the [[abacus (architecture)|abacus]], joins the usually square abacus and the usually circular shaft of the column. The capital may be convex, as in the [[Doric order]]; concave, as in the [[inverted bell]] of the [[Corinthian order]]; or scrolling out, as in the [[Ionic order]]. These form the three principal types on which all capitals in the [[Classical order|classical tradition]] are based. 

The [[Composite order]] was formalized in the 16th&nbsp;century following Roman Imperial examples such as the [[Arch of Titus]] in Rome. It adds Ionic [[volute]]s to Corinthian [[acanthus (ornament)|acanthus]] leaves.

From the highly visible position it occupies in all [[colonnade]]d monumental buildings, the capital is often selected for ornamentation; and is often the clearest indicator of the [[Orders of architecture|architectural order]]. The treatment of its detail may be an indication of the building's date.

Capitals occur in many styles of architecture, before and after the [[classical architecture]] in which they are so prominent.

==Pre-classical Antiquity==
===Egyptian===
The two earliest [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] capitals of importance are those based on the [[Egyptian lotus|lotus]] and [[papyrus]] plants respectively, and these, with the [[Date Palm|palm tree]] capital, were the chief types employed by the Egyptians, until under the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemies]] in the 3rd to 1st centuries&nbsp;BC, various other river plants were also employed, and the conventional lotus capital went through various modifications.

Many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are [[symbol]]ic, such as the [[Dung beetle#Scarab in ancient Egypt|scarab]], or sacred beetle, the [[solar disk]], and the [[vulture]]. Other common motifs include [[palm tree|palm]] leaves, the [[papyrus]] plant, and the buds and flowers of the [[Nymphaea caerulea|lotus]].<ref>Arnold, 2005, pp.204ff</ref>

Some of the most popular types of capitals were the [[Hathor]], lotus, papyrus and Egyptian composite. Most of the types are based on vegetal motifs. Capitals of some columns were painted in bright colors.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:The grammar of ornament (1868) (14587326250).jpg|Illustration of papyriform capitals, in ''[[The Grammar of Ornament]]'', 1856
File:Vintage illustration from the grammar of ornament7.jpg|Nine types of capitals, from ''The Grammar of Ornament''
File:Mammisi Philae2.JPG|Columns with [[Hathor]]ic capitals, at the Temple of [[Isis]] from island [[Philae]]
File:Philae 08.jpg|Egyptian composite columns from Philae
File:Luxor-Tempel Hof Amenophis III. 02.jpg|Papyriform columns in the [[Luxor Temple]]
File:Composite Papyrus Capital MET 10.177.2 EGDP018080.jpg|Composite papyrus capital; 380-343 BC; painted [[sandstone]]; height: 126&nbsp;cm (49{{fraction|5|8}} in.); [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Fragments of a Palm Column MET 07.229.2 DA-3.jpg|Fragments of a palm column; 2353-2323 BC; granite; diameter beneath the ropes of the neck 80.85&nbsp;cm (31{{fraction|13|16}} in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Model quatrefoil palmette capital MET DP236176.jpg|Model of a quatrefoil palmette capital; 400-30 BC; limestone; height: 23.9&nbsp;cm (9{{fraction|7|16}} in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>
[[File:Perspolis.jpg|thumb|Top of an [[Achaemenid]] [[Persian column]] from [[Persepolis]]]]

===Assyrian===
Some kind of volute capital is shown in the [[Assyria]]n [[bas-relief]]s, but no Assyrian capital has ever been found; the enriched bases exhibited in the [[British Museum]] were initially misinterpreted as capitals.

===Persian===
{{See also|Achaemenid architecture}}
In the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] [[Persian column|Persian capital]], the [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]] are carved with two heavily decorated back-to-back animals projecting right and left to support the [[architrave]]; on their backs they carry other brackets at right angles to support the cross timbers.  The [[bull]] is the most common, but there are also [[lion]]s and [[griffin]]s.  The capital extends below for further than in most other styles, with decoration drawn from the many cultures that the Persian Empire conquered including [[Egypt]], [[Babylon]], and [[Lydia]].  There are double [[volute]]s at the top and, inverted, bottom of a long plain fluted section which is square, although the shaft of the column is round, and also fluted.

===Aegean===
The earliest Aegean capital is that shown in the [[fresco]]es at [[Knossos]] in Crete (1600&nbsp;BC); it was of the convex type, probably moulded in [[stucco]]. Capitals of the second, concave type, include the richly carved examples of the columns flanking the [[Tomb of Agamemnon]] in [[Mycenae]] (c.&nbsp;1100&nbsp;BC): they are carved with a [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron]] device, and with a concave [[apophyge]] on which the buds of some flowers are sculpted.

===Proto-Aeolic===
Volute capitals, also known as proto-Aeolic capitals, are encountered in Iron-Age [[Southern Levant]] and [[Ancient history of Cyprus|ancient Cyprus]], many of them in royal architectural contexts in the [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|kingdoms of Israel and Judah]] starting from the 9th century BCE, as well as in [[Moab]], [[Ammon]], and at [[Cyprus|Cypriot]] sites such as the [[city-state]] of [[Tamassos]] in the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] period.<ref name=JJARoyal>{{cite journal |last1= Mumcuoglu |first1= Madeleine |last2= Garfinkel |first2= Yosef |author-link2= Yosef Garfinkel |title= Royal Architecture in the Iron Age Levant |pages= 450–481 [464–472] |journal= Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology |publisher=[[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] |number= 1 |year= 2021 |volume= 1 |doi= 10.52486/01.00001.15 |doi-broken-date= 1 November 2024 |s2cid= 236257877 |url= https://jjar.huji.ac.il/publications/royal-architecture-iron-age-levant |access-date= 16 December 2021|doi-access= free }}</ref><ref name=JProyal>{{cite news |title= Can royal architecture prove biblical Judah was a kingdom? |newspaper= Rossella Tercatin for [[The Jerusalem Post]] |date= 21 November 2021 |url= https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/can-royal-architecture-in-biblical-judah-prove-its-status-as-a-kingdom-685601 |access-date= 16 December 2021}}</ref>

== Classical Antiquity ==
[[File:Erechteion - chapiteau.jpg|thumb|[[Ionic order]] capital of the [[Erechtheion]], Athens, with rotated volute at the corner]]
{{main|Classical order}}
The orders, structural systems for organising component parts, played a crucial role in the Greeks' search for perfection of ratio and proportion. The Greeks and Romans distinguished three [[classical orders]] of architecture, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders; each had different types of capitals atop the columns of their [[hypostyle]] and [[trabeate]] monumental buildings. Throughout the [[Mediterranean Basin]], the [[Near East]], and the wider [[Hellenistic world]] including the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] and the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]], numerous variations on these and other designs of capitals co-existed with the regular classical orders. The only architectural treatise of classical antiquity to survive is {{Lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} by the 1st-century BC Roman architect [[Vitruvius]], who discussed the different proportions of each of these orders and made recommendations for how the column capitals of each order were to be constructed and in what proportions. In the [[Roman world]] and within the [[Roman Empire]], the Tuscan order was employed, originally from Italy and with a capital similar to Greek Doric capitals, while the [[Roman imperial period (chronology)|Roman imperial period]] saw the emergence of the [[Composite order]], with a hybrid capital developed from Ionic and Corinthian elements. The Tuscan and Corinthian columns were counted among the classical canon of orders by the architects of [[Renaissance architecture]] and [[Neoclassical architecture]].

===Greek===

==== Doric ====
[[File:DoricParthenon.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a [[Doric order|Doric]] capital of the [[Parthenon]], in a book named ''A Handbook of Architectural Styles'', written in 1898]]
{{Main article|Doric order}}
The '''Doric capital''' is the simplest of the five [[Classical order]]s: it consists of the [[abacus (architecture)|abacus]] above an [[ovolo]] molding, with an [[astragal]] collar set below. It was developed in the lands occupied by the [[Dorians]], one of the two principal divisions of the Greek race. It became the preferred style of the Greek mainland and the western colonies (southern Italy and [[Sicily]]). In the [[Temple of Apollo (Syracuse)|Temple of Apollo]], Syracuse (c.&nbsp;700&nbsp;BC), the [[Echinus (molding)|echinus]] [[Molding (decorative)|moulding]] has become a more definite form: this in the [[Parthenon]] reaches its culmination, where the convexity is at the top and bottom with a delicate uniting curve. The sloping side of the echinus becomes flatter in the later examples, and in the [[Colosseum]] at [[Rome]] forms a quarter round (see [[Doric order]]). In versions where the [[frieze]] and other elements are simpler the same form of capital is described as being in the [[Tuscan order]]. Doric reached its peak in the mid-5th century BC, and was one of the orders accepted by the Romans. Its characteristics are masculinity, strength and solidity.

The Doric capital consists of a cushion-like convex moulding known as an echinus, and a square slab termed an abacus.

{{anchor|ionic capital}}

==== Ionic ====
{{Main article|Ionic order}}
[[File:Ionic Order from “Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce” p197.jpg|alt=|thumb|Plate of the Ionic order, from ''Les Ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grèce'', made in 1770 by [[Julien-David Le Roy]]]]
In the '''Ionic capital''', spirally coiled volutes are inserted between the abacus and the ovolo. This order appears to have been developed contemporaneously with the Doric, though it did not come into common usage and take its final shape until the mid-5th century BC. The style prevailed in Ionian lands, centred on the coast of [[Asia Minor]] and [[Aegean Islands|Aegean islands]]. The order's form was far less set than the Doric, with local variations persisting for many decades. In the Ionic capitals of the archaic [[Temple of Artemis]] at [[Ephesus]] (560&nbsp;BC) the width of the abacus is twice that of its depth, consequently the earliest Ionic capital known was virtually a bracket capital. A century later, in the temple on the [[Ilisos|Ilissus]], the abacus has become square (See the more complete discussion at [[Ionic order]]). According to the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]], the Ionic order's main characteristics were beauty, femininity, and slenderness, derived from its basis on the proportion of a woman.

The volutes of an Ionic capital rest on an echinus, almost invariably carved with egg-and-dart. Above the scrolls was an abacus, more shallow than that in Doric examples, and again ornamented with egg-and-dart.

{{anchor|corinthian capital}}

====Corinthian====
{{Main article|Corinthian order}}
{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->
| align =
| total_width = 450
| direction = horizontal
| footer =
<!-- Image 1 -->
| image1 = Fotothek df tg 0003916 Architektur ^ Säule ^ korinthische Ordnung ^ Kranz ^ Fries ^ Epistyl.jpg
| width1 = 140
| height1 =
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Illustration of the Corinthian capital from 1640, in [[Deutsche Fotothek]] ([[Dresden]], Germany)
<!-- Image 2 -->
| image2 = Evolution of the Corinthian Capital 138.jpg
| width2 =
| height2 =
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Evolution of the Corinthian capital, drawn by [[Sir Banister Flight Fletcher]]
}}
It has been suggested that the foliage of the Greek '''Corinthian capital''' was based on the ''Acanthus spinosus'', that of the Roman on the ''[[Acanthus mollis]]''. Not all architectural foliage is as realistic as Isaac Ware's (''illustration, right'') however. The leaves are generally carved in two "ranks" or bands, like one leafy cup set within another. The Corinthian capitals from the Tholos of [[Epidaurus]] (400&nbsp;BC) illustrate the transition between the earlier Greek capital, as at [[Bassae]], and the Roman version that Renaissance and modern architects inherited and refined (See the more complete discussion at [[Corinthian order]]).

In [[Roman architecture|Roman architectural practice]], capitals are briefly treated in their proper context among the detailing proper to each of the "[[Classical order|Orders]]", in the only complete architectural textbook to have survived from classical times, the {{Lang|la|[[De architectura]]}}, by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, better known as [[Vitruvius]], dedicated to the emperor [[Augustus]]. The various orders are discussed in Vitruvius' books iii and iv. Vitruvius describes Roman practice in a practical fashion. He gives some tales about the invention of each of the orders, but he does not give a hard and fast set of canonical rules for the execution of capitals.

Two further, specifically Roman orders of architecture have their characteristic capitals, the sturdy and primitive [[Tuscan order|Tuscan capitals]], typically used in military buildings, similar to Greek Doric, but with fewer small moldings in its profile, and the invented [[Composite order|Composite capitals]] not even mentioned by Vitruvius, which combined Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus capitals, in an order that was otherwise quite similar in proportions to the Corinthian, itself an order that Romans employed much more often than Greeks.

The increasing adoption of Composite capitals signalled a trend towards freer, more inventive (and often more coarsely carved) capitals in [[Late Antiquity]].

====Anta====
{{main|Anta capital}}
{{see also|Anta (architecture)}}
{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->| align = right
| total_width = 450
| direction = horizontal
| footer = <!-- Image 1 -->
| image1 = Side of an anta capital, from the Erechtheion Athens.jpg
| width1 = 140
| height1 = 
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = A Ionic [[anta capital]] from the 5th century BC, at the [[Erechtheion]] ([[Athens]])
<!-- Image 2 -->| image2 = Greek Corinthian anta capital.jpg
| width2 = 
| height2 = 
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = Illustration of a Corinthian anta, from ''A handbook of ornament'', published in 1896
}}
The '''anta capital''' is not a capital which is set on top of column, but rather on top of an [[Anta (architecture)|anta]], a structural post integrated into the frontal end of a wall, such as the front of the side wall of a temple.

The top of an anta is often highly decorated, usually with bands of floral motifs. The designs often respond to an order of columns, but usually with a different set of design principles.<ref>"The Classical Orders of Architecture" Robert Chitham, Routledge, 2007 p.212  [https://books.google.com/books?id=W_0rBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT204]</ref> In order not to protrude excessively from the wall surface, these structures tend to have a rather flat surface, forming brick-shaped capitals, called "anta capitals". Anta capitals are known from the time of the Doric order.<ref>"The Classical Orders of Architecture" Robert Chitham, Routledge, 2007 p.31 [https://books.google.com/books?id=W_0rBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT29]</ref>

An anta capital can sometimes be qualified as a "sofa" capital or a "sofa anta capital" when the sides of the capital broaden upward, in a shape reminiscent of a couch or [[Couch|sofa]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Antae |volume= 02 |short=x}}</ref><ref>Architectural Elements, Emory University [http://www.samothrace.emory.edu/visualizing-the-sanctuary/entering-the-sanctuary/architectural-elements] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316204626/http://www.samothrace.emory.edu/visualizing-the-sanctuary/entering-the-sanctuary/architectural-elements|date=2016-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.samothrace.emory.edu/visualizing-the-sanctuary/entering-the-sanctuary/architectural-elements |title=Architectural Elements &#124; Samothrace |access-date=2016-11-02 |archive-date=2016-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316204626/http://www.samothrace.emory.edu/visualizing-the-sanctuary/entering-the-sanctuary/architectural-elements |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Corinthian capital supported by protomes of Pegasus, from the interior of the cella of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus, Augustan Age, Museo dei Fori Imperiali, Rome (32416581701).jpg|left|thumb|Corinthian pilaster capital supported by [[protomes]] of [[pegasi]], from the interior of the [[cella]] of the [[Temple of Mars Ultor]] in the [[Forum of Augustus]],  now in the [[Museo dei Fori Imperiali]], Rome]]
Anta capitals are sometimes hard to distinguish from [[pilaster]] capitals, which are rather decorative, and do not have the same structural role as anta capitals.

===Roman===
====Tuscan====
{{Main|Tuscan order}}
The origins of the [[Tuscan order]] lie with the Etruscans and are found on their tombs. Although the Romans perceived it as especially Italianate, the '''Tuscan capital''' found on Roman monuments is in fact closer to the Greek Doric order than to Etruscan examples, its capital being nearby identical with the Doric.{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->| align = 
| total_width = 450
| direction = horizontal
| footer = <!-- Image 1 -->
| image1 = Ritning över kolonnkapitäl och gesims, 1700-tal - Skoklosters slott - 99017.tif
| width1 = 140
| height1 = 
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Tuscan capital and [[entablature]], illustration from the 18th century
<!-- Image 2 -->| image2 = The student's instructor in drawing and working - the five orders of architecture - fully explaining the best methods for striking regular and quirked mouldings, for diminishing and glueing of columns (14574345498).jpg
| height2 = 
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = Illustration of the Composite order, made in 1837
}}

====Composite====
{{Main|Composite order}}
The Romans invented the [[Composite order]] by uniting the Corinthian order with the Ionic capital, possibly as early as [[Augustus]]'s reign. In many versions the Composite order volutes are larger, however, and there is generally some ornament placed centrally between the volutes. Despite this origin, very many '''Composite capitals''' in fact treat the two volutes as different elements, each springing from one side of their leafy base. In this, and in having a separate ornament between them, they resemble the [[Archaic Greek]] [[Aeolic order]], though this seems not to have been the route of their development in early [[Roman Empire|Imperial Rome]]. Equally, where the Greek Ionic volute is usually shown from the side as a single unit of unchanged width between the front and back of the column, the Composite volutes are normally treated as four different thinner units, one at each corner of the capital, projecting at some 45° to the façade.

===Indian===
====The ''Lion Capital of Ashoka''====
{{main|Lion Capital of Ashoka}}
[[File:Sarnath capital.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The ''Lion Capital of Ashoka''; circa 3rd century BC; polished sandstone; height: 2.2 m; [[Sarnath Museum]] (Saranath, near [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], India)]]
The Lion Capital of Ashoka is an iconic capital which consists of four [[Asiatic lion]]s standing back to back, on an elaborate base that includes other animals. A graphic representation of it was adopted as the official [[Emblem of India]] in 1950.<ref>[http://www.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=9 State Emblem], Know India india.gov.in</ref> This powerfully carved lion capital from [[Sarnath]] stood a top a pillar bearing the edicts of the emperor [[Ashoka]]. Like most of Ashoka's capitals, it is brilliantly polished. Located at the site of Buddha's first sermon and the formation of the Buddhist order, it carried imperial and Buddhist symbols, reflecting the universal authority of both the emperor's and the Buddha's words. The capital today serves as the emblem of the Republic of [[India]]. Minus the [[inverted bell]]-shaped [[Indian lotus|lotus]] flower, this has been adopted as the [[National Emblem of India]], seen from another angle, showing the horse on the left and the bull on the right of the [[Ashoka Chakra]] in the circular base on which the four [[Indian lion]]s are standing back to back. On the side shown here there are the bull and elephant; a lion occupies the other place. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the centre of the [[National Flag of India]]

====Indo-Ionic capitals====
{{main|Pataliputra capital}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=Indo-Ionic capitals
| image1   = Pataliputra_capital_front.jpg
| caption1 = [[Pataliputra capital]], 4th–3rd c. BCE
| image2   = Sarnath_capital_in_Sarnath_Museum.jpg
| caption2 = [[Sarnath capital]], with volutes and palmettes, 3rd–1st c. BCE
| footer=
}}
The [[Pataliputra capital]] is a monumental rectangular capital with [[volute]]s designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient [[Mauryan Empire]] capital city of [[Pataliputra]] (modern [[Patna]], northeastern [[India]]). It is dated to the 3rd century BC. The top is made of a band of [[Rosette (design)|rosettes]], eleven in total for the fronts and four for the sides. Below that is a band of [[bead and reel]] pattern, then under it a band of waves, generally right-to-left, except for the back where they are left-to-right. Further below is a band of [[egg-and-dart]] pattern, with eleven "tongues" or "eggs" on the front, and only seven on the back. Below appears the main motif, a [[flame palmette]], growing among pebbles.

The [[Sarnath capital]] is a pillar capital, sometimes also described as a "stone bracket", discovered in the archaeological excavations at the ancient [[Buddhist]] site of [[Sarnath]]. The pillar displays [[Ionic order|Ionic]] volutes and [[palmette]]s.<ref name="BRM">{{cite book |last1=Mani |first1=B. R. |title=Sarnath : Archaeology, Art and Architecture |date=2012 |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |page=[https://archive.org/details/sarnatharchaeolo00mani/page/60 60] |url=https://archive.org/details/sarnatharchaeolo00mani}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Majumdar |first1=B. |title=Guide to Sarnath |date=1937 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.30293/page/n63 41] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.30293}}</ref> It has been variously dated from the 3rd century BCE during the [[Mauryan Empire]] period,<ref>Presented as a "Mauryan capital, 250 BC" with the addition of recumbant lions at the base, in the page "Types of early capitals" in {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Percy |title=Indian Architecture (Buddhist And Hindu) |date=1959 |page=x |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.54756#page/n33/mode/2up}}</ref> to the 1st century BCE, during the [[Sunga Empire]] period.<ref name="BRM"/>

====Indo-Corinthian capitals====
{{Main|Indo-Corinthian capital}}
[[File:Corinthian capital with the Buddha in the center.jpg|thumb|300px|Figure of [[Buddha]], in the centre of a Corinthian capital, made during the ancient [[Gandhara]] state, between the 1st to the 3rd&nbsp;century AD, found at [[Jamal Garhi]]]]
Some capitals with strong Greek and Persian influence have been found in northeastern India in the [[Maurya Empire]] palace of [[Pataliputra]], dating to the 4th–3rd century BC. Examples such as the [[Pataliputra capital]] belong to the [[Ionic order]] rather than the later [[Corinthian order]]. They are witness to relations between India and the West from that early time.

[[Indo-Corinthian capital]]s correspond to the much more abundant Corinthian-style capitals crowning columns or pilasters, which can be found in the northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]], particularly in [[Gandhara]], and usually combine [[Hellenistic]] and [[India]]n elements. These capitals are typically dated to the first century&nbsp;BC, and constitute important elements of [[Greco-Buddhist art]].

The Classical design was often adapted, usually taking a more elongated form, and sometimes being combined with scrolls, generally within the context of Buddhist [[stupa]]s and [[temple]]s. Indo-Corinthian capitals also incorporated figures of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] or [[Bodhisattva]]s, usually as central figures surrounded by, and often under the shade of, the luxurious foliage of Corinthian designs.

==Late Antiquity==
===Byzantine===
[[File:Hagia Sophia (15468276434).jpg|thumb|Basket capital from the mid-6th-century [[Hagia Sophia]] at [[Constantinople]]]]
[[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] capitals vary widely, mostly developing from the classical Corinthian, but tending to have an even surface level, with the ornamentation undercut with drills.  The block of stone was left rough as it came from the quarry, and the sculptor evolved new designs to his own fancy, so that one rarely meets with many repetitions of the same design. One of the most remarkable designs features leaves carved as if blown by the wind; the finest example being at the 8th-century [[Hagia Sophia (Thessaloniki)]]. Those in the [[Cathedral of Saint Mark, Venice]]&nbsp;(1071) specially attracted [[John Ruskin]]'s fancy. Others appear in [[Sant'Apollinare in Classe]], [[Ravenna]]&nbsp;(549).

The capital in [[San Vitale, Ravenna]]&nbsp;(547) shows above it the [[dosseret]] required to carry the [[arch]], the springing of which was much wider than the abacus of the capital. On eastern capitals the eagle, the lion and the lamb are occasionally carved, but treated conventionally.

There are two types of capitals used at [[Hagia Sophia]]: Composite and Ionic. The composite capital that emerged during the Late [[Byzantine Empire]], mainly in Rome, combines the [[Corinthian capital|Corinthian]] with the [[Ionic capital|Ionic]]. [[Composite capital]]s line the principal space of the nave. Ionic capitals are used behind them in the side spaces, in a mirror position relative to the Corinthian or composite orders (as was their fate well into the 19th century, when buildings were designed for the first time with a monumental Ionic order). At Hagia Sophia, though, these are not the standard imperial statements. The capitals are filled with foliage in all sorts of variations. In some, the small, lush leaves appear to be caught up in the spinning of the scrolls – clearly, a different, nonclassical sensibility has taken over the design.

The capitals at [[Basilica of San Vitale]] in [[Ravenna]] ([[Italy]]) show wavy and delicate floral patterns similar to decorations found on belt buckles and dagger blades. Their inverted pyramidal form has the look of a basket.

Capitals in early [[Islamic architecture]] are derived from Graeco-Roman and Byzantine forms, reflecting the training of most of the masons producing them. 

<gallery>
File:A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance (1901) (14597482728).jpg|Illustration of the Corinthian capital of the mid-5th-century [[Column of Marcian]], with a [[pulvino]] above it.
File:Architectural Capital from Philippi - 3.jpg|Corinthian capital from the late 5th-century "Basilica A" at [[Philippi]]
File:Architectural Capital from Philippi.jpg|Capital from the late 5th-century "Basilica A" at [[Philippi]]
File:Ravenna Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo capitel.jpg|Corinthian capital from the early 6th-century [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]] ([[Ravenna]], Italy)
File:Ravenna San Vitale 202.jpg|Capital in the mid-6th century [[Basilica of San Vitale]] ([[Ravenna]], Italy)
File:Poreč Basilika - Atrium 5 Kapitell.jpg|Basket capital in the atrium of the 6th-century [[Euphrasian Basilica]], [[Poreč]]
File:Capital Hippodrome.JPG|Capital with [[protomes]] of ''[[pegasi]]'', probably 6th-century, possibly from the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]]
File:Pilastri Acritani.jpg|One of the "Pilastri Acritani", Venice, from the 6th-century [[Church of St Polyeuctus]] in Constantinople
File:Korçë NMMA - Durres Byzantinisches Kapitell.jpg|Byzantine Ionic capital from Dyrrachium ([[Durrës]]) in the [[National Museum of Medieval Art (Albania)|National Museum of Medieval Art]] ([[Korçë]], Albania) 
File:Capital MET DP240296.jpg|10th-century [[Islamic architecture|Islamic]] Composite capital with [[Arabic]]-inscribed [[Abacus (architecture)|abacus]], probably from [[Medina Azahara]], in the Umayyad [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])
File:Paris Louvre Kapitelle 31.JPG|10th-century capitals from the Umayyad [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] ([[Louvre]])
</gallery>

==Middle Ages==
[[File:Southwell minster 028.JPG|thumb|Foliage on [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] capitals at [[Southwell Minster]] ([[Southwell, Nottinghamshire|Southwell]], England)]]
In both periods small columns are often used close together in groups, often around a [[Pier (architecture)|pier]] that is in effect a single larger column, or running along a wall surface.  The structural importance of the individual column is thereby greatly reduced.  In both periods, though there are common types, the sense of a strict order with rules was not maintained, and when the budget allowed, carvers were able to indulge their inventiveness. Capitals were sometimes used to hold depictions of figures and narrative scenes, especially in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]].

In [[Romanesque architecture]] and [[Gothic architecture]] capitals throughout western Europe present as much variety as in the East, and for the same reason, that the sculptor evolved his design in accordance with the block he was carving, but in the west variety goes further, because of the clustering of columns and [[pier (architecture)|piers]].

The earliest type of capital in [[Lombardy]] and [[Germany]] is known as the cushion-cap, in which the lower portion of the cube block has been cut away to meet the circular shaft. These types were generally painted at first with geometrical designs, afterwards carved.

The finest carving comes from France, especially from the area around Paris. The most varied were carved in 1130–1170.<ref>John James,'' The Creation of Gothic Architecture – an Illustrated Thesaurus: The Ark of God'', vols. 5, London and Hartley Vale, 2002/2008.</ref>

In Britain and France the figures introduced into the capitals are sometimes full of character, these are referred to as historiated (or figured capital). These capitals, however, are not equal to those of the [[English Gothic#Early English Gothic|Early English Gothic]], in which foliage is treated as if copied from metalwork, and is of infinite variety, being found in small village churches as well as in cathedrals.

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">

File:Lund Dom - Krypta Säule gedreht.jpg|Simple, Romanesque cushion capital in the crypt of [[Lund Cathedral]] (Sweden)
File:Cloister Abbaye Saint-Michel de Cuxa 2.jpg|[[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] capital at the [[abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa]] (France)
File:Gelnhausen, Marienkirche, Südportal-20160804-004.jpg|Gothic capitals at a portal of [[Marienkirche Gelnhausen]] ([[Gelnhausen]], Germany)
File:Собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы во Владимире41.jpg|[[Russian architecture|Russian]] capital of the [[Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir|Dormition Cathedral]] from [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]] (Russia)
File:BisericaMavrogheni (5).JPG|[[Brâncovenesc style|Brâncovenesc]] capital of from [[Mavrogheni Church]] ([[Bucharest]], [[Romania]]) 
</gallery>

===Armenian===
[[File:Zvartnots,exedraS.jpg|thumb|[[Zvartnots Cathedral|Zvartnots]] Cathedral]]
{{See also|Armenian architecture}}
Armenian capitals are often versions of Byzantine forms. In the 4th-7th centuries the capitals of Armenian architectural facades and masonry facades are tall rectangular stones with a total volume, which are converted into a slab by means of a bell. In the structures of the early period ([[Yererouk|Ereruyk]], [[Tekor Church|Tekor]], [[Sophene|Tsopk]], etc.) they were sculpted with plant and animal images, palm trees. In the 10th century and in the following centuries, capitals are mainly formed by a combination of a cylinder and a slab. The structures of Armenian palaces, churches, courtyards ([[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]], [[Aruch]], [[Zvartnots Cathedral|Zvartnots]], [[Ishkhanasar|Ishkhan]], Banak, [[Haghpat Monastery|Haghpat]], [[Sanahin Monastery|Sanahin]], [[Ani]] structures) are diverse and unique.

==Renaissance and post-Renaissance==
[[File:Bound Print (France) (CH 18219865).jpg|thumb|Illustrations of [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] capitals from France, in the [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]] (New York City)]]
[[File:Column capital. Yarkand mosque.jpg|thumb|Column capital. [[Yarkand]] mosque]]
[[File:Richly decorated pillar capital at Urgyen Sanag Choling Monastery. Pin Valley, Spiti.jpg|thumb|Richly decorated pillar capital at Urgyen Sanag Choling Monastery. Pin Valley, Spiti]]
In the [[Renaissance]] period the feature became of the greatest importance and its variety almost as great as in the Romanesque and Gothic styles. The flat pilaster, which was employed extensively in this period, called for a planar rendition of the capital, executed in high relief. This affected the designs of capitals. A traditional 15th-century variant of the Composite capital turns the volutes inwards above stiffened leaf carving. In new Renaissance combinations in capital designs most of the ornament can be traced to Classical Roman sources.

The 'Renaissance' was as much a reinterpretation as a revival of Classical norms. For example, the volutes of ancient Greek and Roman Ionic capitals had lain in the same plane as the architrave above them. This had created an awkward transition at the corner – where, for example, the designer of the temple of [[Athena Nike]] on the [[Acropolis]] in Athens had brought the outside volute of the end capitals forward at a 45-degree angle. This problem was more satisfactorily solved by the 16th-century architect [[Sebastiano Serlio]], who angled outwards all volutes of his Ionic capitals.  Since then use of antique Ionic capitals, instead of Serlio's version, has lent an archaic air to the entire context, as in [[Greek Revival]].

There are numerous newly invented orders, sometimes called [[Classical order#Nonce orders|nonce orders]], where a different ornamentation of the capital is typically a key feature. Within the bounds of [[decorum]], a certain amount of inventive play has always been acceptable within the classical tradition. These became increasingly common after the Renaissance.  When [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Latrobe]] redesigned the Senate Vestibule in the [[United States Capitol]] in 1807, he introduced six columns that he "Americanized" with ears of corn (maize) substituting for the European acanthus leaves. As Latrobe reported to [[Thomas Jefferson]] in August&nbsp;1809,
:These capitals during the summer session obtained me more applause from members of Congress than all the works of magnitude or difficulty that surround them. They christened them the 'corncob capitals'.

Another example is the [[Delhi Order]] invented by the British architect [[Edwin Lutyens]] for [[New Delhi]]'s central palace, Viceroy's House, now the Presidential residence [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]], using elements of [[Indian architecture]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gradidge |first=Roderick |title=Edwin Lutyens: Architect Laureate |year=1981 |publisher=George Allen and Unwin |location=London |isbn=0-04-720023-5 |page=69}}</ref> Here the capital had a band of vertical ridges, with bells hanging at each corner as a replacement for volutes.<ref name=Gradidge151>{{cite book |last=Gradidge |first=Roderick |title=Edwin Lutyens: Architect Laureate |year=1981 |publisher=George Allen and Unwin |location=London |isbn=0-04-720023-5 |page=151}}</ref> The Delhi Order reappears in some later Lutyens buildings including [[Campion Hall, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gradidge |first=Roderick |title=Edwin Lutyens: Architect Laureate |year=1981 |publisher=George Allen and Unwin |location=London |isbn=0-04-720023-5 |page=161}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
Bound Print (France) (CH 18219871).jpg|Illustrations of [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] capitals from France, in the [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]] (New York City)

Bound Print (France) (CH 18219923).jpg|Illustrations of Baroque [[pilaster]] capitals from France, in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Chapiteau, Style Louis XIV, objectnr A 59275.jpg|Print of a [[Louis XIV style]] [[Ionic order|Ionic]] capital, with a pair of [[festoon]]-inspired ornaments on its [[volute]]s

Engelszell Stiftskirche - Nepomukaltar 4 Kapitell.jpg|[[Rococo]] or [[Rocaille]] capital in the [[Engelszell Abbey]] from [[Austria]]

Mausoleum Althan, Murstetten - detail.jpg|The capitals of a Rococo pilaster, on the [[Mausoleum Althan, Murstetten|Mausoleum Althan]] (Austria)

Place Concorde en février 2014 04.jpg|[[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] capital of Réverbère de la place de la Concorde, in Paris

Castelul Cantacuzino-Pașcanu-Waldenburg, Detaliu capitel stânga -BC-II-m-A-00851.01.jpg|[[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] capital of the [[Cantacuzino-Pașcanu-Waldenburg Castle from Lilieci]] ([[Romania]])

15 Halytska Square, Lviv (05).jpg|[[Ionic order|Ionic]] capital from [[Lviv]] ([[Ukraine]])

55, Strada Lipscani, Bucharest (Romania) 13.jpg|Composite capital from [[Cărturești Carusel]] ([[Bucharest]], [[Romania]])


</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Impost (architecture)]]
* [[Pulvino]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Lewis, Philippa & Gillian Darley (1986) ''Dictionary of Ornament'', NY: Pantheon
{{EB1911|wstitle=Capital (architecture)}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Capitals (architecture)}}
{{EB1911 poster|Capital (architecture)}}
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/capitaltable.htm Types of capitals used in Medieval Art and Architecture]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capital (Architecture)}}
[[Category:Columns and entablature]]
[[Category:Architectural elements]]