Fig. 147.—Tiger lily from nature. Fig. 148.—Panel arrangement from the Tiger lily.
The well-known conventional acanthus and its varieties must now be described. There have been various suggestions concerning the identical plant from which the acanthus ornament is derived, but, like the anthemion of the Greeks, there is some
Fig. 149.—Acanthus Mollis from nature.
obscurity about it. The story told by Vitruvius of the sculptor Callimachus having the Corinthian capital suggested to him, by finding the plant growing round a basket covered by a square tile, is a plausible and certainly a pretty one (Vit. lib. 4, cap. 1). At any rate, Callimachus is credited by Vitruvius with the first use of the acanthus in capitals. The ornamental forms of the acanthus bear little resemblance to the natural leaf. (See Figs. [149], [150], [151], and [152].) The two latter are