(P. A.)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head), in architecture, the crowning member of the column, which projects on each side as it rises, in order to support the abacus and unite the square form of the latter with the circular shaft. The bulk of the capital may either be convex, as in the Doric capital; concave, as in the bell of the Corinthian capital; or bracketed out, as in the Ionic capital. These are the three principal types on which all capitals are based. The capitals of Greek, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders are given in the 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 indicator of any style.
| Fig. 1.—Lotus Capital from Karnak. | Fig. 2.—Papyrus Capital from Karnak. |
The two earliest capitals of importance are those which are based on the lotus (fig. 1) and papyrus (fig. 2) plants respectively, and these, with the palm tree capital, were the chief types employed by the Egyptians down to the 3rd century b.c., when, under the Ptolemaic dynasties, various river plants were employed decoratively and the lotus capital goes through various modifications (fig 3) Some kind of volute capital is shown in the Assyrian bas-reliefs, but no Assyrian capital has ever been found, those exhibited as such in the British Museum are bases.
 | |
| Fig. 3.—Modified Lotus Capital from Philae. | Fig. 4.—Persian Capital from Persepolis. |
The Persian capital belongs to the third class above mentioned, the brackets are carved with the lion (fig. 4) or the griffin projecting right and left to support and lessen the bearing of the architrave, and on their backs carry other brackets at right angles to support the cross timbers. The profuse decoration underneath the bracket capital in the palace of Xerxes and elsewhere, serves no structural function, but gives some variety to the extenuated shaft.
| Fig. 5.—Early Greek Capital from the Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae. |
The earliest Greek capital is that shown in the Temple-fresco at Cnossus in Crete (1600 b.c.); it was of the first type—convex, and was probably moulded in stucco: the second is represented by the richly carved example of the columns (fig 5) flanking the tomb of Agamemnon in Mycenae (c. 1100 b.c.), also convex, carved with the chevron device, and with an apophyge on which the buds of some flowers are sculptured. The Doric capital of the temple of Apollo at Syracuse (c. 700 b.c.) follows, in which the echinus 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.