The Ionic Volute
Terminal Enrichment in Wrought Metal
As the Curve of Force was a valuable curve in wood construction, so we find it an equally valuable curve for wrought metal. Its recurrence again and again in industrial design leads us to appreciate its value in the arts. It is the Ionic volute handed down to us in its present form from the time of the Greeks, who developed it to a high state of perfection.
Curve of Beauty
While its geometric development is a tedious process, it may be easily constructed for practical purposes by the following method. In [Figure 159], P represents a small cylinder of wood, possibly a dowel. A strong piece of thread, or fine wire, is wrapped around the base of the dowel a number of times and a loop is formed in the free end. A pencil with a sharp point is inserted in the loop and the pencil and dowel are placed together on a sheet of paper. As the thread unwinds from the dowel the point of the pencil will describe a volute which may be developed indefinitely. It will be noticed that no corresponding parts of the curve are concentric and it thus has constant variety. It has been termed the Curve of Beauty and is found in nature in the wonderfully designed shell of the nautilus.
It is advisable to form several templates for the volute out of bent wrought iron, of different sizes, and to practice drawing the curve many times to accustom the hand and the eye to its changes of direction. The "eye" or center portion is sometimes terminated by thinning and expanding in the manner shown in [Figure 160].
Plate 29