HANDBOOK OF THE CLASSICAL TRADITION
Corinthian Order
The Corinthian Capital: Part I
This elevation of the Corinthian Capital shows the first stage of drawing the capital, before the leaves and other ornament is added. The capital is viewed looking straight at the convex portion of the capital which is illustrated in the partial plan above the elevation.
The capital is 7/6 D high and is 9/6 from tip to tip of the abacus. The abacus which is 1/6 D high consists of an ovolo, fillet, conge and fascia. In many versions of the Corinthian one finds a large conge at the abacus which is indistinguishable from the fascia. Below the abacus is a cylindrical bell that tapers down to 5/6 D from the lip of the bell. The lip is a beak molding with a thickness of 1/18 or 1/12 D.
Situated below the bell, the astragal can be drawn within a 1/12 D by 1/12 D square. From the outermost point on the square, a dashed line should be drawn to the tip of the abacus. This line defines the boundaries for drawing the acanthus leaves of the capital.
Another set of dashed lines drawn from the outer edge of the bottom of the bell at 45 degrees will give the width of the abacus, previously noted as 9/6 D.
The Corinthian Capital: Part II
The Corinthian Capital has a series of alternating acanthus leaves crowned by scrolls or volutes. At the base of the capital, are eight leaves which are 2/6 D high; each leaf droops down one quarter of its total height. Four of the leaves are visible in elevation.
There are another 8 leaves at the next row which are offset from the leaves below and rise from the base of the capital. In between the leaves of the second row are caulicoli or stylized cabbage stalks ending in a button. Paired leaves and volutes spring from each button, with one pair resting under the horn of the abacus and another pair turning inward.
The two inner volutes support a fleuron or flower at the convex portion of abacus. Sixteen volutes and sixteen leaves make up the upper tier. Because of the coupling of leaves and volutes, the upper tier has eight distinct clusters of ornament.
The Corinthian Entablature
With a height of 2 D, the Corinthian entablature, along with the Composite, is the tallest entablature of the orders. Both architrave and frieze are D high, and the cornice is 1 D high with a projection of 1 D from the face of the entablature.
The top of the cornice has a cyma recta followed by a smaller cyma recta. A corona, or fascia, sits below these moldings and is set back slightly more than 1/6 D from the outer projection of the cornice. The modillions or brackets visually support the corona. Each modillion at 1/5 D high by 2/9 D wide is 4/6 D on center with the next modillion. A small cyma reversa one sixth of the height of the modillion caps each bracket and returns around the fascia separating the modillions. The side elevation of the modillion shows a 5/12 projection for the bracket as well as its double scroll and acanthus leaf in profile.
Like the Ionic order, the bed mold of the Ionic order consists of an ovolo, dentils, and cyma reversa. The dentils also follow the same dimensions and spacing as the Ionic; each dentil is 1/6 D high by 1/9 D wide with 1/18 D between each dentil.
The frieze may be plain or ornamented. It is followed by an architrave with three bands. From top to bottom the bands decrease in width. The upper band is crowned with a projecting cymatium consisting of a fillet, cyma reversa, and small bead. The lowest band is in line with the upper diameter of the column.
The Corinthian Base
The Corinthian base shown is a more elaborate version of the Ionic Attic Base. It differs by having two scotias separated by two small beads whereas the Attic Base has a single scotia. Vignola¡s Ionic base, which is not illustrated, resembles his Corinthian base except it omits the lower torus.
The base is ½ D high by slightly more than 8/6 D wide. To draw the more detailed elements of the base, in particular the small beads and fillets, divide the base into 18 parts. Each part or P is 1/36D. The plinth which is one third the height of the base projects beyond the face of the column by 7 P. A large torus with a diameter of 4 P is tangent to the face of the plinth. Sitting above the torus is a delicate fillet and scotia.
Two beads and another scotia of the same height follow along with the small fillets which help define each molding. Note how the beads and upper scotia are set back from the lower scotia. An upper torus with a 3 P diameter is situated above the upper scotia. The fillet and conge above the last torus are part of the shaft.