Architectural Stone

Example of an Ionic Cap

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The Composite Order

The composite columns are a combination of the ionic and corinthian order.  The cap is made up of scrolls (from ionic) and between the scrolls you will often find an ornate egg-and-dart detail.  It also contains acanthus leaves (from corinthian).   

The Tuscan Order

The Tuscan column derived from the Doric order (as previously discussed).  The shaft is not fluted unlike the Corinthian shaft and it is the most simplified of columns by having an unfluted shaft and a simple, plain  capital. 

The Corinthian Order

The more ornate of the columns is known to us as Corinthian.  The shaft contains flutes and the capital itself is made up of hand carved leaves and flowers.

The Ionic Order

After the Doric column came the Ionic column , which is slightly more ornate in design.  The actual shaft of the column can either be fluted or plain depending on the design.  It has a scrolled shaped ornaments on the cap, where as the other column caps do not.

The Doric Order

Doric column is smooth, plain and less complex than others. However the detail on a doric.  When constructing Doric columns in Greece they would be positioned at the forefront of the building, without a base, directly on a pavement.  The Romans adopted the use of Doric columns but produced them with a base.

Classical Orders

The classical orders are the names given to each of the styles of classical Greek and Roman Architecture. The Greeks developed three orders of architectural design , the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, to these the Romans added a further two, the Tuscan and Composite.