CAPITAL, in architecture, the uppermost member of a column, that is to say, a separate piece of stone set upon the shaft and supporting an epistyle or the abutment of an arch— in short the mass of the building which is imposed upon the column.
A column must always have a shaft and a capital; without these features it would be a post, perhaps a pillar or a pier, but would have no architectural character. The capital, more over, has generally received the most elaborate decorative treatment of the whole composition. Thus in Egypt while the shaft might be cylin drical or conical, the capital would spread out immediately in curves either concave or convex, and would be carved and painted. It is even practicable to divide Egyptian columns into four orders by their capitals, which spread in different ways, and are ornamented by differ ent sculpture more or less imitative of nature. The idea of the spread given to the capital is, of course, that in this way the superstructure is taken more easily, as it is always and of neces sity much larger horizontally than the column itself.
The stone uprights left in rock-cut temples in India and called ordinarily pillars, because of their varied forms — octagonal, square and the like — are still divided into shaft and capital, though the forms of these are entirely remote from Egyptian or later European examples. Thus, some capitals consist of a mere enrich ment of the uppermost band of the shaft and a superincumbent block very elaborately carved. In some cases this upper block gives off corbels and consoles which help to carry the roof by their greater spread.
The capitals which have excited the most in terest among European students of art are those of the three Greek orders and of the five Renaissance orders which were deduced from the first three. The capital of the Grecian Doric is a reversal cone rounded off at top and carrying a square plinth or die; this plain echinus was richly painted in bright colors.
The capital of the Ionic order is a curious de vice consisting of scrolls or volutes, two on each of the two opposite sides, so that this capital, almost alone, has not the same appear ance from every point of view. The capital of the Corinthian order is a circular bell, sur rounded by acanthus leaves and having at each corner a couple of projecting scrolls not un like those of the Ionic order but small. This Corinthian order received many modifications in ancient Roman practice, and one of these was erected by the Renaissance men into a separate order, the so-called Composite. From the Grecian Doric the Roman Doric took shape, and this was used by the Renaissance men, while a still simpler order was made from it and called the Tuscan. The capitals of these two orders are very thin and low in vertical measurement, and consist of moldings running round the continuation of the shaft, and either plain or slightly carved into the simplest of the egg and dart moldings or the like.
In mediaeval architecture, both Romanesque and Gothic, the capitals are almost infinitely varied. The strong tendency of the time to ward elaborate carving made this block of stone, from 5 to 20 feet above the aisles and in a prominent place, a most tempting vehicle for sculpture, and the abandonment of the classical orders left every artist free to design his own system of leafage, animal forms and the like. In this way mediaeval capitals are often of extraordinary beauty; but no a'•ipt has been made to classify them except t. '1..ey form part of a style. See COLUMN.