Illustrated Architecture Dictionary ............... Illustrated FURNITURE Glossary

Capital

Architecture

The head or crowning feature of a column or pilaster

Body Language The Greeks were first to declare that architecture was based on the proportions and form of the human body. "Capital," for example, comes from the word "caput," or head. In addition, dimensions were measured in terms of a human unit like the foot (piede in Italian). Dentil molding is the exact shape  of a toothy dental smile on a jack-o'-lantern. And need we explain the folds of a groin vault? - The Annotated Arch, by Carol Strickland. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Pub., 2001,  p. 32

Many features that we associate with ancient columns are artistic interpretations of earlier plant and wooden structural elements. See  Frank E. Wallis, Greek Architecture and American Buildings,1910 book excerpt.

Cushion, block, or cubic capital: A very simple cube-like capital with bottom corners tapered. The block capital is particularly characteristic of Ottonian and Romanesque Germany and England.

Found in classical Greek and Roman architecture and derivatives, including Beaux Arts Classicism, Classical Revival, Federal, Georgian Revival, Greek Revival, Neoclassicism, Renaissance Revival, Second Empire

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Furniture

The column and capital have been used as decoration and for functional supports on many styles of furniture.

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Examples from Buffalo architecture:

• Illustration above - Ionic capital: 135 Linwood Avenue
  
  
• Doric capital:
  • Knox House
    
    
  • Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Museum
    
    
  • Forest Lawn Administration Building
    
    
• Ionic capital:
  • Albright-Knox Art Gallery
    
    
  • Albert F. Laub Mausoleum
    
    
• Corinthian capital:
  • Williams-Butler House
    
    
  • Buffalo Savings Bank
    
    
  • James McNulty Monument
    
    
  • Edward Gaskin House, 41 Chapin Pkwy
    
    
  • The Mansion on Delaware Avenue
    
    
  • Wilcox Mansion / TR Inaugural Site
    
    
• Tuscan capital:
  • Lackawanna Public Library
    
    
  • Charles W. Goodyear House
    
    
  • George K. Birge House
    
    
  • Frank H. Goodyear Mausoleum
    
    
• Composite capital:
  
  
  • Miller House
    
    
  • Williams-Pratt House
    
    
  • Kensington Building, 3060 Bailey Ave.
    
    
• Cushion capital:
  • St. Francis RC Church
    
    
  • St. Mary of Sorrows/King Urban Life
    
    
  • Maytham House
    
    
  • H. H. Little House
    
    
• Eclectic capital:
  • Holy Angels RC Church
    
    
• Queen Anne style capital:
  • Old Editions Book Shop and Café
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• Arts & Crafts capital:
  
• Palmer House
  

• Eastlake cast iron:
  • The Granite Works, 844 Main Street
    
    
• Commercial Richardsonian Romanesque cast iron:
  • Webb Building

Other examples:

• Egyptian palm capital - British Museum, London, England
  
  
• St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York City 5 examples of Romanesque Revival capitals
  
  
• Pedlar People Sheetmetal Building Material Catalog: Capitals, Canada
  
  
• Furniture: Sheraton worktable
  
  
• Ctalonian National Art Museum, Barcelona, Spain   Romanesque capitals
  
  
• Mudéjar capitals:  Synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca, Toledo, Spain

• Islamic stalactite capital - Sultan Ahmet Mosque / Blue Mosque