You're currently on:

• Home
• 
• Carving Information
• 
• Ionic Capitals

Ionic Capitals for Architectural Columns

Carved Ionic Capitals
Since ancient times, artisans creating wood carvings have applied their skills to the carving of architectural columns, and indeed, wood was the original material used to create the supports for temples, state houses and military buildings. Today, the columns of ancient Greece bring the grace of the Classical era into the modern home.

The Ionic capitol, also known as the Ionic order, consists of a base, cylindrical shaft, and the scroll-shaped Ionic capitol. The curling ends of the capitol, known as volutes, have come to represent solidity and dependability. Ionic capitols exist as a middle ground between the three primary Greek capitols; more elaborate than the basic Doric capitol, yet more formal than the festive Corinthian capitol.

Traditional wood carvings in architecture have an unmistakable warmth rarely achieved with alternative materials. For ages, stone has been the most recognized material used to craft columns. Wood carvings offer a lighter, more natural material, a material that at once achieves unique texture, eye-catching warmth and ambiance unavailable in stone construction. No two wood grain patterns are identical, and the wood is left in its natural state to reveal this unique earthiness.

Celebrating the Greek Revival architectural style, we offer historically accurate Ionic capitols for attachment to the shaft of your choice, suitable for both load-bearing and non-load-bearing installation. Our carved wood Ionic capitols are crafted with precision and great detail, revealing the natural grain within the the curves and planes of the wood.

Whether included in the home or the place of business, the wood carved Ionic capitol offers a solid and elegant solution.

Ionic capitals, originally used by the Greeks in a system called the Ionic order, are decorative elements that separate a column from the masonry it supports.

The most distinguishing features of the Ionic capital are the volutes, or spiral scroll-like carvings, on either side of the inner ornamentation. The decorative ornamentation between the volutes, known as the echinus, is usually carved with egg-and-dart. A square slab called an abacus rests above the volutes.

The Ionic order has a grace and vitality originating from the Greeks desire to construct a temple to Diana in a new style of beauty.

Ionic columns have a thickness only one eighth their height, giving them a tall, slender look, with 24 flutes down each shaft to signify the folds of robes typically worn by women, while the volutes of the Ionic capital represent curly ringlets (Vitruvius Pollio, The Ten Books on Architecture).

Ionic Capitals Through Time
The Ionic capital has a distinctive, classical Greek style that has been commonly used in buildings for over 2500 years. Examples of some of the original Ionic capitals can be seen today in the Erechtheum of Athens and the Roman Coliseum. Ionic capitals were also widely used during the Renaissance.

Ionic capitals have stood the test of time and are still widely used today due to the strength and beauty of their design, and are a perfect compliment to buildings of significance.