Spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order
A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ionic capital, eight on Composite capitals and smaller versions (sometimes called helix) on the Corinthian capital.[1]
The word derives from the Latinvoluta ("scroll"). It has been suggested that the ornament was inspired by the curve of a ram's horns, or perhaps was derived from the natural spiral found in the ovule of a common species of clover native to Greece. Alternatively, it may simply be of geometrical origin.[2]
The ornament can be seen in Renaissance and Baroque architecture and is a common decoration in furniture design, silverware and ceramics. A method of drawing the complex geometry was devised by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius through the study of classical buildings and structures.
Ancient Greek foliage volutes (aka rinceaux) on a capital from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, c.300-150 BC[7]
Roman volute of an Ionic capital, 1st century BC or AD, unknown stone, Antiquarium di Milano, Milan, Italy
Roman foliage volutes in an arabesque on the Ara Pacis, Rome, unknown architect and sculptors, 13-9 BC[8]
Northern Renaissance volutes on the Leisthaus, Hamelin, Germany, by the master builder Cord Tönnis, 1585-1589
Baroque volutes of a cartouche with putti, above a mirror in the bedchamber of the Mecklenburg Apartment, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, unknown architect, 17th century
Baroque foliage volutes on a carpet with fame and fortitude, by the Savonnerie manufactory, 1668–1685, knotted and cut wool pile, woven with about 90 knots per square inch, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum
Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum
Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum
Rococo C and S-shaped volutes on a side table (commode en console), by Bernard II van Risamburgh, c.1755-1760, Japanese lacquer, gilt-bronze mounts and Sarrancolin marble top, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical volutes of a pediment with acroteria of the Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1871
Rococo Revival volutes on a wall in the George Severeanu Museum, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1900
Rococo Revival volutes above the door of Avenue Kléber no. 47bis, Paris, unknown architect, 1908[11]
^"Volute". A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. James Stevens Curl. Oxford University Press, 2006
^"Volute". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Timothy Darvill. Oxford University Press, 2002
^Smith, David Michael (2017). Pocket Museum - Ancient Greece. Thames & Hudson. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-500-51958-5.
^Smith, David Michael (2017). Pocket Museum - Ancient Greece. Thames & Hudson. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-500-51958-5.
^Watkin, David (2022). A History of Western Architecture. Laurence King. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-52942-030-2.
^Hugh Honour, John Fleming (2009). A World History of Art - Revised Seventh Edition. Laurence King Publishing. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-85669-584-8.
^"Temple of Apollo at Didyma". brown.edu. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^Robertson, Hutton (2022). The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View. Thames & Hudson. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8.
^Hodge 2019, p. 62. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHodge2019 (help)
^"PAIRE DE VASES « FUSEAU »". amisdulouvre.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
^"47 bis avenue Kléber". bercail.com. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
^Criticos, Mihaela (2009). Art Deco sau Modernismul Bine Temperat - Art Deco or Well-Tempered Modernism (in Romanian and English). SIMETRIA. p. 189. ISBN 978-973-1872-03-2.
^Criticos, Mihaela (2009). Art Deco sau Modernismul Bine Temperat - Art Deco or Well-Tempered Modernism (in Romanian and English). SIMETRIA. p. 196. ISBN 978-973-1872-03-2.
^Gura, Judith (2017). Postmodern Design Complete. Thames & Hudson. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-500-51914-1.
External links
Media related to Volutes (architecture) at Wikimedia Commons