Glossary · C
Composite
The fifth and richest order, a Roman combination of the Corinthian’s acanthus bell with the large volutes of the Ionic set diagonally at the corners.
See also: Order
Rules that use the word
Column heights in modules. Make the Tuscan column 14 modules high, the Doric 16, the Ionic 18, and the Corinthian and Composite 20, the module being half the lower diameter.
The five orders as a series. Rank the orders in a sequence from the plainest and strongest to the richest and most slender (Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite), each one diameter taller than the last.
Palladio’s orders. Make the Tuscan column 7 diameters high, the Doric 8 with its base, the Ionic 9, the Corinthian 9½ and the Composite 10; give Tuscan and Doric an entablature of about a quarter of the column, the richer orders a fifth.
Scamozzi’s hierarchy. Grade the orders by slenderness (Tuscan 7½ diameters, Doric 8½, Ionic 8¾, Composite 9¾ and Corinthian 10), placing the Composite, the “Roman” order, below the Corinthian.
The Composite capital: Ionic volutes on Corinthian leaves. Compose the Roman or Composite capital from two rows of Corinthian leaves round the bell with a full Ionic capital (echinus and four diagonal volutes) above them.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters The Anatomy of an Order, The Ionic Order, The Composite Order, Columns in Company, The Ancient World, Romanesque and Gothic, The Americas.
Nearby in the glossary
Collar · Column · Commensurability · Compluvium · Compound pier · Concinnitas · Conservatory · Corbel