Glossary · C
Corinthian
The most slender of the three Greek orders, with a tall capital of acanthus leaves and small corner volutes.
See also: Acanthus, Callimachus
Rules that use the word
The Corinthian capital. The Corinthian capital is as high as the column is thick; its abacus is one seventh of that height, and the rest is divided in three: the lower leaves, the upper leaves, and the stalks from which the volutes spring.
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.
Stronger below, lighter above. When orders are placed one above another, put the stronger below and the more delicate above (Doric under Ionic under Corinthian), and make each upper column a quarter shorter than the one beneath.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters Domes, The Anatomy of an Order, The Ionic Order, The Corinthian Order, The Composite Order, The Authorities Compared, Columns in Company, Byzantium and the Early Church.
A feature of Ancient Greek architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Conservatory · Corbel · Corbelled dome · Corbelled vault · Cornice · Corona · Cortile · Cottage orné