What is the architectural name for the head or top of a column?
"Column of the Goths The Column of the Goths () is Roman victory column dating to the third or fourth century A.D. It stands in what is now Gülhane Park, Istanbul, Turkey. The name of the 18.5 metre high free-standing Proconnesian marble pillar which is surmounted with a Corinthian capital derives from a Latin inscription at its base, commemorating a Roman victory over the invading Goths: FORTUNAE REDUCI OB DEVICTUS GOTHOS (""To Fortuna, who returns by reason of victory over the Goths""), which has been shown to have replaced an earlier Latin inscription. The dating and original dedication of the"
"Capital (architecture) In architecture the capital (from the Latin ""caput"", or ""head"") or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column (or a pilaster). It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface. The capital, projecting on each side as it rises to support the abacus, joins the usually square abacus and the usually circular shaft of the column. The capital may be convex, as in the Doric order; concave, as in the inverted bell of the Corinthian order; or scrolling out, as in the Ionic order. These form"
"Architrave An architrave (; from ""chief beam"", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ""epistylon"" ""door frame"") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture. The term can also be applied to all sides, including the vertical members, of a frame with mouldings around a door or window. The word architrave is also used to refer more generally to a style of mouldings (or other elements) framing the top of a door, window or other rectangular opening, where the horizontal ""head"" casing extends across the tops of"
"Art History (Volume 1 ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. p. 110. Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. The term column applies especially to a large round support (the ""shaft"" of the column) with a capital and a ""base"" or pedestal which is made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is typically called a post, and supports with a rectangular or"
"Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. The term column applies especially to a large round support (the ""shaft"" of the column) with a capital and a ""base"" or pedestal which is made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is typically called a post, and supports with a rectangular or other non-round section are usually called piers. For the purpose of wind"
"Taenia (architecture) A taenia (Latin ""taenia""; derived from the Ancient Greek ταινία (""tainía""): ""band"" or ""ribbon"") is a small ""fillet"" molding near the top of the architrave in a Doric column. In classical architecture, the entire structure above the columns is called the entablature. It is commonly divided into the architrave, directly above the columns; the frieze, a strip with no horizontal molding, which is ornamented in all but the Tuscan order; and the cornice, the projecting and protective member at the top. The architrave, the lowest band, is split from bottom to top into the broad fascia, the guttae"
"or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression members are often termed ""columns"" because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, ""column"" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and decorative features. A column might also be a decorative element not needed for structural purposes; many columns are ""engaged"", that is to say form part of a wall. All significant Iron Age civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean made some use"
"or other architectural elements rest. In the case of Doric columns, the capital usually consists of a round, tapering cushion, or echinus, supporting a square slab, known as an abax or abacus. Ionic capitals feature a pair of volutes, or scrolls, while Corinthian capitals are decorated with reliefs in the form of acanthus leaves. Either type of capital could be accompanied by the same moldings as the base. In the case of free-standing columns, the decorative elements atop the shaft are known as a finial. Modern columns may be constructed out of steel, poured or precast concrete, or brick, left"
"Coupled column Сoupled column (also accouplement, twinned or paired column) is one of a pair of columns that are installed nearer together and wider with others. The coupled columns should be of the same order and set closer enough to almost touch each other at their bases and capitals. These columns were mostly used in the neoclassic art of the 17th century and later. In a colonnade, all columns may be coupled or just the outer pairs. Сoupled columns are often installed at the building entrance, on both sides of a window, fireplace, niche, or stair. Pilasters and engaged columns"
"Presidential residence Rashtrapati Bhavan, using elements of Indian architecture, Here the capital had a band of vertical ridges, with bells hanging at each corner as a replacement for volutes. The Delhi Order reappears in some later Lutyens buildings including Campion Hall, Oxford. Capital (architecture) In architecture the capital (from the Latin ""caput"", or ""head"") or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column (or a pilaster). It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface. The capital, projecting on each side as it rises to support the abacus, joins"
"at Nîmes (left side of the image) In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi or three-quarter detached.[1] Engaged columns are rarely found in classical Greek architecture, and then only in exceptional cases, but in Roman architecture they exist in abundance, most commonly embedded in the cella walls[1] of pseudoperipteral buildings. Pillar tombs are monumental graves, which typically feature a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures. In the Ancient Greek"
"or ""drips"" (below the triglyph in the frieze), and the ""taenia"" below the projecting cymatium). Taenia (architecture) A taenia (Latin ""taenia""; derived from the Ancient Greek ταινία (""tainía""): ""band"" or ""ribbon"") is a small ""fillet"" molding near the top of the architrave in a Doric column. In classical architecture, the entire structure above the columns is called the entablature. It is commonly divided into the architrave, directly above the columns; the frieze, a strip with no horizontal molding, which is ornamented in all but the Tuscan order; and the cornice, the projecting and protective member at the top. The architrave,"
"Abacus (architecture) In architecture, an abacus (from the Greek ""abax"", slab; or French ""abaque"", ""tailloir""; plural abacuses or abaci) is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface, tending to be wider than the capital, as an abutment to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above. The diminutive of abacus, abaculus, is used to describe small mosaic tiles, also called abaciscus or tessera, used to create ornamental floors with detailed patterns of chequers or squares in a"
"Victory column A victory column—or monumental column or triumphal column—is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either female embodiment of the nation Liberty or Columbia; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia; an eagle; or a war hero. Part of this page is based on the article in the"
"Term (architecture) In Classical architecture a term or terminal figure (plural: terms or termini) is a human head and bust that continues as a square tapering pillar-like form. The name derives from Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries and boundary markers. If the bust is of Hermes as protector of boundaries in ancient Greek culture, with male genitals interrupting the plain base at the appropriate height, it may be called a herma or herm. The crime of Alcibiades and his drinking-mates, for which Socrates eventually indirectly paid with his life, was the desecration of herm figures through Athens in the"
"Column (botany) The column, or technically the gynostemium, is a reproductive structure that can be found in several plant families: Aristolochiaceae, Orchidaceae, and Stylidiaceae. It is derived from the fusion of both male and female parts (stamens and pistil) into a single organ. This means that the ""style"" and ""stigma"" of the pistil, with the filaments and one or more anthers, are all united. The stigma sits at the apex of the column in the front but is pointing downwards after resupination (the rotation by 180 degrees before unfolding of the flower). This stigma has the form of a small"
"Finial A finial or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture it is a decorative device, typically carved in stone, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower, roof, or gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Where there are several such elements they may be called pinnacles. Smaller finials in materials such as metal or wood are used as a decorative ornament on the tops or ends of poles or rods such"
"Spur (architecture) A spur (French ""griffe"", German ""Eckblatt""), in architecture, is the ornament carved on the angles of the base of early columns. A spur consists of a projecting claw, which, emerging from the lower torus of the base, rests on the projecting angle of the square plinth. It is possibly to these that Pliny refers (Hist. Nat. XXVI. 42) when speaking of the lizard and frog carved on the bases (""spirae"") of the columns of the temples of Jupiter and Juno in the Portico of Octavius; the earliest known example is that of Emperor Diocletian's palace at Split. In"
"Colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curved. The space enclosed may be covered or open. In St. Peter's Square in Rome, Bernini's great colonnade encloses a vast open elliptical space. When in front of a building, screening the door (Latin ""porta""), it is called a portico, when enclosing an open court, a peristyle. A portico may be more than one rank of columns deep, as at"
"this element decreases in importance—they became short with a narrow profile during the 14th century, and disappeared almost entirely during the 15th century (fig. 8). Abacus (architecture) In architecture, an abacus (from the Greek ""abax"", slab; or French ""abaque"", ""tailloir""; plural abacuses or abaci) is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface, tending to be wider than the capital, as an abutment to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above. The diminutive of abacus, abaculus, is"
". Victory column A victory column—or monumental column or triumphal column—is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either female embodiment of the nation Liberty or Columbia; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia; an eagle; or a war hero. Part of this page is based on the article in"
"of holding up the roof inside a building, preferring outside walls to be decorated with reliefs or painting, but the Ancient Greeks, followed by the Romans, loved to use them on the outside as well, and the extensive use of columns on the interior and exterior of buildings is one of the most characteristic features of classical architecture, in buildings like the Parthenon. The Greeks developed the classical orders of architecture, which are most easily distinguished by the form of the column and its various elements. Their Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders were expanded by the Romans to include the"
"forms. Ciborium (architecture) In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium (""ciborion"": κιβώριον in Greek) is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct for examples in churches. Early ciboria had curtains hanging from rods between the columns, so that the altar could be concealed from the congregation at points in the liturgy. Smaller examples may cover other objects in a church. In a very large church, a"
"Newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also (usually as ""newel post"") refer to an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but the term can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase. Although its primary purpose is structural, newels have long been adorned with decorative trim and designed with different architectural styles. Newels are sometimes called solid"
"Post and lintel In architecture, post and lintel (also called prop and lintel or a trabeated system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold up a roof, creating a largely open space beneath, for whatever use the building is designed for. The horizontal elements are called by a variety of names including lintel, header, architrave or beam, and the supporting vertical elements may be called columns, pillars, or posts. The use of wider elements at the top of the post, called"
"Colonnettes and attached shafts are also used structurally and for decoration. The capital on top of a column is usually cut so that it is round at the bottom, where it sits on the column, and square at the top where it support the arch. A capital might be undecorated, or else have foliate or figurative carving. Timber was used extensively in building. The majority of buildings have open wooden roofs. When building have stone undercrofts, or basements, this lower floor may be vaulted, with a barrel or groin vault. Vaulted domestic spaces are particularly found in monastic buildings, castles"
"AD. The stone columns are made of a series of solid stone cylinders or ""drums"" that rest on each other without mortar, but were sometimes centred with a bronze pin. The columns are wider at the base than at the top, tapering with an outward curve known as ""entasis"". Each column has a capital of two parts, the upper, on which rests the lintels, being square and called the ""abacus"". The part of the capital that rises from the column itself is called the ""echinus"". It differs according to the order, being plain in the Doric Order, fluted in the"
"Ciborium (architecture) In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium (""ciborion"": κιβώριον in Greek) is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct for examples in churches. Early ciboria had curtains hanging from rods between the columns, so that the altar could be concealed from the congregation at points in the liturgy. Smaller examples may cover other objects in a church. In a very large church, a ciborium"
"their position (e.g. architraves); or quarried, moved and erected in an upright position (e.g. columns). Transporting was done by land or water (or a combination of both), in the later case often by special-built ships such as obelisk carriers. For lifting operations, ancient cranes were employed since ca. 515 BC, such as in the construction of Trajan's Column. An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top. These were originally called ""tekhenu"" by the builders, the ancient Egyptians. The Greeks who saw them used the Greek 'obeliskos' to describe them, and"
"Entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian ""intavolatura,"" from ""in"" ""in"" and ""tavola"" ""table"") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave (the supporting member immediately above; equivalent to the lintel in post and lintel construction), the frieze (an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented), and the cornice (the projecting member below the pediment). The Greek and Roman temples are believed to be based on wooden structures, the design transition from wooden to stone structures"
"bare or clad in an architectural covering, or veneer. Used to support an arch, an impost, or pier, is the topmost member of a column. The bottom-most part of the arch, called the springing, rests on the impost. As the axial load on a perfectly straight slender column with elastic material properties is increased in magnitude, this ideal column passes through three states: stable equilibrium, neutral equilibrium, and instability. The straight column under load is in stable equilibrium if a lateral force, applied between the two ends of the column, produces a small lateral deflection which disappears and the column"
"Cupola In architecture, a cupola is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from the lower Latin ""cupula"" (classical Latin ""cupella"" from the Greek κύπελλον ""kupellon"") ""small cup"" (Latin ""cupa"") indicating a vault resembling an upside down cup. The cupola is a development during the Renaissance of the oculus, an ancient device found in Roman architecture, but being weatherproof was superior for the wetter climates of northern Europe. The"
"projecting from a wall) or detached or engaged columns it is sometimes profiled around them. The use of the entablature, irrespective of columns, appeared after the Renaissance. Entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian ""intavolatura,"" from ""in"" ""in"" and ""tavola"" ""table"") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave (the supporting member immediately above; equivalent to the lintel in post and lintel construction), the frieze (an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented), and the cornice"