Capital Idea!

We have just seen the first prototype for the Scamozzi capitals for the manor. It has been carved by Konstantinos, our master carver for the project. We gave him some old prints and asked him to create a capital in keeping with the neoclassical design for the manor and this what what he came up with. We love it. Now it has been approved they will start working on the stone capitals.

Below: Some of the pictures we gave Konstantinos.

Throughout the project we have a range of various columns. There are free-standing columns, engaged columns (where at least 1/3rd of the column is embedded into a wall), and pilasters (planted columns on a wall, resembling engaged columns but square). There are four different sizes of each of these columns, and each has a separately carved capital and base to ensure that components remain in scale (something very important to a Neoclassical eye).

Above and Below: The creation of a wooden prototype, to scale, prior to creating stone columns.

We took a long time ensuring that not only was there an entasis to the column, but that the entasis was also in proportion with the overall aesthetic of the manor (as there are multiple formulae for working out entasis based on a column's height, which will produce bulkier vs more elongated columns). These examples of entasis below demonstrate the curves well, but as you can see, produce a column that is too stocky...

Entasis is a classic trick of creating a subtle convex bulge throughout the length of the column (so it is nor the same girth all the way up, not does it simply taper). This actually makes a column more pleasing to the eye. Hero of Alexandria, the ancient mathematician and engineer (10-70AD) explains that entasis corrects the optical illusion of concavity in the columns which the human eye would make if the correction was not made.