Aeolic order

The Aeolic order or Aeolian order was an early order of Classical architecture. It has a strong similarity to the better known Ionic order, but differs in the capital, where a palmette rises between the two outer volutes, rather than them being linked horizontally by a form at the top of the capital. Many examples also show simplified details compared to the Ionic. Decorated stone structures reminiscent of the Aeolic order, widely known as "Proto-Aeolic" or "Proto-Ionian" capitals, were especially common in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Capitals of this style were discovered in royal buildings and fortified city gates. They were built up for some ashlar masonries, an architectonic style reserved to Israelite royal structures. One of them is 110 x 28 x 60 cm of dimension and also differs from the canon for its ornamental details, showing a triangular shape in the center as the point of juncture of the capital volutes. Proto-Aeolic capitals were unearthed in sites in modern-day Israel and in the West Bank: 27 capitals were discovered in sites belonging to the northern Kingdom of Israel, including Hazor, Megiddo, Dan, and Samaria, and on Mount Gerizim. 11 additional structures were discovered at archeological sites associated with the Kingdom of Judah, including the City of David, Ramat Rachel and in the 'Ain Joweizeh spring, near Al-Walaja. Proto-Aeolic capitals have also been found at archeological sites in modern-day Jordan: 6 items have been found at sites associated with the kingdom of Moab. Fragments of another capital were found in the Amman Citadel, the site of ancient Rabbath Ammon, capital of the Ammonites. The capitals originating in the Kingdom of Israel date to the days of the reign of Omri in the 9th century BCE, whilst the capitals associated with Judah, Ammon and Moab date to the end of the 8th century or the beginning of the 7th century BCE. The more appropriate and neutral name "Iron Age volute capitals from the Levant" has been offered.

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Volute

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. The word derives from the Latin voluta ("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.

Aeolic order

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.

Delves into neoclassicist theory by examining Salomon de Brosse's façade of Eglise de Saint Gervais in Paris, showcasing the harmonious blend of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders.