Foliate Capital

In this version of a Corinthian column capital, the form is elongated and the decorative elements are flatter, less rounded, and worked with a chisel rather than drilled. The acanthus leaves conform to the shape of the capital, and are carved in a crisp, precise fashion—both characteristics typical of 12th-century French Romanesque architecture. The top border, known as the abacus, is decorated in an attractive diamond-point design. First developed by the Greeks and then adapted by the Romans, the Corinthian order has endured throughout western architecture.