acanthus

(noun)

An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of Acanthus spinosus, and used in the capitals of the Corinthian and composite orders.

Related Terms

  • colonnade
  • abacus
  • volute
  • dipteral
  • stoa
  • orthogonal

Examples of acanthus in the following topics:

  • Greco-Buddhist Art

    • Artistically, the Gandhāran School of sculpture is said to have contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes, sandals, and acanthus leaf decorations.
  • Architecture in the Hellenistic Period

    • The capital consists of a double layer of acanthus leaves and stylized plant tendrils that curl up towards the abacus in the shape of a scroll or volute.
  • Romanesque Sculpture

    • The term was invented by 19th-century art historians specifically to refer to Romanesque architecture, which retained many basic features of Roman architectural style (most notably round-headed arches, barrel vaults, apses, and acanthus-leaf decoration) while also developing many very different characteristics.
  • Ottonian Architecture in the Early European Middle Ages

    • However, it also displays novelties anticipating Romanesque architecture, including the alternation of pillars and columns (a common feature in later Saxon churches), semi-blind arcades in galleries on the nave, and column capitals decorated with stylized acanthus leaves and human heads.
  • Carolingian Architecture in the Early European Middle Ages

    • The bronze decoration is of extraordinarily high quality, especially the doors with lions heads and the interior railings, with their Corinthian order columns and acanthus scrolls.
  • Classical Greek Architecture

    • They were shaped like a bell-shaped mixing bowl and ornamented with a double row of acanthus leaves above which rose splayed, voluted tendrils.
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