© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Corinthian Capital

AAT Object Form/FunctionCapitals (column components)

CultureRoman

PeriodSeveran

Dateearly 3rd Century CE

MediumMarble

Credit LineGift of Harvey Smith

Dimensions14 x 10 13/16 x 13 1/4 in. (35.6 x 27.5 x 33.6 cm)

Object number1989.002.007

Label TextGreek architects invented the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders which have formed the basis of nearly all western architecture. Roman architects favored the Corinthian order because of the versatility and elegance of its floral capital, based on the acanthus leaf. They used the order both for structural support and as a decorative scheme in multistoried facades. The scale and unfinished backs of the capitals exhibited here suggest that they originally belonged to a facade decorated with a screen of columns. Such richly ornamented facades appear in libraries, gymnasia, theatres, gates, fountains, and bath buildings during the Imperial period. The deep drillwork suggests that the capitals belong to the Severan period around the turn of the third century A.D.
Exhibition HistoryRecent Acquisitions, Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, July 14 - September 15, 1988
An Enduring Ideal: Classical Art from the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, November 1, 1992 - February 15, 1993
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - May 2004
Published ReferencesChristie, Manson & Woods, London, Catalogue of the Celebrated Collection of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian Sculpture and Ancient Greek Vases, Being a Portion of the Hope Heirlooms (July 23, 1917), 30, lot 189.
Parke-Bernet, New York, Classical and Medieval Stone Sculptures, Part III of the Joseph Brummer Collection (June 8-9, 1949), 119, lot 513.

ProvenanceEx Hope Collection, England, from at least the mid 19th Century. Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, July 23, 1917, lot 189. With Brummer Gallery, New York, purchased from William Randolph Hearst via International Studio Art Corporation, New York, New York, October 17, 1940. Parke-Bernet, New York, June 8-9, 1949, lot 513. Ex coll. Harvey Smith (ca. 1910-1995), New York, New York.

Status

Not on view

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