Anta capital
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An anta capital is the crowning portion of an
anta Anta may refer to: Biology * Fava d'anta, a tree found in Brazil * South American tapir, known in Portuguese as '' * ''Phytelephas seemannii'', known in Quechua and Choco as '' Places * Anta Department, in Salta Province, Argentina * Anta, a ci ...
, the front edge of a supporting wall in
Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, s ...
architecture. The anta is generally crowned by a stone block designed to spread the load from superstructure ( entablature) it supports, called an "anta capitals" when it is structural, or sometimes "
pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
capital" if it is only decorative as often during the Roman period. In order not to protrude unduly from the wall, these anta capitals usually display a rather flat surface, so that the capital has more or less a brick-shaped structure overall. The anta capital can be more or less decorated depending on the artistic order it belongs to, with designs, at least in
ancient Greek architecture Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...
, often quite different from the design of the column capitals it stands next to. This difference disappeared with
Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, when anta or pilaster capitals have design very similar to those of the column capitals.


Doric anta capital

The
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
capital was designed in the continuity of the wall cornice. It is characterized by a broad neck, a beak molding and an
abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hi ...
. Decoration is usually very sparse, except for the capitals displaying a transition with the Ionic order.


Ionic anta capital

The Ionic anta capital is very different in that it is very rich in moldings. It remains however essentially brick-shaped. The Ionic anta capitals of the
Erechtheion The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple- telesterion on the north side of the Acropoli ...
take the shape of very decorated brick-shaped capitals, with designs essentially in the continuity of wall cornices, with some additional horizontal moldings. Some temples in Ionia tend to have a very different design of anta capital, flat at the fronts but with volutes on the side, giving them the shape of sofas, hence the name they sometimes take of "sofa capitals". In this case the sides of the capital broaden upward, in a shape reminiscent of a couch or sofa. These capital can also be described as pilaster capitals, which, strictly speaking, are normally decorative rather than structural components. File:Didim RB9.jpg, Anta capital, Didyma. File:Anta capital from Miletus.jpg, Anta capital from Miletus (front view). File:Temple of Apollo in Didyma The Front and Profile of a Capital of the Pilasters.jpg, Anta capital at the Temple of Apollo in Didyma, front and profile. 4th century BCE. In
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, an anta capital of a quasi-Ionic type was discovered, and dated to the 3rd century BCE. It has a central
flame palmette The flame palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. Flame palmettes are different from regular palmettes in that, traditionally palmettes tended to have shar ...
motif framed by Ionic volutes and placed between horizontal rows of decorative motifs. It is thought that its creation was due to the influence of the neighboring Seleucid Empire, or a nearby Hellenistic city such as
Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning ''Lady Moon''; uz, Oyxonim) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was probably founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and se ...
."These flat, splaying members with cavetto sides, have a long history in Greek architecture as anta capitals, and the rolls at upper and lower sides are also seen" John Boardman, "The Origins of Indian Stone Architecture", p.19 : "An interesting flat capital which, though differing from the classic forms, bears a distinct resemblance to the capitals of the pilasters of the Temple of Apollo Didymaeos at Miletos

/ref>


Corinthian anta capital

Corinthian anta capital tend to be much closer to the designs of the columns, although often with a flattened composition: during the Greek period, Acanthus (ornament), Acanthus leaves are crowned by a central motif, such as a
palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
, itself bracketed by volutes. This design was widely adopted in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for
Indo-Corinthian capital Indo-Corinthian capitals are capitals crowning columns or pilasters, which can be found in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, and usually combine Hellenistic and Indian elements. These capitals are typically dated to the first centuries of the C ...
s. During the Greek period, anta capitals had designs different from those of column capital, but during Roman and later times this difference disappeared and both column and anta capitals has the same types of designs.The Classical Language of Architecture by John Summerson, p.47 "Anta" entr

/ref> At the same time, decorative pilaster designs multiplied during Roman times, so that many of the Corinthian anta capital designs are actually purely decorative pilaster designs.


See also

*
Antae temple An antae temple, also a ''distyle in antis'' temple, is a special name given to a type of ancient Greek or Roman temple that has side walls that extend to form a porch at the front or rear (or both) and terminated in structural pillars that were ca ...


Notes


References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Anta capital Architectural elements Ancient Greek architecture