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The acanthus is one of the most common ornaments used to depict foliage.^[1] Architectural ornaments are carved in stone or wood in the appearance of leaves from the Mediterranean Acanthus spinosus plant, with some resemblance to thistle, poppy and parsley leaves.

Acanthus ornaments appear extensively in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and applied to the frieze. Ancient Greek culture was the first to use the ornament, elaborated by the Romans with the ends of the leaves curled. The design continued in popularity in the Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, again during the Renaissance, and still favored in the present.

The Roman writer Vitruvius (c. 75 BCE — c. 15 BCE) related that the Corinthian order had been invented by Callimachus, a Greek architect and sculptor who was inspired by the sight of a votive basket that had been left on the grave of a young girl. A few of her toys were in it, and a square tile had been placed over the basket, to protect them from the weather. An acanthus plant had grown through the woven basket, mixing its spiny, deeply cut leaves with the weave of the basket.

Acanthus ornaments are used for the interior of a building on the crown molding.

The design is also used in Medieval and Renaissance artwork, particularly in sculpture and wood carving and in friezes.

The relationship between acanthus ornament and the acanthus plant has been the subject of a long-standing controversy. Alois Riegl famously argued in his Stilfragen that acanthus ornament originated as a sculptural version of the palmette, and only later began to resemble Acanthus spinosus.^[2]

The acanthus ornament: its origin as palmette and the appearance in architecture, art and craft

Illustration of Nordic carving.   Design by William Morris.   Ornamental acanthus motive engraving on an ennobled watch movement (by Louis George, Berlin).   Incrustation element with palmette decoration. Carved ivory, Egypt, 14th century.   12th Century Acanthus capital at St Bees Priory, England.   The type of palmette commonly found as an acroterion.

See also

• Palmette

References

1. ^ Philippa Lewis & Gillian Darley, Dictionary of Ornament (1986) Pantheon: NY
2. ^ A. Riegl, tr. E. Kain, Problems of style: foundations for a history of ornament (Princeton, 1992), 187-206.