Tuscanic column capital

Tuscanic capital with the top of the column carved in the same block of travertine limestone. It is formed by a high square abacus (h. 9 cm) devoid of moldings and with plain sides. The echinus (h. 6,5) has a swollen, curved profile in the shape of an arc of a circle, and is connected to the top of the column (diam. 33 cm; max. h. 7 cm) by means of a fillet (h. 1 cm) with right angle section.

Examples similar to our capital have been found at Ostia in the main warehouses (Grandi Horrea) and are therefore dated to the reign of the Emperor Claudius (Pensabene P., I capitelli, in Scavi di Ostia, vol. VII, Roma 1973). Tuscanic capitals carved in tufa and later, more often in travertine limestone remained in use until the end of the I century AD; the well-finished examples had both the capital and the column covered with plaster and then elaborately decorated.