A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

, found in the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

and

Composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ionic capital, eight on Composite capitals and smaller versions (sometimes called ''helix'') on the Corinthian capital. The word derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''voluta'' ("scroll"). It has been suggested that the ornament was inspired by the curve of a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

's horns, or perhaps was derived from the natural spiral found in the

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

of a common species of

clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...

native to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Alternatively, it may simply be of

geometrical Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

origin. The ornament can be seen in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architecture and is a common decoration in furniture design, silverware and ceramics. A method of drawing the complex geometry was devised by the ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

architect

Vitruvius Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...

through the study of classical buildings and structures.

Gallery

Ornamentation

This gallery shows volutes in different media, styles, materials and period. Some styles and cultures made them a key motif of their art, like in the case of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

art, while in other cases, they were used rarely, like in the case of

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. Their use is also influenced by materials and techniques. This is one of the reasons why they are so widespread in wrought iron. They were also fused over time with different other motifs that were fashionable at the time, like acanthuses, which led to the

rinceau In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smal ...

(sinuous and branching volutes elaborated with leaves and other natural forms), very popular in the Classical world and in movements that take inspiration from it. Many of the Ancient examples shown are now white, grey or beige, but initially they were

colorful Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

, the colour disappearing in time because of exposure to elements. All of these Ancient

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

were painted in highly saturated colours, as laboratory tests and Ancient texts show. The volute is also a basic universal shape, which is why it cannot be associated with only one culture or period. They are just as popular in

Oceanic art Oceanic art or Oceanian art comprises the creative works made by the native people of the Pacific Islands and Australia, including areas as far apart as Hawaii and Easter Island. Specifically it comprises the works of the two groups of people wh ...

as they are in Rococo. 库库特尼陶碗陶罐.JPG,

Prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

Cucuteni–Trypillia volutes on some vessels, 4300–4000 BC, ceramic, Moldavia National Museum Complex,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

File:Clay 'frying pan' (3rd millennia B.C.) at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on October 6, 2021.jpg,

Cycladic The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate in ...

volutes on a 'frying pan', 2750-2200 BC, ceramic, National Archaeological Museum, Athens File:AMI - Kamaresvase 1.jpg,

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

volutes on a jug, 1850-1675 BC, ceramic,

Archaeological Museum of Heraklion The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the largest museums in Greece, and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts of t ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

, Greece Schieferzepter 03 (cropped).jpg, Minoan volutes on a sceptre head, 1675-1460 BC,

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

, Archaeological Museum of Heraklion Ceiling painting from the palace of Amenhotep III MET DT256117.jpg,

Ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

volutes on a ceiling painting from the palace of

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

, 1390–1353 BC, dried mud, mud plaster and paint Gesso,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York City File:Fresco, rosettes, running spirals, Tiryns, 13th c BC, AM of Nafplio, 202135.jpg, Mycenaean volutes, part of a mural from a palace in

Tiryns Tiryns ( or ; Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles was said to have performed his Twelve Labours. It ...

, Greece, 13th century BC, fresco, Archaeological Museum of Nafplion,

Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

, Greece File:Egyptian - Thoth-Baboon - Walters 481543 (cropped).jpg,

amulet of

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

as a baboon holding an

eye of Horus The Eye of Horus, also known as left ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye, specular to the Eye of Ra (right ''wedjat'' eye), is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from th ...

, with a volute in the lower left part of the eye, 664-332 BC,

Egyptian faience Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process "covered he materialwith a true vitreous coating" as the quartz underwent vitrification, creating a bright lustre of various colours "usually in ...

with light green glaze,

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, US File:Patera, bronze, nude man, 6th c BC, NAMA Kar 19, 225635.jpg,

pair of volutes at the base of the handle of a

patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''patera'' () or ''phiale'' ( ) is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation ('' omphalos'', "belly button") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, ...

, 6th century BC, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Athens File:Musée de Pergame (Berlin) (6350108264).jpg,

Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC ...

volutes on the wall panel from the Throne Room of

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...

from

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, 6th century BC, glazed ceramic,

Pergamon Museum The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a Kulturdenkmal , listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Wilhelm II and accordi ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

File:Chapiteau d'une colonne de l'apadana du Palais de Darius Ier - Musée du Louvre Antiquités orientales AOD 1.jpg

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

volutes on a bull capital, under the bulls, 510 BC,

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, Lovre File:Erechteion - chapiteau.jpg,

volutes of a capital from an Ionic columns of the

Erechtheion The Erechtheion (, latinized as Erechtheum ; , ) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens, which was primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena. The Ionic building, which housed the ...

, Athens, Greece, unknown architect, 421-405 BC File:Greece-0113 - North Porch (2215074445).jpg, Ancient Greek volutes of a

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

of the Erechtheion File:Crater Actaeon Louvre CA3482.jpg, Ancient Greek volutes on a

krater A krater or crater (, ; , ) was a large two-handled type of vase in Pottery of ancient Greece, Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in ...

, by the Painter of the Woolly Satyrs, 450–440 BC, ceramic, Louvre Corinthian capital, AM of Epidauros, 202545.jpg, Ancient Greek volutes (called ''caulicoli'') in the upper part of a Corinthian capital from the tholos at

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus is a museum in Epidaurus, in Argolis on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. The museum, noted for its reconstructions of temples and its columns and inscriptions, was established in 1902 and opened in 1909 to displ ...

, Greece, said to have been designed by Polyclitus the Younger, 350 BC Image:Marble akroterion MET DT259543.jpg, Ancient Greek pair of volutes on an akroterion, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:MANNapoli 9991 Young Dionysos Tigre mosaic.jpg,

volutes around a mosaic of young

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greek ...

drinking and riding a tiger, late 4th century BC, mosaic, National Archaeological Museum,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy File:Didyma 2013-03-25zd.jpg, Ancient Greek foliage volutes (aka

rinceaux In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smal ...

) on a

from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at

Didyma Didyma (; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia in the domain of the famous city of Miletus. Apollo was the main deity of the sanctuary of Didyma, also called ''Didymaion''. But it was home to both of the Ancient ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, unknown architect or sculptor, 300-150 BC Jade Monster Mask and Ring.jpg, Ancient Chinese volutes and mascaron on an ornamental handle of a '' bi'' disc, 100 BC, jade,

Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King The Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King ( Cantonese: Sai Hon Nam Yuet Wong Mou Bok Mat Gun; Vietnamese: Tây Hán Nam Việt Vương Bác Vật Quán ) houses the 2,000-year-old tomb of the Nanyue King Zhao Mo in Guangzhou ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China File:Panel of Tellus, Ara Pacis, Rome (II).jpg, Roman foliage volutes in an

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...

on the

Ara Pacis The (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to ) is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hisp ...

, Rome, unknown architect and sculptors, 13-9 BC File:Approach to Grand stupa of Sanchi, north face India 2015.jpg,

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

volutes on the Great

Stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

(

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

, India), unknown architect, 3rd century-100 BC File:Altar of the Scribes 03 (51221770574).jpg, Roman volutes at the top of a funerary altar, 25-50 AD, marble,

Terme di Diocleziano Terme (formerly spelled ''Termeh''; Ancient Greek: Thèrmae, Θέρμαι) is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 548 km2, and its population is 71,092 (2022). Terme is located on Terme River, about 5 km ...

, Rome File:Flickr - Gaspa - File, padiglione di Traiano (2).jpg, Ancient Egyptian volutes on a Composite capital from

Trajan's Kiosk Trajan's Kiosk, also known as Pharaoh's Bed () by the locals, is a hypaethral temple currently located on Agilkia Island in southern Egypt. The unfinished monument is attributed to Trajan, Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD, due to his depiction ...

Agilkia Island Agilkia Island (also called Agilika; , from Old Nubian: ⲁ̅ⲅⲗ̅, romanised: ''agil,'' "mouth") is an island in the reservoir of the Old Aswan Dam along the Nile River in southern Egypt; it is the present site of the relocated ancient Egypti ...

, Egypt, 98-117, unknown architect Ephesos 2013-03-26zf.jpg, Roman volutes of

capitals of the

Library of Celsus The Library of Celsus () is an Ancient Roman architecture, ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, today located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE b ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, unknown architect, 110 Hagia Sophia (15468276434).jpg,

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

volutes of an Ionic capital in the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, by

Anthemius of Tralles Anthemius of Tralles (, Medieval Greek: , ''Anthémios o Trallianós''; – 533 558) was a Byzantine Greek from Tralles who worked as a geometer and architect in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. With Isidor ...

Isidore of Miletus Isidore of Miletus (; Medieval Greek pronunciation: ; ) was one of the two main Byzantine Greek mathematician, physicist and architects ( Anthemius of Tralles was the other) that Emperor Justinian I commissioned to design the cathedral Hagia Sop ...

, 6th century File:Bury Bible - F1v - Frater Ambrosius.jpg, Romanesque foliage volutes on a page from the

Bury Bible The Bury Bible is a large illustrated bible written at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England between 1121 and 1148. The book was created by an artist known as Master Hugo and is the only surviving major work of his. Since 1575 it has been in the Pa ...

, by

Master Hugo Master Hugo (fl. 1130 – 1150) was a Romanesque lay artist and the earliest recorded professional artist in England. His documented career at Bury St Edmunds Abbey spans from before 1136 to after 1148. He is most famous for illuminating the ...

, 1135-1140, illumination on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, Corpus Christi College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, the UK File:Anneau portail de la Vierge Notre-Dame de Paris.jpg,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

volutes on the

wrought-iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

on a door of

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

, unknown architect or blacksmith, 12th or 13th centuries File:Sant' Agostino (Rom).jpg,

volutes of the Sant'Agostino, Rome, by multiple architects, 1483 File:Italia centrale, cassone con teste di gorgoni, xvi sec. 02.JPG,

volutes on a

cassone A cassone (plural ''cassoni'') or marriage chest is a rich and showy Italian type of chest, which may be inlaid or carved, prepared with gesso ground then painted and gilded. ''Pastiglia'' was decoration in low relief carved or moulded in ...

, 16th century, most probably walnut, Villa medicea di Cerreto Guidi,

Cerreto Guidi Cerreto Guidi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence. Cerreto Guidi borders the following municipalities: Empoli, Fucecchio, Lamporecchio, Larciano, San M ...

, Italy File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 078.jpg, Renaissance

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

volutes on the ceiling from the King's Staircase,

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau ( , ; ), located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the List of French monarchs ...

, France, by

Francesco Primaticcio Francesco Primaticcio (; April 30, 1504 – 1570) was an Italian Mannerism, Mannerist Painting, painter, architect and sculpture, sculptor who spent most of his career in France. Biography Born in Bologna, he trained under Giulio Romano ( ...

, 1541-1545 File:Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg,

volutes on the upper part of the facade of the

Church of the Gesù The Church of the Gesù (, ), officially named (), is a church located at Piazza del Gesù in the Pigna (rione of Rome), Pigna ''Rioni of Rome, rione'' of Rome, Italy. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (best known as Jesuits). Wi ...

, Rome, by

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...

, 1584 file:Leisthaus-hameln-details.jpg,

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps, developing later than the Italian Renaissance, and in most respects only beginning in the last years of the 15th century. It took different forms in the vari ...

volutes on the Leisthaus,

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

, Germany, by the master builder Cord Tönnis, 1585-1589 Charlottenburg Palace, 1695-1746, Berlin (20) (40185455721).jpg, Baroque volutes of a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

with

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

, above a mirror in the bedchamber of the Mecklenburg Apartment,

Charlottenburg Palace Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough, and is among the largest palaces in the world. The palace was built at the end of th ...

, Berlin, unknown architect, 17th century File:Santa Maria della Salute a Venezia dettaglio.jpg, Baroque volutes on the

Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute (; ), commonly known simply as La Salute (), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at the Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the narrow finger of Pun ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Italy, by

Baldassare Longhena Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period. His style is characterized by monumentality, skillful use of l ...

, 1631-1687 Carpet with Fame and Fortitude MET DP212204.jpg, Baroque foliage volutes on a carpet with fame and fortitude, by the

Savonnerie manufactory The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile carpets, enjoying its greatest period c. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers. The manu ...

, 1668–1685, knotted and cut wool pile, woven with about 90 knots per square inch, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Holy-water stoup with relief of Mary of Egypt MET DT3860.jpg, Baroque volutes on a holy-water stoup with relief of Mary of Egypt, by Giovanni Giardini and

Benedetto Luti Benedetto Luti (17 November 1666 – 17 June 1724) was an Italian Baroque painter, draftsman, and pastelist. Early life Luti was born in Florence on 17 November 1666. He trained under Anton Domenico Gabbiani before moving to Rome in 1690. Career ...

, 1702,

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

, silver, and gilded bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi' MET DP830829.jpg, Baroque volutes on a design for a clock from 'Disegni Diversi', by Giovanni Giardini and Maximilian Joseph Limpach, 1714-1750, etching and engraving, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Rocailles, RP-P-1964-2654.jpg, Combinations of

C and S-shaped volutes, by

Franz Xaver Habermann Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

, 1731-1775, etching,

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

File:Rocailles, RP-P-1964-2656.jpg, Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum File:Rocailles, RP-P-1964-2681.jpg, Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum File:Rocailles, RP-P-1964-2666.jpg, Combinations of Rococo C and S-shaped volutes, by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1731-1775, etching, Rijksmuseum Side table (commode en console) MET DP105703.jpg, Rococo C and S-shaped volutes on a side table (commode en console), by

Bernard II van Risamburgh Bernard II van Risamburgh, sometimes Risen Burgh (working by c 1730 — before February 1767) was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' of Dutch and French extraction, one of the outstanding cabinetmakers working in the Rococo style. "Bernard II's furniture i ...

, 1755-1760, Japanese lacquer, gilt-bronze mounts and Sarrancolin marble top, Metropolitan Museum of Art Nuova zelanda, isola del nord, maori, prua di piroga taurapa, 1800-20 ca.jpg,

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

volutes on a canoe sternpost, late 18th-early 19th century, wood and sheel, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris File:Japanese - Tsuba with Scrollwork Design - Walters 51148.jpg,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

volutes on a

tsuba Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings (''Commons:Tosogu (Japanese sword fittings), tosogu'') that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. refers to the ornate mountings of a Japane ...

, unknown date, shakudo and gold, Walters Art Museum Pair of Spindle Vases - OA 11090 - Louvre (08).jpg, Neoclassical foliage volutes on a vase, by the

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory Sèvres (, ) is a French commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known f ...

, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

File:Nine-light candelabrum MET DP155343.jpg, Rococo Revival C and S-shaped volutes of a cartouche on the base of a nine-light candelabrum, 1835–1836, gilded silver, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Fenêtre sur le toit du Palais de Justice.JPG,

Baroque Revival The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (in ...

volutes of a dormer window (

oeil-de-boeuf An oculus (; ) is a circular opening in the center of a dome or in a wall. Originating in classical architecture, it is a feature of Byzantine and Neoclassical architecture. A horizontal oculus in the center of a dome is also called opaion (; ...

type) on the building of préfecture de police de Paris,

Île de la Cité The Île de la Cité (; English: City Island, "Island of the City") is one of the two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside, Île Saint-Louis) in central Paris. It spans of land. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of ...

, by Victor Calliat, mid-19th century File:Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (02).jpg, Neoclassical volutes of a pediment with acroteria of the Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu,

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, 1871 File:Interior of the George Severeanu Museum in Bucharest (13).jpg, Rococo Revival volutes on a wall in the George Severeanu Museum, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1900 File:47BIS Avenue Kléber, Paris (01).jpg, Rococo Revival volutes above the door of

Avenue Kléber The Avenue Kléber () is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, one of the twelve avenues that converge on the Place Charles de Gaulle. It was named after Jean Baptiste Kléber, a French general during the French Revolutionary W ...

no. 47bis, Paris, unknown architect, 1908 File:Grille of the Cheney Silk Company Building, New York City, 1925, designed by the French metalworking company Ferrobrandt.jpg,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

volutes on some decorative ironwork of the

Madison Belmont Building The Madison Belmont Building, also known as 183 Madison Avenue, is a commercial building at the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 34th Street (Manhattan), 34th Street in Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York. It was designed by Warren & Wetmore ...

(

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

no. 181–183) in New York City, by Ferrobrandt, 1925 File:Edgar brandt, porte da ascensore in ferro, vetro e bronzo, francia 1926 02.jpg,

volutes on a pair of elevator doors, by

Edgar Brandt Edgar William Brandt (24 December 1880 – 8 May 1960) was a French ironworker and prolific weapons designer. In 1901 he set up a small workshop at 76 rue Michel-Ange in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement in Paris, where he be ...

, 1926, wrought iron, glass, and patinated and gilded bronze,

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic art, Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the F ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

File:77 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8e 5.jpg, Art Deco volutes on some ironwork of

Avenue des Champs-Élysées Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lo ...

no. 77 in Paris, unknown architect, () File:1 Piața Mihail Kogălniceanu, Bucharest (03).jpg, Art Deco volutes in a relief panel on Piața Mihail Kogălniceanu no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1930 File:Michael graves per swid powell design, vaso, 1989.jpg,

Postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

volutes of a vase inspired by the Ionic capital, designed by

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

for Swid Powell, 1989, glazed porcelain,

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of No ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, US Cambridge - Gonville and Caius College - 0913.jpg,

New Classical New classical macroeconomics, sometimes simply called new classical economics, is a school of thought in macroeconomics that builds its analysis entirely on a neoclassical economics, neoclassical framework. Specifically, it emphasizes the import ...

volutes of Ionic and Corinthian columns in the

Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, UK, with capitals inspired by those from the

Temple of Apollo at Bassae Bassae (, – ''Bassai'', meaning "little vale in the rocks"John Simpson, 1998

Use in stylization

Besides the use for decoration, volutes were also used for the rendering of detailed textures. Many cultures that produced stylized art used geometric patterns for the reproduction of highly-detailed textures. The volutes were most often used for hair, an example of this being Ancient Mesopotamian art, where the strands of hair are shown through patterns of volutes. File:Bull's head of the Queen's lyre from Pu-abi's grave PG 800, the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London..JPG,

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian volutes at the end of the strands of a bull mascaron of the queen's lyre, one of the

Lyres of Ur Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the codes List of musical instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number: 321.21, 321.21 and List of musical instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number ...

, 2600 BC, wood, lapis lazuli, limestone (red),

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

, gold, shell,

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

File:Lamassu from the Throne Room (Room B) of the North-West Palace at Nimrud, Iraq, 9th century BC. The British Museum, London.jpg,

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...

lamassu ''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian language, Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassuse'') is an Mesopotamia, Assyrian protective deity. Initially depicted as ...

, 865-860 BC, gypsum,

References

External links

* {{Authority control Columns and entablature Ornaments (architecture) Ancient Roman architectural elements Spirals

Gallery

Ornamentation

Use in stylization

See also

References

External links