Giltwood Torchere with Ionic Capital and Fluted Column

• Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.
• Giltwood - Giltwood is used to describe a gold finish on furniture and other decorative wooden items, whereby a thin sheet of gold metal, called gold leaf, is applied to the surface for decorative purposes.
  
  Unlike gilding, where the gold leaf is applied over a coating of gesso, with giltwood the gold leaf is applied direct to the surface, or over a coat of linseed oil gold leaf adhesive.
  
  Most gold-finished mirrors will be gilded, whereas furniture with gold highlights will have the gold applied through the giltwood method.
• Capital - In architecture, a capital is the topmost member of a column, pilaster, or pier, which sits on top of the shaft and supports the entablature or architrave above it. The capital is typically the most ornate and decorative element of the column, and it can take many different forms depending on the architectural style of the building.
  
  In classical architecture, the most common types of capitals are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric capitals are simple and have a circular shape with a flat top and bottom. Ionic capitals have a more elaborate design with scrolls or volutes (spiral shapes) at the top, and Corinthian capitals are the most decorative, with elaborate carvings of acanthus leaves and other motifs.
  
  In other architectural styles, capitals can take many different forms, such as the bell-shaped capitals of Gothic architecture or the foliate designs of the Romanesque period. The capital is one of the most important architectural element in a building, it is the one that gives the most character and identity to the building.
• Column - An architectural feature sometimes used for decorative effect and sometimes as part of the supporting construction. Columns should generally taper slightly towards the top. They may be plain or decorated with carving, fluting or reeding. Columns may be fully rounded or, more commonly, half-rounded and attached with glue, screws or pins to the outer stiles of doors, or the facing uprights on cabinets and bureaux.
• Fluting - A form of decoration found on many pieces of furniture, as well as ceramics, silver and clocks, in which round-bottomed grooves, of varying width and depth, are let into columns, pilasters, legs. As a general rule, flutes are cut in the vertical, though they may follow a turned leg in a spiral pattern. In cross-section, they may be described as a series of 'U' shapes, rising and narrowing at each end of the groove. Fluting is the opposite of reeding, with which fluting is often associated.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• pedestals and columns, material - gilt and gilded 103
• torcheres 113