ABACUS (ARCHITECTURE)

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In architecture, an 'abacus' (from the Greek ''abax'', a slab; or French ''abaque'', ''tailloir''; plurals 'abacuses' or 'abaci') is a flat slab or set above the capital of a column, forming its uppermost member.^[1] Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface (wider than the capital) to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above. The diminutive of abacus, ''abaciscus'', is used to describe small mosaic tiles used to create ornamental floors with detailed patterns of chequers or squares in a tessellated pavement.
In classical architecture, the shape of the abacus and its edge profile varies in the different classical orders. In the Greek Doric order, the abacus is a plain square slab without mouldings. In the Roman and Renaissance Doric orders, it is crowned by a moulding (known as "crown moulding").
In the archaic Greek Ionic order, the abacus is rectangular in plan, owing to the greater width of the capital, and consists of a carved ovolo moulding. In later examples, the slab is thinner and the abacus remains square, except where there are angled volutes, where the slab is slightly curved. In the Roman and Renaissance Ionic capital, the abacus is square with a fillet on the top of an ogee moulding with curved edges over angled volutes.

In the Greek Corinthian order, the abacus is moulded, its sides are concave, and its angles canted (except in one or two exceptional Greek capitals, where it is brought to a sharp angle); the same shape is adopted in the Roman and Renaissance Corinthian and Composite capitals, in some cases with the carved ovolo moulding.
In Romanesque architecture, the abacus survives as a heavier slab, generally moulded and decorated. It is often square with the lower edge splayed off and moulded or carved, and the same was retained in France during the medieval period. In Early English work, a circular deeply moulded abacus was introduced, which in the 14th and 15th centuries was transformed into an octagonal one.
In Gothic architecture, the moulded forms of the abacus vary; it may even be a flat disk or drum. The form of the Gothic abacus is often affected by the shape of a vault that springs from the column, in which case it's called an impost block.

Contents

Examples in England

Examples in France

References

External links

Examples in England

Early Saxon abaci are frequently simply chamfered, but sometimes grooved as in the crypt at Repton (fig. 1) and in the arcade of the refectory at Westminster Abbey. The abacus in Norman work is square where the columns are small; but on larger piers it is sometimes octagonal, as at Waltham Abbey. The square of the abacus is often sculptured with ornaments, as at the White Tower and at Alton, Hampshire (fig. 2). In Early English work, the abacus is generally circular, and in larger work, a group of circles (fig. 4), with some examples of octagonal and square shapes. The mouldings are generally half-rounds, which overhang deep hollows in the capital. In France, the abacus in early work is generally square, as at Chateau Blois (fig. 3).

Examples in France

The first abacus pictured below (fig. 5) is decorated with simple mouldings and ornaments, common during the 12th century, in Île-de-France, Normandy, Champagne, and Burgundy regions, and from the choir of Vézelay Abbey (fig. 6). Figure 7 shows a circular abacus used at windows in the side chapels of Notre Dame de Paris. Towards the end of the 13 century, this element decreases in importance—they became short with a narrow profile during the 14th century, and disappeared almost entirely during the 15th century (fig. 8).

References

1. Encyclopedia of Religion at world-religion.org

External links

★ ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>/Abacus.html#1 Abacus, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities