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8 haft ln S forwards somewhat at their junction, where the
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WWts present many variations, both in contour and\ 10115 their most usual form is that of a cylinder, or^ eai 'ly approacliing the cylindrical than any other figure,5i)(j j e ' n g frequently a slight difference between the upper8 Ud(j e °,' Ve ^’ diameters. Sometimes the shaft contractedP°ftj 0t . immediately above the base, the contour of thishpp e being curvilinear, and forming a tangent with the5 floxve Ul ' face of the base, resembling in shape the calyx ofV th e ^ ^ le similarity to which is made the more remarkable8 car Ce j lea ves carved upon its surface. This last form canSsstjrti^ 16 rec °mmended for its beauty; for in spite of theattce 0 f ns * ts admirers, it certainly does present an appear-. Wea kness. It is said that in such cases the judgmentt | 0 l he assistance of the senses, and corrects the eye,*aid "'hat is well known to be strong, cannot fairly be-ite rit a PPear weak, and this is doubtless true to a certainblis f ’ nev ®rtheless, speaking abstractedly and artistically,tl ® c °C is decidedly objectionable. In some instances,l i>°s e Q j. rriaa slope downwards in a slight degree, similar to
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1 S the
surface the appearance of a number of staves ora common centre, or of a bundle of reeds,^dle ?)!* s kind of column has obtained the name of the'"Yi ar> This resemblance is borne out by the fact, that? lst iri» 0 p ts are usually cinctured at intervals by bands con-i] 1( lie of t ' lree or more rings, which gives one the idea of a'tra j reeds bound round with reeds or rushes to preservefitter position. These bands are sometimes of
| )e ' V| dth, and have a plain surface, or one of the inter-k'fcd o een two bands is left blank, which again is oftenr^tL hieroglypliics or other ornament. Specimensi° fo a i^aft.s of the different descriptions mentioned, are. UQ d at Beni-hassan , Ilermontis, and Latopolis, and
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( j .'m an almost every locality; they are more prevalentI; Ppear °^ ler f° r m. At other times, the reeds entirely’ t ke plain shaft being divided vertically into a? tl ds 0 p ^ °®mpartments as before, by means of annulets or
Pbics _ ree ds, and these compartments filled in with hiero-at n ®any elaborate examples of this kind are to bey AltJ^ndera. F
W e J 1 ®* 1 cylindrical shafts are by far the most general,it; O“ 10, »lly meet with examples of a polygonal form,fi 8 ‘a llCe q * la<i S with plain rectangular piers ; a remarkableb atl u t ' le former exists at a temple at Eilethyas, on thejj Pie j nte the Nile, a few miles south of Esneh , where,llarrv •° l a l ar g e vestibule, the whole of the roof, asL t(: eti s jj ln forms us, is supported on polygonal columns ofvke Examples of the rectangular piers are describedpi Static ^ Wr lter as existing at Beni-hassan.
of J', 8 °f the employment of Caryatid figures in the^aro anins ar e not unfrequent, they are placed in frontC^unS!® 8 * and d0 not bear the whole weight of theSf^Ples Q p 4 mass, which is mainly supported by the piers.
kind are to be found at Ramesseion, Thebes ,
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i feet long and 52 wide, supported by two rows
ti’Nt 3o f ars ’ ea ch having a figure of Sesostris attached toPill ars eet high, finely executed, and in good preservation.Op 6 '* 'WtM 6 - dve ar >d a half feet square, and the sides are
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d t ^v difi'gj,. ’ Egyptian architecture affords a vast variety,\f t e . hm,- ln S in form and character. One prevailing form)r > a g °r bulbous capital, which projects from thecurve, but, instead of continuing to expand as
it proceeds upwards, it recedes back, gradually diminishing inthickness, until at its junction with the abacus its diameterequals that of the shaft; the contour is similar to that whichwould be produced by a slightly yielding body pressed downby a superincumbent weight. Sometimes this capital exhibitsa plain surface, only relieved by hieroglyphics arranged inhorizontal rings, as at Kournon; at others, it is divided intoeight or more compartments, or shafts, running verticallyfrom top to bottom, and covered with hieroglyphics, or reeded,in which latter case another subdivision of shafts frequentlytakes place about half way up the capital, or the shafts areinterrupted by one or more horizontal bands, either plain orcovered with hieroglyphics, as at Latopolis. The simplestcapital of this kind is where the reeds of the shaft are car-ried up without any interruption, with the exception of aband at the top of the shaft, underneath the bulge of thecapital.
Another form of capital, which was frequently adopted,is the bell-shaped, resembling, in contour, an inverted bell,and covered with leaves, flowers, &c., or they may be said toresemble the bell and petals of a flower, the upper rim turn-ing over, and bending downwards. This rim was sometimesperfectly circular, but at others divided into a number ofconvex curves, forming so many distinct petals. The lotus,papyrus, and palm seem to have been the favourite plants forintroduction into this kind of capital, and so beautifully werethey carved, as frequently to exhibit the most delicate andminute parts, such as the petals, pistyles, reeds, &c. Exam-ples are to be found in almost every building ; among otherswe may mention those of Hermontis, Latopolis, and Apolli-nopolis Magna, where there are some exquisite specimens;indeed, all the capitals of this form are exceedingly delicateand beautiful, of elegant form, and chaste enrichment. Anexample of somewhat similar character is given, selected fromthe temple of Esneh , but in this case the contour is different,being convex instead of concave; the treatment, however, issimilar, and the design good. Another capital is frequentlyintroduced in the greater temples, which may be termed adouble capital, the lowermost of which consists of fourIsis’ faces, disposed so as to form a square larger than theshaft, the folds of the head-dress on each side hanging down,and projecting beyond it at the corners. Above each face isa projecting abacus, with a concave face, and standing uponthese, a square temple, which forms the second capital.Instances are likewise to be found of triple capitals, whichconsist of the last-mentioned double form placed above oneof the bell-shaped kind. Another instance of a doublecapital is given, taken from the temple of Typhon, whichconsists of a rectangular block placed upon a bell-shapedcapital, against each of the four sides of which sits an imageof the god. Heads of animals are sometimes carved in theplace of capitals, amongst which are those of the bull, whichform is worthy of notice as approximating to the capitalsfound at Persepolis. Rarely we find columns without capitals,or with a simple rectangular block, which is little better thanan abacus. The Egyptian abacus varies from the Grecianin being nothing more than a plain square plinth, of consi-derably smaller dimensions than the capital, and thereforereceding from, not projecting over, as in classical architecture;indeed it scarcely forms a member of the capital at all, for, onaccount of its great depth behind the capital, it is scarcelyvisible, unless it be of extraordinary height ; its purposeseems to be, to form a marked division between the columnand entablature, and obviate that heaviness of appearancewhich would otherwise be occasioned. The bulging capitalsform an exception to this rule, for in them the abacus projects,and overhangs the capital, the object of which is apparent