Pilaster, in Greco-Roman Classical architecture, shallow rectangular column that projects slightly beyond the wall into which it is built and conforms precisely to the order or style of the adjacent columns. The anta of ancient Greece was the direct ancestor of the Roman pilaster. The anta, however, which served a structural purpose as the terminus of the sidewall of a temple, was not required to conform in style to the temple columns.
In ancient Roman architecture the pilaster gradually became more and more decorative rather than structural, as it served to break up an otherwise empty expanse of wall. The fourth-story wall of the Colosseum, the great amphitheatre built in Rome during the 1st century ad, contains examples of the Roman use of pilasters. In Renaissance architecture, beginning in Italy and spreading to France and England, pilasters were extremely popular on both interior and exterior walls. The decorative pilaster was also common in the designs of the later European Neoclassical periods.
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chest of drawersA heavier version, with corner pilasters (partially projecting columns), was introduced during the Regency period, and turned wooden handles returned to favour in the Victorian period.
Anta, in architecture, slightly projecting column at the end of a wall, produced by either a thickening of the wall or attachment of a separate strip. The former type, commonly flanking porches of Greek and Roman temples, is a masonry vestige of the wooden structural posts…
ColumnColumn, in architecture, a vertical element, usually a rounded shaft with a capital and a base, which in most cases serves as a support. A column may also be nonstructural, used for a decorative purpose or as a freestanding monument. In the field of architectural design a column is used for…
CaryatidCaryatid, in classical architecture, draped female figure used instead of a column as a support. In marble architecture they first appeared in pairs in three small buildings (treasuries) at Delphi (550–530 bc), and their origin can be traced back to mirror handles of nude figures carved from ivory…
TermTerm, in the visual arts, element consisting of a sculptured figure or bust at the top of a stone pillar or column that usually tapers downward to a quadrangular base. Often the pillar replaces the body of the figure, with feet sometimes indicated at its base. The pillar itself may be a separate…
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- use in furniture