Volute

Volute (Latin volutum " the Rolled " ) is a derived from the French term for a Helical ( spiral) in the artistic ornamentation, especially in architecture.

Scrolls can be found in the architecture of consoles, pediments and capitals. The shape is characteristic in the ancient architecture of the Ionian and Aeolian capitals as well as for the composite capital. Earlier appear volutes on the capitals of Egyptian architecture, where they are derived from the natural shape of the open lotus calyx. In the area of ​​ancient Attic pottery volutes often occur as a handle shape. Especially in the crater it occurs frequently ( volute krater ).

For the facade design basilican church buildings since the Renaissance, the volute plays a major role. The resulting basilica by the construction of the building angle between the wide lower front piece and the narrow clerestory is often disguised by a large volute. Volute as it refers herein to the S-shaped curved form, together with the two ends of the rolled-up, the actual volutes. For the first time Leon Battista Alberti led this schema in the facade of the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence and created the standard model of the Church facade in Renaissance architecture.

In the late Renaissance, the volute is one of the basic elements of architectural decoration of the rolling mill and tail drive. In the architecture of the baroque volutes were used in many ways as decorative elements.

In addition, the volute (or similar flourishes motifs) found in the ornamentation of many cultures rich in usage, eg in the Volutenranke.

The scientist Nicolaus Goldmann (1611-1665) has described a popular geometric method for Volutenkonstruktion.

Church facade with volutes: Il Gesu, Rome

Leist property in Hameln in the Weser Renaissance style with scrolled pediment (late 16th century)

Red-figure volute krater