THE IONIC ORDER—PLATES VII AND IX
The prototypes of the Ionic Order are to be found in Persia, Assyria, Fig. 62, and Asia Minor. Like the Doric Order, it seems to have been imitated from a wooden construction. It is characterized by Bands in the Architrave and Dentils in the Bed Mold, both of which are held to represent sticks laid together to form a beam or a roof. But the most conspicuous and distinctive feature is the Scrolls that decorate the Capital of the Column. These have no structural significance, and are purely decorative forms derived from Assyria and Egypt. Originally the Ionic Order had no Frieze and no Echinus in the Capital. These were borrowed from the Doric Order, and, in like manner, the Dentils and Bands in the Doric were imitated from the Ionic. The Ionic Frieze was introduced in order to afford a place for sculpture, and was called by the Greeks the Zoöphorus, or Figure Bearer, Fig. 64.
In the Ionic Entablature, the Architrave, Frieze, and Cornice are about the same height, each measuring about three-quarters of a Diameter. But Vignola makes the Architrave a little smaller and the Cornice a little larger, so that they measure, respectively, five-eighths, six -eighths, and seven-eighths of a Diameter. The Architrave is divided into five parts, each an eighth of a Diameter in height. The upper one is occupied by a large Cyma Reversa and Fillet, which take the place of the Doric Tania. Below are two fascias, or bands, of equal height, each measuring a quarter of a Diameter. The lower one is crowned by an Ovolo and Fillet. The French often use three bands, as in the Corinthian Architrave.
The Ionic Frieze is plain, except for the sculpture upon it. It sometimes has a curved outline, as if ready to be carved, and is then said to be Pulvinated, from Pulvinar, a bolster, which it much resembles.
The Cornice is much like that of the Denticulated Doric, which was derived from it, but has no Mutules. The upper half, as in the Doric, is taken up by the Cymatium and Corona, and the lower half by the Bed Mold.
This is divided into four equal parts, of which the upper one is given to an Ovolo, the lower to a Cyma Reversa and Fillet, and the two middle ones to a Dentil Band and Fillet. Upon this band are planted the Dentils, which are one-sixth
