Solomonic column

<p>The Solomonic column, also called barley-sugar column, is a <a href="/facts/Helix/BqC4AKwL">helical</a> <a href="/facts/Column/NDtghP75">column</a>, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a <a href="/facts/Corkscrew/mv1jpFLb">corkscrew</a>. It is not associated with a specific <a href="/facts/Classical_order/ymRMawpq">classical order</a>, although most examples have <a href="/facts/Corinthian_order/2zCzPuH4">Corinthian</a> or <a href="/facts/Composite_order/sAmbTja4">Composite</a> <a href="/facts/Capital_(architecture)/A4Dxlbdg">capitals</a>.  But it may be crowned with any design, for example, making a <a href="/facts/Doric_order/oDLVobAY">Roman Doric</a> solomonic or <a href="/facts/Ionic_order/rG6Ajtkr">Ionic</a> solomonic column.
</p><p>Perhaps originating in the <a href="/facts/Near_East/gD1vyGQI">Near East</a>, it is a feature of Late <a href="/facts/Roman_architecture/1wtv6yFU">Roman architecture</a>, which was revived in <a href="/facts/Baroque_architecture/l9QT8K91">Baroque architecture</a>, especially in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds. Two sets of columns, both in the very prestigious setting of <a href="/facts/St._Peter%27s_Basilica/EPqN8PdM">St. Peter's Basilica</a> in Rome, were probably important in the wide diffusion of the style. The first were relatively small, and given by  <a href="/facts/Constantine_I_(emperor)/jW1q8TPp">Constantine the Great</a> in the 4th century. These were soon believed to have come from the <a href="/facts/Temple_in_Jerusalem/WHsJ2e2Y">Temple in Jerusalem</a>, hence the style's naming after the biblical <a href="/facts/Solomon/UEW5JoNU">Solomon</a>.  The second set are those of <a href="/facts/Bernini/wv3RwTG1">Bernini</a>'s <a href="/facts/St._Peter%27s_Baldacchino/RID36r8z">St. Peter's Baldacchino</a>, finished in 1633.
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Solomonic column open-in-new

Solomonic column