Capital (architecture)
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In architecture, the capital or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column. It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surfac
Illustration of papyriform capitals, in The Grammar of Ornament, 1856
Nine types of capitals, from The Grammar of Ornament
Columns with Hathoric capitals, at the Temple of Isis from island Philae
Egyptian composite columns from Philae
Palmette
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The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree, like palmyra leaf. It has a far-reaching history, originating in
Page in which appear various illustrations of palmettes, from A handbook of Ornament by Franz Meyer (1898)
Etruscan architectural plaque with palmettes, from late 4th century BC, painted terracotta, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Nefertem, bearing a lotus as his crown
The hieroglyph akhet of the horizon guarded by the twin lions of Aker