Ionic order cap is usually enriched with egg-and-dart. Since Vitruvius, a female character has been ascribed to the Ionic (in contrast to the masculine Doric). The major features of the Ionic order are the volutes of its capital, which have been the subject of much theoretical and practical discourse, based on a brief and obscure passage in Vitruvius. The only tools required to design these features were a straight-edge, a right angle, string (to establish half-lengths) and a compass. Below the volutes, the Ionic column may have a wide collar or banding separating the capital from the fluted shaft (as in, for
New York Court of Appeals Building third floor has some additional library space along with the offices of court and individual judges' clerks. Under the dome, the rotunda's decorative work uses all three classical orders. Plain Doric columns and capitals on the first floor are topped by carved Ionic columns on the second story. They support ornate Corinthian columns at the top. In the ceiling is "The Romance of the Skies", a painting depicting the three seasons when the court is in session. In the rear wing is the courtroom, its interior decorated in ornately hand-carved brown oak, similar to its furniture. Oil portraits of past