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
Corinthian order tale in his illustration of the Corinthian order for his translation of Vitruvius, published in Paris, 1684 ("illustration, left"). Perrault demonstrates in his engraving how the proportions of the carved capital could be adjusted according to demands of the design, without offending. The texture and outline of Perrault's leaves is dry and tight compared to their 19th-century naturalism at the U.S. Capitol ("below, left"). A Corinthian capital may be seen as an enriched development of the Ionic capital, though one may have to look closely at a Corinthian capital ("illustration, right") to see the Ionic volutes ("helices"), at the corners,