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
The Five Orders of Architecture five orders, with indication of their shadows and the first principles of construction"; "The Five Orders of Architecture according to Giacomo Barozzio of Vignola, to Which are Added the Greek Orders"; and "The five orders of architecture, the casting of shadows and the first principles of construction based on the system of Vignola". The book tackles the five orders, Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite in separate sections, each subdivided in five parts on the colonnade, arcade, arcade with pedestal, individual pedestals, and entablatures and capitals. Following those 25 sections were some less related parts on cornices and other elements.