ABSTRACT
The Ionic order of the interior presents features of so novel a character, and of such interest, as to demand a detailed description of these two plates, It is evident that in constructing the details of this order, those considerations of optics and perspective which are so apparent in every part of this elegant work, were here most especially consulted, because seen from points of view often abrupt and or an acute angle, in this narrow cella, the form of the order would otherwise have failed. We discover, therefore, the sculptor no less than the architect in the design of these capitals, and proof that they had been carefully modelled and adjusted to their places before they were ultimately executed in marble.... These notes will serve to show the optical considerations of the architect in adjusting this cap to its peculiar points of view, both in the front and on the sides. 1
