The problem in certain shaped areas affords little latitude, in particular the triangular spandril where the invariable device of wings or floating drapery is as insistent as the head of King Charles in the memorial of Mr. Dick.
Forms in the round--such that can be seen from any point of view--need special treatment. Height may appear normal, but the details round the surface will be materially affected by the rotundity. Thus a vase of varying contour might have its surface divided by a series of vertical lines, any one of which, seen from a point of view exactly opposite, would appear straight, whereas those approaching the profiles would appear curved proportionately to the sectional curvature.
[Illustration: No. 220. Effect of Perspective of Vertical Division.]
Perspective also affects the vertical appearance more or less according to the profile curvature, and in decoration, for bodies that are bulbous in form, the foreshortening and its effect on details must be taken into consideration so as to avoid undesirable distortion.
Other forms in the round that may be considered are supports for furniture, balusters and lamp-post standards. Furniture supports and balusters are invariably in the form of tapered or vase-shaped shafts, and the divisions may be in accordance with the proportions previously suggested. Appropriate mouldings are used to decorate the shaft. When in wood, these forms are either partly or wholly turned, and in this case may be further decorated by carved work. In supports, the general tendency of the details should be in the vertical direction so as to enhance the structural suggestion.
[Illustration: No. 221. Jacobean Baluster, Carved Wood, showing Vertical and Horizontal Contrast.]
In the treatment of standards it is not so necessary to emphasise the element of support, and the diameter or lateral dimensions can vary to a greater degree. Whether the standards are fixtures or movable, as in interior fittings, there must be a base that will not only be adequate but will convey the idea of stability. In the case of portable standards the tripod form of base is possibly the most suitable, but when the standard is small the base can be circular, square or polygonal. The commonest form is a shaft, which is frequently tapered. This is supported on a bulbous or vase-shaped form arising out of the base. At the upper end of the shaft is a capital of some kind. These different parts are held together by appropriate mouldings.