Corinthian

Pursuing the matter of Corinthian capitals this morning, the answer today seems to be that they are not made in pieces, rather that they are carved by robots out of what I imagine to be a block of synthetic stone, synthetic stone being a much more homogeneous and easy-carvable material than the real thing. A hollow block to keep down weight and cost of material; presumably moulded very roughly to shape.

My impression is that the carving is done by something not that far removed from a dentist's drill, complete with water jets to lubricate the process.

Also that the robot works blind, it has no video to support its activities, rather working entirely by touch, that is to say its knowledge of where the drill tip is. Plus, of course, the description in its computer of whatever it is that is to be carved. Perhaps also, it has a description of the starting position which it updates as it goes along - which would mean that you could trick it by hacking into that description, pushing it out of sync. with the thing described. Maybe I will dig deeper.

Lots of videos of all this on YouTube, from, for example, HMT Group. See reference 1. See also reference 2 for another take on the business.

Reference 1: http://htmgroupusa.blogspot.co.uk/.

Reference 2: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/tasteful-ornament.html.

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