Gothic Capital with Foliate Decoration, 13th Century

The leaves are organically arranged around the core of the abacus; the bottom of the capital is composed of a simple rounded base. The capital is flat and uncarved on the back, suggesting that it was an engaged capital.
In the early 13th century, there was a development away from figurative ornament on capitals towards carving naturalistic foliate form, as we can observe in this beautiful little capital.