Solomonic column

The Solomonic column, also called barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite capitals. But it may be crowned with any design, for example, making a Roman Doric solomonic or Ionic solomonic column.^[1]

Perhaps originating in the Near East, it is a feature of Late Roman architecture, which was revived in Baroque architecture, especially in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds. Two sets of columns, both in the very prestigious setting of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, were probably important in the wide diffusion of the style. The first were relatively small, and given by Constantine the Great in the 4th century. These were soon believed to have come from the Temple in Jerusalem, hence the style's naming after the biblical Solomon. The second set are those of Bernini's St. Peter's Baldacchino, finished in 1633.