Colonnette

Colonnettes have also been used to refer to a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and case clock,[2][3] and even studied by archeologists in Roman ceramics.

[9] In Khmer language, however, the term used "សសរពេជ្រ" (Soso petr), literally translates as "diamond columns", showing the importance attributed to these artifacts.

In the Demetrian necropolis, a colonnette marked the tomb a person whose epitaph was inscribed at the top under a garland carved with ivy leaves.

[11] As the Roman Empire shifted toward Christianity, the use of colonettes in funerary art was conserved as well: thus, sarcophagi, such as those kept in the paleo-Christian churches of Arles, which mostly belong to the 4th or 5th century, are often decorated with arcades carried on colonnettes whose shafts have been reduced.

[14] In Gothic architecture, the use of the colonnettes became particularly popular for the decoration of the triforium,[15] as in the emblematic case of the Cathedral of Bourges[16] proving the success of “discontinuous support”.

[17]Chartres Cathedral has a pilier cantonné with four colonettes attached to a large central core that support the arcade, aisle vaults and nave-vaulting responds.

These divisions become more complex in the seventh century, with the loops between the garlands being filled with pendants, thin leaves, or undulating small tongues.

[26] According to Philip Stern, from the ninth century onwards, the rings and groups of mouldings of the colonnettes are more numerous, increasing thus the number of the divisions of the  shaft.

[7] The colonnettes are key to Khmer archeology as they provide indications about the datation of Angkorian temples[31] not only by certain of the decorative details which it bears, but also by the set and the very connection of its elements.

[40] The complex geometric structure of the decorative colonnettes of the Khmer temples with their highly detailed carvings, mainly depicting motifs of lotus flowers, are a huge challenge for computer reconstruction.

Eleven different geometric forms have been developed and parameterized as construction modules by Khmer archeologist Pheakdey Nguonphan at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.