)





ESSAY
ON
OR N A MENTAL ART
AS APPLICABLE TO
TRADE AND MANUFACTURES.
BY
JAMES BALLANTINE,
AUTHOR OF “A TREATISE ON PAINTED GLASS," ETC. ETC.
LONDON:
W. S. ORR, & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW.'
EDINBURGH: JOHN MENZIES.
M.DCCC. XLVII


4
PREFACE.
doing so, these and similar errors and incongruities; and to supply to the public in
general, but especially to those trades in which a knowledge of Ornamental Design
is required, a correct, simple, and copious guide in that beautiful art. The CABINET-
MAKER, IRONFOUNDER, PAINTER, BRASSFOUNDER, SILVERSMITH, PAPER-STAINER,
ENGRAVER, WOOD-CARVER, FRAME-MAKER, DAMASK-WEAVER, BOOKBINDER, and
many others, will find in this volume materials suggestive of an infinite variety of
chaste and classical designs, arranged on principles so clear and comprehensive as
to present examples capable of being appreciated and used by every workman; and
it
may be noticed, as a peculiar and most important feature in the plan of the Work,
that in the arrangement of the Designs for each particular trade, care has been
taken to render the whole Series susceptible of being modified, re-arranged, and
adapted to the use of tradesmen in general ; so that the patterns intended more
immediately for the Ironfounder, Bookbinder, Painter, or Cabinet-maker, may with
the greatest facility be transposed (if we may use the term) for the various purposes
of
any
of the other Trades mentioned above.
In conclusion, one point above all others will be kept steadily in view throughout
the course of the publication—viz., the GENERAL UTILITY of every Design intro-
duced. It is intended, from time to time, to present copies of rare and valuable
Etchings by some of the great masters, as in the beautiful group in Part I. by Guido,
after Lucas Cambiaso; an arrangement which, it is believed, will be of great ad-
vantage to several of the ornamental trades, especially to the Silversmith, House-
decorator, Modeller in stucco, and Wood-carver, and may not be unserviceable even
in the higher walks of Art. These instances, however, will not be of frequent oc-
currence, the main
purpose of the Work being of wider application than to admit of
more than a very limited proportion of such designs; but their occasional introduc-
tion cannot fail greatly to enhance its value to the Trades just mentioned, as well as
to purchasers generally. With these brief remarks the work is presented to the
public, whose patronage no exertion will be spared to deserve and to obtain.


4
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
please at first sight; if they do not, no process of reasoning will afterwards reconcile
us to them, far less invest them with the beauty sought for or expected. To speak
of works of art growing upon our liking is absurd. Persons may, and often do,
improve on acquaintance, but works of art never. The perception of beauty is inhe-
rent in the human mind, which is rapid in its combinations, and prompt and
irrevocable in its decisions.
Man, in his primitive state, feels a strong desire to imitate and perpetuate that
which is beautiful; and hence it is that we find him attaining considerable skill in
ornamental arts, before he has acquired any knowledge of those which contribute more
immediately to his social comforts. The South Sea Islander, with no better instru-
ment than a piece of shell or talc, produces specimens of carving closely approach-
ing the most successful efforts of our best artists; and in several authenticated
fragments of ancient British art, ornamental details are exhibited nearly equalling
the best specimens of Greece or Rome. The savage who roams through the pathless
forest, decks himself with the beautiful productions of nature, thus showing that
an appreciation of beauty is an innate principle of the human mind. The first
adaptation of natural objects to decorative art, is in the adornment of the
person;
when this propensity is extended to the dwelling-place, it evinces a more advanced
stage of refinement and of social improvement. This development of what is un-
doubtedly an innate principle of the human mind, enables us to affirm, that the basis
of every style of ornamental decoration is to be found in the general aspect, and
natural productions, of the country wherein each style had its origin.
Every style of Ornamental Art has its peculiar features, and perhaps it may also
be said its peculiar beauties, although artists often betray a tendency to think lightly
of every style but that which has struck their fancy, and has become the object of
their admiration and the subject of their studies. The diligent student, however,
who comes unprejudiced to the inquiry, will soon discover that every style has some-
thing to recommend it, something which renders it peculiarly adapted to the age and
country in which it has been most generally practised : he will, probably, also discover
that beautiful combinations are to be found in each and all of the various styles, and
that though the elements of beauty are few and simple, they are capable of the most
diversified arrangements and combinations, and present, in their practical application
to the purposes of art, a boundless field for invention. This proposition we shall
hereafter have occasion more fully to illustrate, when examining the peculiarities of


S
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
senting religious subjects, while those of the palaces were delineations of battles,
hunting scenes, and occasionally the occupations of daily life. The difficult art of
sculpturing granite was also well known; and the hieroglyphics on granite obelisks
and other monuments are sculptured with a minuteness and delicacy of finish which
modern artists have not yet attained. The Egyptians were also skilled in the
compounding of metals, many of their bronzes retaining smooth and bright surfaces,
though buried for ages, and afterwards exposed to the damp of European climates.
The Egyptians were a domestic people, and extremely attentive to the decoration
of their houses. Their articles of furniture were at once rich in colour and graceful
in form; and the commonest utensils were characterised by singular elegance. Their
chairs and couches were about the same height with those now in use; and were
nearly the same in form and construction. At an early period the skill of their
cabinetmakers had obviated the necessity of uniting the legs with bars; and they
were generally formed in imitation of those of some animal, the foot raised on a
small block or pin. The back of the chair was occasionally concave; and in many
of the large fauteuils a lion formed an arm on either side. The cushions of the
fauteuils and couches were of coloured cotton, painted leather, or gold and silver
tissue, and the framework was frequently bound with ornamental metal plates, or
inlaid with ivory and foreign woods. The cuts here introduced will give an idea of
the forms of the chair, the camp stool, and the couch, which bear considerable
resemblance to those of the present day.
The walls and ceilings of the Egyptian apartments were richly painted, and
generally with exquisite taste. The ceilings were laid out in compartments, each
having a geometric or foliated pattern with an appropriate border. The favourite


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
9
forms were the square, the diamond, the circle, and the succession of scrolls, and
square within square, known as the Tuscan border, and so often found on Greek
and Etruscan vases, as well as on similar ornamental designs that were afterwards
adopted by the Romans. The following forms are of an age 1600 years prior to
the Christian era.

29
The walls of the palaces were inlaid with precious metals, ebony, and ivory.
Lucan thus describes the banqueting hall of Cleopatra :-
“ Thick golden plates the latent beams infold,
And the high roof was fretted o'er with gold.
Of solid marble all the walls were made,
And onyx even the meaner floor inlaid ;
While porphyry and agate round the court,
In massy columns rose a proud support.
Of solid ebony each post was wrought,
From swarthy Meroë profusely brought.
With ivory was the entrance crusted o'er,
And polished tortoise hid each shining door ;
While on the cloudy spots enchased was seen
The lively emerald's never failing green."
In concluding this brief analysis of the Ornamental Arts in Egypt, we cannot
but advert to the remarkable analogy between the construction of the hieroglyphic
names and standards of the ancient Egyptian monarchs, and the quartering of arms
in modern heraldry. In the hieroglyphic inscriptions every king bears two names,
each enclosed, within an oval. In these ovals are blazoned the bearings derived
from the prenomen and second name of the father, or from the wife and her father,
similar to the manner in which the blazon of the husband and wife are impaled in
с


10
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
modern shields; and from these symbols of descent or alliance we can trace the origin
and extraction of the Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt. Nor is this the only analogy, the
resemblance obtains through the whole system; and an ancient oval, crested with its
ostrich, and flanked with the royal basilisk, was almost identical with a modern
escutcheon with its supporters. It seems probable, therefore, that our heraldic
system is an offshoot of the ancient blazonry of names and banners adapted to
European customs and requirements, and that the rudiments of this, as well as those
of
every other department of ornamental art, were known four thousand years ago.
ON THE ORNAMENTAL ARTS OF ANCIENT GREECE.
The extent to which the Greeks improved on the designs of the Egyptians is very
remarkable, and eminently calculated to impress us with the highest opinion of their
genius and taste. In Egypt we find the rudiments of all the arts that tend to
advance social refinement; in Greece we find those rudiments formed into systems
of beauty and symmetry. All the ornamental designs of the Greeks, whether in
articles of dress or furniture, whether in their private dwellings or their public
structures, were characterized by great simplicity and elegance. Having studied
thoroughly the principles developed in the works of the Egyptians, the Greeks
caught the spirit in which they were conceived, and quickly surpassed their teachers.
What the lotus and palm had been to the former, the acanthus and honeysuckle
became to the latter; and forms based on these indigenous plants were used in
ornamenting every
article of dress, as well as in the decoration of every public edifice.
The source of design being fully explored, the art soon became sufficiently under-
stood. An infinite variety of graceful outline and exquisite proportion was exhibited
in the public temples and sculptures by which they were adorned; and the craftsmen
of Greece, thus familiarized to the sight of beauty, became capable of discriminating,
as if instinctively, between what was incongruous and what possessed the charm
of unity. The contemplation of the ornamental sculptures on these matchless
structures would suggest to the mechanic the propriety of generalizing his ideas of
nature, and would enable him to select and arrange her productions to suit the


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
11
requirements of his particular branch of art. In this way alone can we account for
the universal
presence of that beauty which distinguishes all their works.
The Grecians seem not to have attached so much value to costly material as to
fine design ; and even when rich dresses and gorgeous furnishings were used, they
were chiefly valued on account of their elegance and delicacy of execution. Their
lamps, for example, were not of gold or silver, but of brass, wrought by the best
sculptor that the purchaser could afford to employ; and the metal was left to its
natural tarnish to show the work to advantage.
It is to be regretted that we have not been able to obtain a more complete
knowledge of the internal arrangements and adornments of the private dwelling-
houses of Greece. We know, however, that this singular people were universally
animated by a desire to extend and perpetuate the national glory, and that all their
surplus wealth was voluntarily contributed towards the erection of those beautiful
temples, which have never been equalled, and which still remain the admiration of
the world. There is every reason, therefore, to believe that their dwelling-houses
were furnished in a plain and unostentatious manner; but however homely the
material of which their household utensils were made, the shapes into which they
were fashioned were singularly elegant and graceful. The antique jug, basket, and
chair here shown, will give an idea of the exquisite taste of the Greeks in form,
carried into the most ordinary utensils, and developed in the most common furniture.
I


If the ordinary utensils and common articles of furniture were thus beautiful, the
vases which were set aside for sacred purposes or extraordinary occasions were emi-


12
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
nently so; and while they were exceedingly varied in design, they were invariably
graceful and elegant in form. Artistic talent of the highest order was engaged in
their enrichment; and many of the most choice specimens of Grecian art are to be
found adorning those interesting relics of antiquity. Nor is this to be wondered at:
the material of which they were formed was likely to endure for ever; and the high
purposes to which they were destined were calculated to call forth all the energy and
enthusiasm of the artists employed in their production. The designs on the vasés
for temples either illustrated the mythological history or the religious services of the
deity in whose worship they were engaged. On those which were awarded as prizes
at the Olympic games, the designs were generally allegorical, and represented
virtuous and heroic deeds. Others used for funereal purposes were frequently
adorned with devices emblematic of the life and character of the deceased; and from
the multiplicity of designs preserved in these monuments we derive the most
important information concerning the history, dresses, and customs of the ancient
Greeks.
Recent discoveries have shown that the finest structures of Greece were
gorgeously decorated with positive colours; and in a country where the fine arts
were so highly appreciated, and where all the national edifices were constructed on
principles of the most perfect symmetry, there can be no doubt that the same
exquisite perception of beauty in the harmony of colour would be apparent in their
chromatic arrangements. We know also that groups of figures skilfully executed
and gracefully arranged, embodying lofty conceptions and elevated sentiments,
adorned the chief places in their temples; while ornaments, consisting of beautiful
flowers, and leaves of elegant form, were introduced with the most exquisite skill, and
in a manner that made them appear as if fresh and glistening from the hand of
nature. In the ornaments in the finest of the Greek temples, such as the
Erechtheum, we find, in every portion of the detail, a strong resemblance to the
sources from which they had been derived. Ornamental astragals, for example, are
direct imitations of the strung pearls used in female decoration; the holly leaf
enriches the mouldings of the doorways; the plait ornament at top and bottom of
the shafts of columns is a precise imitation of a plait of silk ribbon; and the close
resemblance which those foliated ornaments with which apices, friezes, and capitals
are enriched, bear to the acanthus and the honeysuckle, shows distinctly the origin
of these beautiful decorations. The following remarks on Grecian Ornament, by


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
13
Mr Kinnard, in the supplement to Stuart’s ‘Athens,' are in unison with this
opinion :- The elemental form of such decorations is to be traced in the earliest
contemporary specimens of Etruscan and Æginetan art. The Pelasgi, who founded
the Hellenic and Etruscan nations, carried with them into the countries they colo-
nized, manners, arts, and religion. The similitude of the forms of the ornamental
sculpture of the distinct and distant nations they founded, renders it evident that
they originally referred to one common prototype as connected with Oriental
idolatry; and the sacred plant of the East, called Tamara, and by the ancient
Greeks Cyamus, was probably the venerated object. That prototype, however, was
abandoned and forgotten anterior to the age of the earliest relics of Grecian art,
wherein we find imaginary curves of capricious formation; but when the arts had
reached a higher state of refinement, we find their ornaments approximate to the
principle of general vegetation, skilfully accommodated to the rectilinear formality
of architecture—until, in the hands of the sculptors of the Periclean era, amid a
people entertaining a remarkable passion for flowers, the Anthemion arrived at that
character of elegance which established it as a model to posterior ages.'
The following copies are given as illustrative of these inferences :—No. 1, the
most ancient, is of a hard and stiff style, and there is no imitation of any plant; but
there would be little difficulty in tracing the change to richer embellishment, more
imitative of vegetable nature, until perfection was attained in No. 2, the Anthemion
No. 1.
No. 2.


D
of the Erechtheum. In other cases, the ornament is executed with many
varieties of
detail, and teeming with new and tasteful combinations. The progress of ornamental
D


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
15
the domestic economy of the ancient Romans, and has enabled us to ascertain the
precise state of the arts as practised by them at that eventful period of their history.
From these remains, it appears that the Romans had their houses furnished and
decorated in the most sumptuous manner.
The walls were enriched with coloured
marbles and historical paintings, and the Arabesque style of decoration seems to
have been universally prevalent. This style was introduced in the time of Augustus,
previous to which it was customary with the Romans to paint the walls of their
apartments one uniform colour, relieved by modelled ornaments.
One peculiarity in the mode of decorating the walls of Pompeian houses is worthy
of notice, on account of its showing how well the artists understood the true prin-
ciples of decoration. In the natural landscape, we find that the dark masses are in
the foreground, the middle tints in the middle distance, and the light itself in the
sky. In the houses of Pompeii, the dark colours are placed lowest, the shades becom-
ing lighter as they approach the ceiling; the arrangement of tint thus conforming
to the rule observed in nature. In some instances, it is true, this is very crudely
carried out; but, even in such cases, the principles found in nature are adhered to,
principles which, when employed in internal decoration, under well regulated taste,
never fail to produce the most pleasing effects—giving at once airiness and dignity
to the apartment to which they have been applied.
The influence which Etruria exercised over the Roman arts, at the period referred
to, is visible in many of the decorations; many of the ornamental borders and scrolls
on the walls of the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum bearing a striking resemblance
to those on Etruscan vases. In almost all cases, these decora-
tions, though singularly bold and free, seem to have been
executed without any preliminary tracing or drawing, and the
opposite sides of the same forms were, in
consequence,
seldom
if ever precisely similar. In
many of the Arabesque combina-
tions, representations of native plants and flowers are to be
seen, showing how highly the Romans appreciated, and how
readily they introduced into their decorations, the graceful
and beautiful in nature. The borders here shewn are from
Gell's . Pompeii,' and are extremely elegant.
It will be observed that the leading lines of these borders are eliptical, and that
they are Grecian in character. It may, therefore, be inferred that they were exe-


16
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
cuted at a very early period. In the enrichments and embellishments of Roman
buildings at a subsequent period, we find that the arrangements and curvatures are
circular. The Romans preferred the rose to the lotus or the honeysuckle, and the
preference is distinctly visible in the capitals, friezes, and mouldings of their build-
ings, as well as in their ornamental wreaths and devices; while those unique Roman
vases, so many specimens of which have been discovered in almost every part of the
civilized world, are of similar character, both in general design and in minor detail.
This peculiarity constitutes the chief difference between the ornamental designs of
the Greeks and Romans. In the former the leading lines are eliptical, in the latter
they are circular; and as the elipse is found to be prevalent in every branch of the
animal and vegetable kingdoms, it may safely be asserted that the ornamental arts of
Greece were superior to those of Rome. The Romans seem to have preferred the
circle so soon as they had freed themselves from the trammels of their predecessors,
the Greeks, and had begun to design for themselves; and this is sufficiently illus-
trated by the following ornament from a ceiling of Pompeii, wherein the leading
curves and general design are altogether circular :-
This ornament, which is a very early specimen of the style in which figures and
foliage are connected, bears a striking resemblance to the Arabesques of Raphael,
and confirms the belief that that great artist, in his decorative designs for the Vati-
can, followed the general character of the ornamental designs found in the Baths of
Titus.
In no department of ornamental decoration did the Romans attain greater
proficiency than in their Mosaic or tesselated pavements, which must have been
produced at a very moderate expense, as a great number of the ordinary houses of
Pompeii have been laid with this beautiful flooring. These Mosaics are chiefly com-


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
17
posed of black frets or meandering patterns on a white ground, or white ones on a
black ground; but in some instances they are executed in coloured marbles, and
have a magnificent appearance. Many fine pictures, brilliantly executed in Mosaic,
have also been found in Pompeii, and specimens of all the different kinds, many of
them surpassingly beautiful, have been dug up in various parts of London during
the last century
The Romans were also acquainted with the art of manufacturing and colouring
glass, which they applied to many purposes of household ornament. Pliny mentions
an artificer who had invented flexible glass, but who was banished, lest the discovery
should injure the working jewellers, by superseding the use of gold and silver drink-
ing cups. Many of the ornamental drinking glasses found in Pompeii are of the
most elegant form, bearing evidence of a thorough knowledge and extensive practice
of the art which produced them.
In the working and mixing of metals, the ancient Romans possessed great skill,
and the art of inlaying one metal with another was much in repute amongst them.
Silver ornaments were generally inlaid with gold, and bronze lamps and candelabra
were on many occasions inlaid with silver ornaments. Among the numerous speci-
mens of Roman art that remain to us, none are more curious than the lamps and
candelabra. On these utensils the Romans seem to have lavished all their
powers
of
fancy and invention, giving them the most graceful forms, and ornamenting them in
the richest manner. The candelabra, indeed, were one of the most elegant articles
of furniture in use, and were generally models of taste, in form, proportion,
ornament, and execution. In many cases the type was preserved of the object
from which the design had been taken, as in the case of the stem or reed,
used in early times for raising the light to a convenient height. In such ex-
amples, the buds or shoots which adorn the shaft, in imitation of those on the ori-
ginal material, afford a firm grasp to the hand, shewing that the Romans well knew
the art of making ornaments conduce to the utility of that which they served to
adorn.
The manner in which the dining-room of a Roman noble was furnished, has
been thus described by Mazois :-
• The walls, to a certain height, were ornamented with valuable hangings. Other
portions were divided into compartments adorned with garlands of ivy and vine.
Paintings, representing high festivals, were surrounded with Arabesque borders.
E


18
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
The apartment was lighted by bronze lamps, dependent from chains of the same
material, or raised on richly wrought candelabra. Tables, made of citron-wood,
rested on ivory feet, and were covered by a plate of silver, chased and carved with
exquisite skill. Couches, which contained thirty persons, were made of bronze,
overlaid with ornaments in silver, gold, and tortoise-shell, the cushions covered with
stuffs woven and embroidered with silk mixed with threads of gold.'
Like all martial nations, the Romans bestowed
much care upon their military costumes and imple-
ments of war, enriching them with every sort of
appropriate ornaments their fancy could suggest.
Their cuirasses, helmets, swords, and shields, were
inlaid in the richest manner. Their war-chariots
were models of elegance, and their horses were capa-
risoned with the richest trappings. The ornaments
on the portion of the cuirass, here shown, com-
bine the elements of the foliated and geometric de-
signs of the Romans, and give an idea of the place
the circle held in their ornamental decorations.
ON THE ORNAMENTAL ARTS OF THE ANCIENT
INDIANS AND AMERICANS.
to
It will not be deemed irrelevant to an inquiry of this kind, to advert briefly
certain points of resemblance between the architectural and sculptural remains of
ancient Egypt, India, and America, as well as to the similarity in the forms of vases
and other articles of manufacture found in these distinct and widely separated coun-
tries. In the depths and solitudes of what were once believed to be the primeval
forests of Central America, have recently been discovered huge pyramids, rivalling
in extent those of Egypt; sculptural altars and idols ornamented in the most beauti-


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
19
ful and elaborate manner, and colossal heads closely approximating in magnitude
and expression those of Egypt and India. In Peru, vases of ancient manufacture
have been found, ornamented with the Vitruvian scroll and Grecque border; and,
although we know not how these arts found their way in remote times from one
distant nation to another, we cannot doubt, from the similarity in their leading
features, that they had one common origin.
The similarity between the idols and altars of India and America is
very
remark-
able. In both countries, the former are profusely adorned with trinkets and jewellery
—the neck and bosom generally displaying double and triple rows of necklaces
from which, in many instances, are pendant brooches of immense size and beautiful
form. The waist is encircled with richly embroidered sashes and belts, having
tassels, fringes, and other ornamental appendages. The dress is frequently diapered
with quatre-foils, and other geometric figures. From the ears depend rich and
massive rings and drops; while the arms and wrists are adorned with bracelets, and
the heads with lofty plumes of feathers. In all these points the stone idols of India
and America approximate closely. But there are still other and more remarkable
instances of resemblance. In the monuments of both countries the effigies are fre-
quently seated in the Oriental fashion, and in both, also, do we find the principal
figures of colossal size, while those of a subordinate character are of small dimen-
sions. The personages represented seem, in some cases, to be engaged in the
ordinary business of life, but more frequently in the act of worshipping or amusing
the idol to whose service they have been devoted. In all cases, whether merry or
sad, tragical or comical, the feeling or sentiment desired to be pourtrayed, is faithfully
expressed. The humour displayed in the grotesque attitudes of some of the figures
is singularly forcible; while the death’s-heads and cross-bones, with which our
sepulchres were wont to be so profusely adorned, have their counterparts on the
monuments of Central America.
A knowledge of geometry, and a love for geometrical decoration, seem to have
prevailed both in India and America. We find in Dupaix’s ‘American Monu-
ments,' an endless variety of circular designs cut in stone—the divisions being made
in the planes of the circles in every conceivable variety, and being divided invariably
according to geometric rules. The representation, No. 1, of a carved stone, from
Dupaix's work, affords sufficient evidence of the existence of mathematical knowledge
among the ancient Americans; while the representation, No. 2, of an ornamental
.


20
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
stone on the gateway at Dipaldinna at Amrawutty, shows that geometrical decora-
tion was understood and practised by the ancient Indians.
No. 1.
No. 2.

Ww
V
In both of these examples, the circle is divided and subdivided in the most


22
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
chief portions had been decorated in the most gorgeous manner, all the elaborate
detail of the relieved ornament having been picked in with gold and colour.
The rich costume represented on the monuments of Hindostan and Yucatan,
shows that those arts which administer to the elegancies and refinements of life had
been extensively patronised and practised in both these countries; and perhaps
some of the most interesting illustrations in Dupaix’s work are those wherein jewel-
lers, feather embroiderers, and other tradesmen, are seen engaged in their various
avocations, their mode of working having been very similar to that practised by the
workmen of the present day.
Having now given a brief account of the ornamental arts as practised by those
nations of remote antiquity, from which the rudiments of many modern arts seem to
have been derived, we proceed to offer a few remarks on the various styles of orna-
ment which have recently been employed in decorative works; and, in doing so, we
naturally begin with that invented by the Saracens or Moors, after the decline of
the arts in Rome.
The Moorish style of decoration was extensively employed at an early period
in Spain and the adjoining countries; and the principles on which it is based
having been universally recognised as correct, the style itself has come into
very general use in all countries where the decorative arts are cultivated. This
style seems, on the whole, best adapted for decorating the ceilings, walls, floors, and
wainscoting of buildings. It presents harmonious combinations of geometrical
figures, with happy arrangements of rich and exuberant foliage. It makes no
attempt at deception, in so far as inequality of surface is concerned ; the raised or
sunk portions of the ornament being on a level, and the decorations depending
mainly for their effect on harmonious combination of line, and judicious balancing
of colour. The leading lines, however complicated, are always harmonious; and
although rectilineal, angular, circular, and irregular figures, as well as every variety
of foliage, are frequently introduced into the same composition, the relation which
every part bears to another has been so well understood and considered by the
designer, that the whole seems to have been the result of one conception, at once
instantaneous and perfect. The colouring of the ancient specimens of this style also
shows, on the part of the artist, a thorough acquaintance with those principles
developed in the works of nature. Hence we find, that those portions intended to
be brought prominently forward, either to enhance some point, or to give effect to


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
25
and other emblems in the calendar of the Church of Rome were all originally intro-
duced by the Byzantines into the Mosaics of their churches—the entire absence of
sculptured effigies from the latter constituting the chief difference between the deco-
rations of the Greek and the Latin Churches.
The ornamental decorations connected with the Gothic style of architecture are
characterised by every variety of geometrical combination, and enriched by the most
perfect imitation of natural leaves and foliage. No style of architecture can boast of
more varied excellencies; no style of ornament is characterised by more exuberant
fancy, correct taste, and delicacy of execution. Every ornament in the pointed
structures of the best period was pregnant with meaning, every enrichment full of
design; and, from the golden vane that glittered on the summit of the spire, to the
tesselated pavement that adorned the floor, every portion of the ornamental detail
was in perfect harmony, each and all tending to enhance the general effect, which
was at once gorgeous and overpowering.
On examining the progress of Gothic ornamental design, it is easy to trace its
gradual advancement from imitations of existing models to original adaptations, and
combinations from nature and from geometry. Most of the ornamental mould-
ings used in Norman structures, were borrowed either from Ancient Rome or from
specimens existing at that period in France and Lombardy. Those sculptured
wreaths of the bay, the vine, and the ivy, found in the early Norman churches, have
a close resemblance to similar devices used in the decorations of Ancient Rome;
and the grotesque heads on the blocks and corbels of some of the early Norman
structures had been previously prevalent in France and Italy.
In the ornamental decorations of the early English, or primary pointed style, we
find a new feature introduced—namely, the use of simple geometric figures in con-
nexion with natural foliage. Four-leaved flowers are displayed on square panels.
Circular spaces are filled with trefoils and quatrefoils; while the foliage on the capi-
tals, and the crockets running along the edges of spires or pinnacles, bear evidence
that it has been imitated, although somewhat clumsily, from nature. In the deco-
rated and perpendicular styles of Gothic, we have an endless variety of geometric
combinations, and a profusion of natural foliage, skilfully and delicately carved—the
natural form of the plant or leaf imitated being closely followed in every
instance,
and every peculiarity minutely and carefully delineated. The oak, the ivy, the vine,
and the fern, together with the leaf of the dock and parsley, were sculptured with
G


26
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
wonderful fidelity, and introduced with the most felicitous effect; the value of these
representations of homely objects being more readily felt and appreciated than
delineations of leaves, plants, and flowers of foreign production. Nothing in the
whole range of ornamental art is finer than the free combinations of soft luxuriant
foliage with which the chief points of these Gothic structures were adorned.
Crockets, pinnacles, finials, capitals, bosses and pendants, were all directly copied
from nature.
The ornaments were also selected with singular taste, and arranged with great
judgment. So judiciously, indeed, were they distributed, that a celebrated writer
has remarked, that “the ornaments, although profusely used, might have been left
out, without impairing the general effect of the building.' In connexion with these
skilful adaptations from nature, the structures of the period alluded to were enriched
by an endless variety of geometric figures, such as circles, trefoils, quatrefoils, cinque-
foils, &c., suggesting ideas of correct construction and symmetrical harmony. In the
proportions of these beautiful edifices, in the groinings of the ceilings, in the tracery
of the windows, in the symmetry of the shafts and columns, and in the enrichments
of mouldings, capitals, string-courses, niches, and canopies, we find the combina-
tion of geometrical forms with natural foliage constantly occurring, and with the
most admirable effect. Such specimens, therefore, yield abundant proof, that when
a designer's taste is regulated by the first principles of proportion, he cannot draw
too largely from the great storehouse of nature. Let him first learn to produce a
symmetrical form, and then study how to enrich it with befitting adornment.
In the colouring of Gothic decorations, the positive colours were invariably used
in their fullest intensity, and with the richest and most harmonious effects. Some-
times they were used sparingly, at others profusely; the structure glowing, from floor
to ceiling, with red, blue, and gold. The painted glass in the windows gave the
key-note to the general harmony, and its power and brilliancy required that the walls,
ceilings, and floors, should either be studded or entirely covered over with the most
vivid colours. This necessity doubtless suggested the introduction of those orna-
mental tiles, so many specimens of which have been from time to time discovered
in ancient Gothic churches, and the manufacture of which is now carried on so
extensively in England. In the colouring of the ornamental decorations, care was
always taken that prominence should be given to the chief points and features of
the edifice, the receding and minor portions being painted in subdued tints, or in a


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
27
less obtrusive manner; and the decorators seem to have worked on similar principles
with those formerly adverted to in connexion with the arabesques of the Alhambra,
and other Moorish decorations.
All the leading forms used in Gothic ornaments had a symbolic reference. The
trefoil and equilateral triangle, for example, were emblems of the Trinity; and when
inclosed within a circle, the Trinity and Unity of Deity was referred to. Emblems
and
monograms were also much in use. The cross was introduced every where, and
decorated in every conceivable manner; and monograms and emblems, having
reference to the three persons in the Godhead, were largely employed. On the fur-
niture of the churches, as well as on the robes, mitres, and croziers of the priests,
similar devices were repeated ; and the chief aim of all these splendid ecclesias-
tical decorations was, to place continually before the eye signs or embodiments of
the leading and peculiar features of the Christian faith. In the palaces and man-
sions of that period, the ornaments are also full of appropriate emblems and symbols.
The heraldic blazon of the noble families to whom they belonged always forms a
prominent feature; and the entire system of Gothic decoration may with propriety
be termed an extended and comprehensive system of heraldry.
The illuminated missals of the Middle Ages are characterised by much that is
beautiful, in form and colour, in design and execution. Nothing can be conceived
more delicately elaborated than some of these exquisite productions. Always
teeming with thought, and pregnant with meaning, there is no source from which a
designer can derive more benefit, than from these storehouses of design.
The gradual blending of the castle with the mansion, which took place in the
reigns of the latter Henrys, led to a demand for ornamental decorations in con-
nexion with domestic architecture, which had never previously obtained in England,
and which at length produced those comfortable and highly-ornamental mansion-
houses, known by the term Elizabethan.
In the reign of Elizabeth, the nobility and gentry vied with each other in the
erection of splendid and profusely decorated mansions ; and although these decora-
tions are not always characterised by harmonic proportion, they display great ferti-
lity of invention, and have a picturesque effect, which renders them exceedingly
attractive.
The complexity of form and enrichment in Elizabethan ornament is very re-
markable, rendering it extremely difficult to discover on what principles it was


28
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
based. It combines a greater variety of leading forms than any other school of
decoration ; and several of its features seem to have been selected from a variety of
foreign styles, and to have been grafted on the home-bred Tudor, which imme-
diately preceded its introduction. The chief portions of the architecture, however,
are peculiarly English; and although most of the mouldings are Roman,* the pen-
dants, pinnacles, and ceilings are essentially Gothic in their leading features, while
the ornamental window-tops and brick chimneys were features in the street architec-
ture of that period not found any where but in England.
At an early stage of Elizabethan architecture, heraldic badges were adopted as
leading ornaments; and the rose, thistle, fleur-de-lis, and pomegranate, are very freely
used, either as central points to window-tops, or as finials to the pedimented fronts of
that period. Grotesque and scroll shields, containing armorial bearings, were also
much in use; and on the scroll turnings of the shield, pinnacles were frequently
perched, while at other times they projected in all directions from the various
angles of similar ornaments. Pinnacles are possessed of great variety of form; the
most characteristic are perforated, and bound round the centre with fillets. Eliza-
bethan scrolls are generally imitations of paper or parchment scrolls, half unrolled l;
and, when used for the ground-work of shields, their effect in light and shadow is
picturesque and powerful.
In Elizabethan ornament, lines are to be found at every degree of obliquity.
Oblong squares and angular diamonds are often placed in rows, relieved, surrounded,
or bound together by trefoliated or zig-zag borderings, which are to be met with in
every conceivable variety and combination. Squares, ellipses, circles, and right-
angled figures are inlaid or surrounded with bands and garters, which are either
perforated or interlaced, or appear to be fixed on with bolt-heads of various shapes
and sizes, sometimes resembling bosses, sometimes square or octagonal nail heads.
The ellipse is very frequently used as a centre, surrounded with scroll-work, and
studded with numerous bolts, which, when used even in stone-work, suggest the
idea of timber framing, morticed and bolted together. Jewels and precious stones
are also copiously imitated, both in carving and colouring; and in some instances
this is carried to such an extent, that the entire detail of the ornament seems an
imitation of jewellery.
* The egg-and-dart moulding of the Elizabethan style is little removed from that of the Roman.


30
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
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The ornamental decorations of Italy have been long and deservedly held in high
estimation. They are at once elegant and lively, and harmonize well with those
elegancies of life found among a lively and refined people. Italian ornament com-
bines many of the beauties of the ornamental decorations of ancient Greece and
Rome, and without aiming at classical simplicity or symmetrical proportion, is
flowing and luxuriant. It is composed chiefly of leaves, tendrils, and flowers; and
nothing can be finer than the foliated scrolls on the friezes,—the pateras or roses
on the ceilings,—or the enrichments on the cornices of Italian apartments. Angles
are rarely found in these compositions, their leading features consisting chiefly of
ovoid and circular curves. Figures are frequently introduced into the foliated scroll
ornamented friezes, and are generally represented sportively engaged in some game,
playfully twisting and twining the leaves and tendrils, or concealing themselves
among the foliage or flowers ; and in all such examples, the design is graceful, and
the effect exceedingly pleasing. The pateras or roses—of which several specimens
are given in this work—are characterised by great richness and variety,—the leaves,
like those in Gothic pendants or bosses, are plastic and natural—the flowers rich


ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
31
and varied. Ceilings, walls, and doors are panelled in the most elegant and fanciful
manner, and these panels are enriched by every variety of arabesque, historical, and
characteristic painting. Domes, cones, and soffits are embellished in the most gor-
geous manner; and every portion of the interiors of Italian villas are furnished as
well as decorated in a manner evincing a high state of social refinement, and a high
degree of artistic excellence.
There can be no doubt that the introduction of the Italian style of architecture
into England by Jones, and its cultivation afterwards by Wren, tended to refine the
taste and elevate the artistic feeling of the country. Many of our fine modern
mansions and palaces are in this style, and a large proportion of the beautiful
balconies, balustrades, window-tops, and door-pieces, which adorn these structures,
are admirable, both in conception and execution. Like the Elizabethan, which
immediately preceded its introduction, the Italian style admits of almost every
variety of design, and is therefore attractive to artists of inventive genius, who
prefer following the dictates of fancy to obeying the stern injunctions of rule. We
find, accordingly, that it has always been a favourite with painters ; the divine
Raphael himself not deeming it unworthy of his genius to execute the ornamental
decorations on the walls of the Vatican. The celebrated work recently published by
Gruner, gives a vivid idea of the rich and harmonious colouring with which the
interiors of Italian palaces are adorned, and may be perused with much profit by
those whose tame and insipid taste would banish every thing like colour from the
walls and ceilings of our apartments.
The arabesque or grotesque style of decoration anciently practised in Rome, and
afterwards imitated by Raphael, is generally associated with Italian art, and, not-
withstanding its incongruities, paintings of high merit, in conception and execution,
are often found intermingling with its playful combinations. Vitruvius, who
appears to have taken a correct view of the matter, thus describes it : - Nothing
is now represented on walls but monsters, instead of true and natural objects. In
place of columns there are slender reeds, and temples are supported on mere
nothingness. Demi-figures spring from flowers—some with human faces, others
with the heads of beasts; all things which never have, or ever can be. Such
designs are not to be esteemed, inasmuch as they are not consonant to nature and
reason.'
There is great force and truth in these remarks, and they are as applicable


32
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
By way
to some of the decorations recently executed in our own country, as they were to
those in the time of Vitruvius
Italian ornament, whether in marble, stone, plaster, or painting, in bas relief, or
in alto relief, always aims at complete deception; and this, together with the
harmonious flow of line and balance of colour, by which the interior decorations of
Italian structures are pervaded, always renders them pleasing. Even when mons-
trosities are introduced, and the detail made up of the most unnatural combinations,
the colouring is so rich, containing every tint from the deepest purple to the
brightest gold ; the light and massive portions of the composition are so gracefully
linked together, that the effect is always agreeable, and although the Æsthetic taste
may be offended, the eye is invariably delighted.
of introduction to a brief notice of the French style of ornament, which
is an offshoot of the Italian, it may here be mentioned that if ever any grotesques were
to be admired, they were those of Watteau, whose lively designs, and elegant compo-
sitions, have obtained the admiration of all nations. No painter, perhaps, ever
combined nature and art so gracefully,—rendered extravagance so pleasing,—or
laid such a variety of objects under contribution to effect his purposes. Rocks
and mountains, hills and valleys, streams and waterfalls, trees, plants, leaves and
flowers, trophies of peace and war, scenes of rustic merriment and of courtly
pageant, diversified by scenes of touching pathos or broad humour, make
up
his
delightful compositions. Take it all in all, we know no style better suited for
boudoir or arbour decorations than the charming compositions of Watteau, and his
success in that department shows that no artist, whatever be his standing, ought to
consider the decorative art beneath him. It seems an admirable field for the
exercise of genius, and genius can at any and at all times invest it with the
attributes of high art ;-grace, dignity, and expression. Many of the modern French
decorators are artists of eminence; and the decorations of palaces, theatres, and
public buildings in France, are remarkable for beautiful and appropriate design, as
well as for rich and harmonious colouring. And why, it may be asked, should not
British artists do so likewise? They have established a school of high art, no
unworthy rival to that of France, and why should they not endeavour to equal
them in this more useful though perhaps more humble department of art?
The leading character and general detail of the French style of ornament may
be described very briefly. It is much more irregular than the Italian, and full of


34
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
1
the ornamental designer, the propriety of looking to Nature herself as the great
primal source of all beauty.
It was also originally intended to have entered into a careful examination of the
present state of the ornamental arts, in connection with the manufacture of articles of
dress, of furniture, and of vertù, as well as with the decorations of public structures
and private dwellings, both externally and internally. As this important inquiry,
however, could not be comprised within the limits to which this work is restricted
for the present, it has been deemed advisable to reserve it for another occasion, and,
in the meantime, to conclude this essay with a few general remarks and practical
hints, which may be found useful to those for whom this publication is specially
intended.
On looking at the productions of Nature, we find them exhibiting every variety
of colour and design. The grey crag has its green moss or verdant lichens, the
mountain its purple heath, the bough of the tree its glossy foliage, and the banks of
the stream its wild flowers; showing the constant propensity of nature to beautify
and adorn, and suggesting, at the same time, how much ornamental detail en-
hances the attractions of the most symmetrical works of art.
The decorative arts, then, are evidently founded in Nature, and from her storehouse
we must draw the materials for their development. In this, however, as well as in
the higher departments of art, the artist will be enabled to produce more original,
as well as more elegant designs, by being intimately conversant with these works,
which have been long and generally admired. The decorator ought, then, in the
first place, to make himself familiar with the various styles of embellishment, and
afterwards endeavour to obtain a clear idea of the elements of symmetrical propor-
tion, as applicable to ornamental composition. This knowledge may be attained in
various
ways,
but is by no means so easily acquired as is generally imagined. Some
writers recommend the study of geometry for this purpose; others, a close and
diligent application to Nature, asserting that in flowers and plants may be found all
the elements of beauty and harmony. We should say that both are necessary, and
that the progress of the artist will be materially facilitated if, while studying Nature
and geometry, he makes careful observation of the approved models of antiquity.
In treating of geometry in connection with symmetrical proportion, writers have
differed widely, some giving the preference to one figure and some to another. The
ellipse, however, seems now most generally preferred, and its importance in orna-


36
ESSAY ON ORNAMENTAL ART.
and without such contrasts, the general effect of ornamental designs is tame and
insipid. Variety, as well as regularity, is requisite in all symmetrical compositions.
A knowledge of botany is indispensable to the ornamental designer. He ought
not only to be familiar with the form and colour of the different plants and flowers,
but he ought also to be acquainted with their nature and qualities, and he will thus
be enabled to avoid those incongruous associations of poisonous weeds and healthy
flowers which we find often marring otherwise good designs. The trophies of war
are no longer in repute as emblematic decorations, their place being now happily
supplied by more agreeable objects—by fruits, flowers, plants, and other productions
of Nature, suggestive of peaceful and pleasing thoughts, and the aim of the decorator
ought to be, to foster and encourage this improved and improving taste.
Winckleman has observed, that the first grand style of the arts consisted of a
system of rules borrowed from Nature alone. Afterwards artists plunged into the
ideal, and, having abandoned truth in their forms, worked after the adopted style
rather than Nature.'
To this it may be added, that the main use of studying other styles, and making
ourselves acquainted with their peculiarities, is to learn that Nature and simplicity
are the leading characteristics of the most approved specimens of the works of
antiquity. To copy them without knowing and feeling this truth, is to perform a
merely mechanical process, from which no useful improvement can result. There
can be no good reason, in a country like this, where a love of home is so prevalent,
and where the beauties of nature are so abundant, that our dwellings should be
adorned with an indiscriminate and slavish adaptation of the ornamental embellish-
ments of other times and other countries. Hogarth and Wilkie drew their inspira-
tion from Nature; and hence that truthfulness of delineation in which their great
excellence consists, and for which they have obtained universal approbation.
While, therefore, the decorative artist appreciates the excellence of the ornamental
designs of other times and countries, he must eventually go to the fountain-head-
to Nature. By no other means need he hope to attain the paramount excellence
of all art-originality.
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E XA M PLES
for the Ready Composition of any Cypher consisting of 3,4 or more Letters.
Suppose the required letters to be ABC, though any others will produce the same effect:
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lines with out Ornament as represented in NO 21.
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last letters CD, to which prefix B as in Bb, and then A as in AB, shewn in 1925 which reverse as in No 26 and fill up as in 'NO 27.
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