^3? ELEMENTARY . PRINCIPLES OF •*• ORNAMENT a (Decoratii^cArt STEULl N G ANDFRANCINE CLA1UC ART INSTITUTE LIBRARY* ^m^m .*#. IS tir£tsl) V\P )k WVVSTV 2.7 @§§QMl 28 and painted flat ornament. The above-mentioned tesserae were used as tickets of admission to the theatres of antiquity. Figs. 32 and 33 are further examples of ornament PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 13 obtained from the circle and its segments ; the former being the Gothic ball-flower decoration. Imbricated cr scale-like ornament belongs to the circle (see Fig, 22). @^ =©=©= ^@> 3.9 @£ 1®| ^ 3o 51 35 We now pass naturally from the circle to the spiral element, from which undoubtedly the greatest part of ornamental forms are derived. 14 ELEMENTARY Fig. 35 is an Egyptian wave scroll, and 36 is the familiar Greek wave pattern. Fig. 37 is from Egyptian ceiling decoration ; all these types contain the spiral as DYc^^ycaJtag 55- 36 59 their chief characteristic. Figs. 39, 41, and 42 may be classed under the head of spiral meanders, Figs. 40 and 44 are the double spire elements of the ogee and scotia moulding decorations. PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 15 Fig. 47 shows the anatomy or base lines of the purely aesthetic Greek pattern developed at Fig. 45, while in Fig. 46 we notice very much the spiral curves forming the S A\ * +SL ^^(d^^(d^^(d\\ *4 groundwork of the piece of ornamental sculpture from thee choragic monument of Lysicrates. As a rule most of the laws of composition in ornament may be deduced i6 ELEMENTARY from Nature. In all good ornament it is essential that the principles of " fitness," symmetry," " repetition," " variety," " unity," and " repose " should be considered as parts or qualities that go to the making up of the integral composition. These may be termed the primary principles. There are others that might be classed as secondary ones, that are not essential, nor yet found in all cases of illustrated ornament, but are very necessary and important in their 1-6 -*7 places, such as the principles of "radiation," "stability," "series," "balance," "subordination," "alternation," " growth," "geometrical arrangement," and " order." " Fitness " may be described as that quality which embraces all the necessary requirements, in material, texture, and arrangement of masses, in a well-ordered design, so that after the units of the composition are set out and balanced with due regard to the plan, any further addition to or taking away from would mar its PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 17 beauty or perfect fitness. This quality is the naked truth of ornament. Adaptability is merely another term for fitness, and unsuitableness is its opposite. Orna- ment can scarcely be said to have a separate existence from the principle of symmetry. The most unshapen form or ragged blot if exactly reproduced on the opposite side of a straight line will make ornament, and at the same time illustrate symmetry. Neither is there any quality so universal in natural forms ; take, for example, the very unsymmetrical single shell of the oyster— you have only to open it out to illustrate symmetry in form. The same principle is observed in the human figure, for where an unsymmetrical limb or ear, &c, exists, it is balanced by having its duplicate. Even in trees, plants, and flowers, the same laws exist, for if a leaf or flower be unsymmetrical in itself, as a rule you will find it repeated on the other side of its stem. Trees are more symmetrical than at first sight appear, so are clouds. Nature has the delightful habit of exhibiting waywardness and irregularity, but it is often apparently so, rather than in reality. The laws of equilibrium alone will cause a symmetrical growth in trees ; it is only in detail that any difference is seen, and this apparent want of regularity is made up again in the proper balance of the masses in foliage and of the qua7itity in the branches and stems. The same remarks will apply to cloud forms. In arranging the materials for a picture or in a group for painting, the symmetry of mass, colour, light and shade must be attended to, an undue amount of any of these qualities to the weakening of the others in the work produces a corresponding weakness in the whole com- position. " Repetition" in ornament is one of its vital principles, and what we have to consider chiefly is how this law is to be dispensed The simple unmeaning and aesthetic forms, such as frets, bands, bead ornaments, all moulding C 18 ELEMENTARY decorations, and simple diapers, may be repeated to the greatest extent without appearing monotonous. Symbolic, and distinguishing forms of any style, on the other hand, may only be repeated to a very limited extent, even if they only are simple leaf forms. When we come to independent ornament, such as emblems, trophies, &c, still less repetition is allowed. Ascending higher in the scale of ornamental elements we come to the delineation of animals, and the human figure. These forms, especially the latter, can hardly be used twice in the same design, or scheme of decoration, except at great intervals. An exception to this rule would be in the case of Cupids or Amorini, and these must not be rendered so much in imitation of Nature or realistic in effect, but a strictly decorative quality must be imparted to them, such as in the arranging of their flowing lines to compose with the ornamental spaces they are intended to occupy. In short, the more like a transcript from Nature the decorative unit appears, the less will it bear repetition. We notice, in all barbaric ornament, repetition carried to excess. " Variety " is of a higher order than repetition, inasmuch as it requires more skill to deal with it properly in ornament. It is the salt of ornament that cures the in- sipidity of repetition, and is a great power in the hands of a skilful designer. " Contrast " is akin to " variety," but ot a more emphatic kind. In examples of the best ornament it takes an important part. In linear ornament the circle and straight line give the greatest contrast, and in colour it is the chief source of virility. It is the factor used to produce force, power, and brilliancy ; without it your work will appear sleepy, monotonous, and dry. It is, however, no enemy to " repose " in art ; rather, when contrast and repose are united, the result is breadth and grandeur. In the ornament of the Renaissance, contrast is best illustrated, owing to the great variety of forms and elements used. We have the delicate varieties of the PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 19 acanthus foliage contrasting with vase forms, labels, shields, armour, fish, and other animals, and also the human figure. Almost anything of an ornamental character and well-defined form has been used in harmony and with complete success by the artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in pilasters, panels, friezes, and spandrils. " Radiation" is a principle illustrated to a great extent in Nature, and is of several kinds, such as radiation from a point, from a vertical line, and from a horizonal line. The law of tangential growth as seen in most plants, where the minor stems and the leaves spring from the parent stem, is a species of radiation, and is important in the construction of scrolls and similar ornament. In plants of horizontal growth and in umbelliferous plants, the spiral lines in shells, the primary feathers of a bird's wing, the fingers in the human hand, are amongst the subjects that illustrate radiation from a point. The secondary feathers in the wing of a bird radiate from the horizontal line of the humerus bone. The so-called honeysuckle ornament, or anthemions of the Greeks, afford good illustrations of radiation, and they are always finer in style when they radiate more from a horizontal line than from a single point ; the leading lines, pipes, and ribs of acanthus foliage, as seen in capitals of columns and pilasters, radiate mostly in this way. Festoons and swags have their radiation on the principle of drapery hanging from point to point. " Balance " in ornament is a quality so necessary that all bad and debased work may be distinguished by the want of it. Balance differs from symmetry in this respect, that you may have true balance in form, line, and colour of a design without symmetry, as in work where the detail is quite different ; but otherwise, if it is to preserve its dignity as good ornament, it must have its general masses arranged on a symmetrical basis. Want of balance is noticed in the Rococo style of ornament, in C 2 20 ELEMENTARY the more naturalistic part of Pompeian, in Japanese work with all its beauty, and in nearly half the ornamental productions of the present day. "Repose" is the opposite to unrest or spottiness. It is well illustrated, and is a characteristic of classical architecture, in opposition to the unrest of the pinnacled and spiky forms of the Gothic styles. While the former is in consonance with a southern climate, where broad shadows and shelter from the sun are desirable, the latter is suited to colder and moist climates, where its sloping roofs and pointed character afford the least suface to rain and snow, and thus in a great measure protect and preserve the building. Horizontally, or a horizontal line, may therefore be taken as the essential principle of repose, and its opposite may be illustrated by a vertical line. From this may be deduced that all horizontal growth of ornament possesses the quality of repose in a greater measure or degree than ornament otherwise constructed. Care should be taken not to confound repose with heaviness. In designing the positions of border lines or mouldings to a panel or pilaster, we should regulate the widths or distances apart of the lines as to prevent the monotony seen for example in the lines of a ruled copy-book or an assemblage of telegraph-wires ; no two interspaces or lines if possible should be of the same width. In the window openings of factories, and in the endless rows of iron railing to gardens and parks, we notice this same kind of monotony, which is very depressing to the eye ; little or no more expense would put a larger window here and there, or a more ornate one, and a larger rail post, or two or more joined together in an ornamental way, at regulated intervals, would tend to relieve the monotony, and add a pleasure to the life of the beholder as well. This want of what is called "alternation" in design or decoration is of the same character, and analogous to a surface or object that is decorated so elaborately PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 21 with a diaper pattern or otherwise, without a break or plain surface left, that it is really wearisome to look at. The value of plain spaces is enormous in design. Charles Lamb, in one of his delightful letters to Coleridge, says in finishing: "I will leave you, in mercy, one small white spot empty below, to repose your eyes upon, fatigued as they must be with the wilderness of words they have by this time painfully travelled through." To the designer this analogy will be obvious and useful. Plain spaces as alternations in design, are the oases in the wilderness of ornament, and they may also be compared to a refreshing silence, after a great noise. It is easier to fall into the sin of making too much of a good thing, than it is to weigh your quantities or to know exactly where to stop. Any excess of ornamenta- tion must be guarded against, for it generally leads to still greater excesses. Elevating the material at the expense of the spiritual element leads in the end to decay in any style of art. CHAPTER III. IN the decoration of mouldings it has been the custom, in the best periods of ancient art, to invariably adopt the profile or section of the particular moulding as the basis or plan of the chief lines of its decoration. Nothing could be more satisfactory to the production of a pleasing and artistic result. By this means, the mould- ing never lost its character, however elaborately it might be enriched. The diagrams from Figs. 48 to 57 will help to illustrate this : for instance, at Fig. 48 we have the " ovolo," or egg and tongue moulding ; at 49, the " cyma 4-8 reversa"; at 50, the "cyma recta" or "ogee"; at 51 and 52, the "astragal" or bead moulding; and at Figs. 54> 55> 56, and 57, examples of ornament suitable for flat-surfaced bands or small facias. When the latter is sunk or channelled into the surface, it is called " fluted,'* and when raised in relief it is known as "reeded" or- nament. All the above examples serve to bring forcibly to our notice that good ornament must be governed by its plan. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 23 We may next consider briefly the ornamental treatment of walls, ceilings, and floors. Beginning with the floor, it is distinctly necessary to remember that in floor decoration the sense of flatness should always be maintained, whether it be in carpets, 5o MWy-KKK: f\ ^^K)U>U UOC- 30UC-JMV S ± 11 I r 6*5 S"4- 1 A 1 *6 1 Si 1 S7 rugs, floor-cloths, mosaic, tiles, or parquetry. Nothing should be introduced to disturb the flatness, such as in shading the forms, or in imitation of mouldings. All realistic renderings of an animal or floral nature should be carefully avoided. The colour may be as varied as 24 ELEMENTARY you like, but evenly distributed, and sober in tints. Mosaic work is amongst the earliest examples of decoration ap- plied to floors. It is still of the highest order in the scale of floor decorations, but its use is limited to halls and passages, floors of baths and museums. On account of its cold qualities, it cannot with comfort be used in ordinary rooms. It is usually, and may be, treated with borders and lines like the framing of a picture, and the field (or central space) either very simple in colour, or diapered with spots of decoration. Black or dark grey and white, or black and cream colour, is the most satis- factory treatment. If other colours are to be used, then low-toned reds, greens, grays, and yellows are to be preferred. Interesting as it would be to pursue this subject of mosaic decoration, and many others that arise, in the present series of lectures, it is, however, hardly possible to do so under our title ; but this may be attempted on a future occasion, in a more practical consideration of the applied arts. Floor-cloths and linoleums are of modern introduction. The decorations of these coverings are best when they partake of the nature, in their design, of inlaid work, whether as tiles, woods, marbles, or larger mosaic patterns. In carpets, the pattern should, as a rule, radiate from geometric points ; at least the more important diaper- spots should be on a lozenge or square basis, so that the eye should not be carried in any one direction more than another. If animals are used in carpet decoration, they should have, while preserving the nature and type, a conventional and simple outline, and should be treated flatly and in recurring intervals. Realistic flowers, birds and the human figure, are out of place in carpets. A border always improves a carpet if designed in sympathy, with the centre. Wall decoration is of many kinds, such as paper-hang- ings, painted patterns, stencilled decoration, plain tints of colour, silk and tapestry hangings, stamped leather and PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 25 its imitations, and also wood panelling. If pictures are to be hung on a wall, it is obvious that a low-toned yet cheerful style of decoration only is admissible, since the pictures themselves are the principal part of the decora- tion, and the wall should be strictly regarded as an unob- trusive background. The best decoration after simple colour would be paper-hangings, silk or tapestry. If paper- hangings, the pattern should be chosen or designed to hide, or at any rate to emphasize as little as possible, any diaper-like spots ; for the eye should not be arrested by any particular form, or be carried vertically, horizontally, or obliquely in any direction in a good design of wall paper. In illustration of this, we may suppose the dia- grams, Figs. 58, 59, 60, and 61, to represent wall spaces. Now all these decorative arrangements are bad when con- sidered as wall-covering designs ; but as out of evil good is sometimes evolved, so a pattern, as at Fig. 62, that partakes of a little of these four elements in detail, will be the best kind of arrangement for a paper-hanging pattern, which, at its best, only pretends to be a background for furniture, pictures, and other objects. The diagram, Fig. 58, arrests the eye ; 59 and 60 tend to show height and breadth in the extreme ; that is, patterns in which vertical or horizontal lines predominate will have the effect of producing an undue elongation or contraction respectively of the surface of the wall or other object they decorate ; whilst the diagram 61 will, on account of the oblique element being dominant, become a symbol of weakness, and ought to be counteracted by its opposite lines, as in the zig-zag element, or steadied by a judicious use of the former three. It will appear plain from the above considerations that a pattern, to be satis- factory and appropriate, whether it be in textiles or paper- hangings, if used as a background must neither arrest the eye nor carry it in any particular direction. The height of a dado or wainscoting in a room depends a great deal on the height of the ceiling ; it is also very much a matter of taste. If the wainscot be higher than 26 ELEMENTARY the centre of the wall between floor and ceiling, the upper part of the wall may have stronger decoration, and in a more naturalistic and flowing style of pattern than what would be admissible on a wall with a lower dado. If there should be a frieze in the room, a still freer and more pictorial treatment is allowed on this wall division. Wall spaces should not be panelled in small rooms, as the window- openings, doors, and fireplaces break up the space ^"V!7 -ZT~ K'J' T c > < > < 3 ) o c c > c > o ) O o c o < > c > o ) o o o (l o o c » o ) o o Q o o c 1 o ^ «\ (7\ ^ r — o -*-o — *-o -*-0-"- -~0-*~o -*^o-*- 0— -s. -*»O"**-0 "■*»0— -»- o -*• — *- Q~«f-0"- ~0-~*~0-V 0-*-0- ss ss \ t i I a Q i { I < o . ! } < { * 1 } { i } \ I 60 sufficiently. If the rooms, though small, have high ceil- ings, then a dado or frieze is an improvement in these cases. On ceilings there is more room, and also more reason, for elaboration and variety, both in the setting out and distribution of ornament. This may be approached in a great many ways. First, in taking the cornice as a frame or border to the ceiling, and then regarding the field, or ceiling proper, as a space to decorate, the simplest PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 27 way would he to treat it in diaper as in the diagram, Fig. 63, or to cover it over with a scroll-work pattern with re- curring paterce of different sizes, as in Fig 64. An effective treatment consists in lightly covering the field with a series of festoons or swags, and ribbons steadied by paterce., labels, shields, or medallions, the depths or radii of the swags to be in proportion to their respective parallel sides of the ceiling, as at Fig. 65. In dividing a ceiling in panels, either in painting, or in framed and relief work, one panel or division should be e two, contrasted with themselves in length, breadth, and configuration. Taking them individually, the square and the circle are emblems of unity, but in shapes that deviate slightly from them there being little or no contrast, and an ill-afforded loss of unity ; it is not, then, a cause of much wonder that such shapes are disagreeable to the eye, and it follows that in planes of harmonic and agreeable proportions we require to show clearly a decided contrast at least in the length and breadth. A parallelogram whose dimensions are a double square, a form of plan that a great many of the Greek and Roman temples were either built on or nearly ap- proached, is a good standard of proportion for panels or decorative paintings, and a plane whose breadth is about two-thirds its height may be taken as a figure of good proportion ; ellipses or ovals of the latter dimensions ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 33 would be also harmonic in form. The uniformity of shape in a circle and a square, though essential in many cases in architecture, is ; however, inartistic in ornament, especially in painted decoration ; either the contours of these forms must be broken (as in the round heads of flowers, in the square nail-headed Gothic ornament) when used in painted and low-relieved decoration, or the aid of perspective must be enlisted to render them artistic, by converting them apparently to oblong and elliptical shapes. It is an old acknowledged truism that the supe- riority of the Greek mouldings over the Roman lies in the fact that the former are designed from the sections of the ellipse, and the latter from those of the circle. Many causes have been assigned to account for the ellipse being a superior ornamental form to the circle : the prime reason would appear to be that while the circle possesses unity it lacks contrast ; the ellipse having both requisi- tions qualifies it at once as an artistic and pleasing form, far above the circle, which is dowered only with unity ; of course this applies equally to the sections of each figure from which the mouldings are designed. The form of the human figure, or of an animal, de- lineated in elevation or drawn as a silhouette, is decidedly inartistic, though naturally and essentially uniform ; it gains, however, considerably in an artistic point of view, when drawn or seen in perspective ; this is simply because it loses a little of its unpleasant uniformity, and gains a corresponding amount of contrast — the contrast of fore- shortening and diminishing of similar parts with others seen, let us say, more parallel to the picture plane. It will be seen that uniformity by itself cannot be con- sidered a good quality in ornament ; it is only a part of the whole that requires the addition of contrast or variety. Uniformity produces monotony, which is always painful to the eye in design. The remarks previously made on ceiling-divisions will apply generally to the dividing of any plane in harmonic spaces : the same rule — namely, that the general outline D 34 ELEMENTARY by its character, will govern and define the method of spacing subdivisions, inasmuch as one division must be larger or more prominent than any of the others, and also it must be the first or principal echo of the general outline, while the smaller subdivisions will be echoes necessarily fainter, but characteristic of the minor quali- ties, such as in contour and area. This can be illustrated in the divisions and spaces of a decorated vase ; in this instance we deal only with the surface as a field for decoration. The lines of subdivision are drawn across the object at those points of height where the transition of curve is most apparent in the outline, and a proper expression of binding strength is thereby im- parted (Fig. 68). We have in Fig. 69 three examples of drinking-glasses ; it will be seen that A is not artistic in proportions, by reason of the stem being of the same height as the bowl, whilst B and C, not having the same uniformity of height- PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 35 measurement, are more pleasing shapes ; this applies also to the panels of doors at Fig. 70. Any marked uniformity in the principal measurements of the divisions in planes or solids never looks well, and ought to be avoided. It would appear an exception to this, in the uniform mea- surements of such objects as balusters and spindle- shaped figures, but it really comes under the rule that the D 2 36 ELEMENTARY outline of the object determines the order of the sub- divisions, and these forms having bisection in height and width, an equality of division is necessary throughout (Fig. 71). The shapes of planes in ornamental objects, such as shields, finger-plates of doors, panels of cabinets, labels, banners, devices, &c, should be designed so as to avoid weak outlines, as sharp and angular or soft and undulating ones. The finger-plate designs (Fig. 72) show at A an outline very disagreeable in its soft and uninter- esting shape, at B the other extreme of a sharp and angular character, while at C a mixture of the two is the more pleasing form. 7/ Of course sometimes a Soft or an angular outline may be infinitely helped, and partially cured of its insipidity, by the use of opposite elements as units of form in the decoration of the surface spaces, as will be seen at Fig. 73 ; here the circular or curved line unit is applied to the decoration of the angular surface border, and the straight-lined fret appropriately decorates the circular form. The general outline of the patterns naturally falls in and composes with the outlines of the objects. While speaking of the decoration of planes, in illustration of the principles of ornament, the diagram at Fig. 74 may be PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 37 given as a good example of the selection and arrange- ment of the simple decorative elements. It is a capital example of savage ingenuity, being a shield made of woven cane, decorated with applique work of cut shells, sewed on the ground-work of black and yellow cane, and is the work of South Sea Islanders. First, there is the simple but fitting shape in the outline, then the horizontal bands that with a show of strength B emphasize the points where the outline is weakest ; the constructive ground-work has a good contrast of circular oblique, upright, and horizontal lines ; and lastly, the decorative work of cut shells further beautifies the object, and the selection of those forms that are in unison with the ground-work pattern is judicious and correct. The weakest part of the decoration is where too many of the circular units are applied, at the top and bottom ; the undue repetition of these forms gives an undesirable 3* ELEMENTARY quality of monotony, which appears to be the first sin in all barbaric ornament. Flat surfaces should never be destroyed by their orna- mentation, painted decoration, for example, should not have cast shadows ; a slight rounding of the forms is PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 39 admissible, and often adds to their beauty, but it must never be carried so far as to make the decoration appear 74 to want cast shadows ; it is obvious that shadow paintings of ornament are imitations of wood or stone carving, and, unless we want purposely to deceive the eye as to the 4 o ELEMENTARY nature of our work, there is no reason why this imitation of carving should supplant genuine painted ornament. The geometric diapered carving on old English furni- ture, the spandril carving in Westminster Abbey and other churches, and the superimposed system of low- relieved work in Moorish wall decoration, and the carvinp- on Indian sandal-wood boxes, are all good examples of decorative carving suitable to flat surface, inasmuch as they all add beauty to the surfaces they decorate without destroying the architectural flatness. In solid objects, as vases, candlesticks, and other articles, whether for use or made merely for ornament, the structural part of the form should never appear to, nor take the place of a de- corative one, but the decoration may without violating good principles be copied from a structural form. The ornamentation must not take the place of the thing that it ornaments, otherwise you might as well have some other form really more suitable if you hide the original one in elaborate enrichments ; it amounts to a case of construct- ing your decoration, which is always a grievous error in art, just the reverse of this being the proper thing to do. On the other hand, structural forms have often been used in decoration ; for instance, what may only be a moulding or an ornament at the base and middle parts of a building, as cornices, dentels, small balusters, balconies, &c, may at the top and upper parts be really principal members and important structural parts. In good examples of architecture we find the straight-lined elements at lower parts of a building, circular or curved forms combined with right lines in the middle parts, and a more curved, flowing, and lighter character of line in the upper parts. These well-known principles may with equal truth be applied to decora- tion, and even to the detailed structure of a piece of good ornament. Stability and simplicity with sober colouring should be illustrated in lower parts of any scheme of decoration, lightness with freedom of curvature and re- fined gaiety of colour may be used in the frieze or upper PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 41 parts, and on the middle spaces, whether it be a temple, a house, or a vase, these parts being nearest the horizon and therefore on a level with the eye, all the skill and resources of our art should culminate here ; and so in these modern times we have pictures on such spaces in private houses, frescoes and wall-painting in churches and public buildings, and the skill with which the ancients decorated these central parts of their vases and bronze cistae is well known to us all. CHAPTER V. T T AVING previously considered the principal elements ■*•■*■ of ornament, it is necessary to classify it broadly so as to simplify it as a study. To do so in a simple and concise way, it would be a good plan to divide orna- ment generally into six classes or great divisions, as follows : — First, uniform surface decoration, known as diapering. Second, horizontal bands and stripes, as friezes, &c. Third, perpendicular bands, as panels of pilasters, &c. Fourth, symmetrical arrangements used as central decorations. Fifth, ornament composed of any two of the above. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 43 Sixth, compositions specially designed to fill spaces, not included in the above. Taking the first, the student will not find it a difficult matter to understand what a "diaper" is ; it may safely be said that three-fourths of conventional ornament con- sists of diapers ; nearly all woven fabrics patterns, the majority of paper-hanging designs, patterns produced by weaving or painting, either from blocks or rollers, tile patterns — in fact, any pattern that repeats from the four cardinal points over a surface is in reality a diaper, how- ever complex it may be in itself. It differs only by its complexity from a simpler spot or unit that is repeated oftener, notwithstanding its greater size or less frequent repeat. The derivation of the word comes from " linge cVYpres? being the name given to the linen of that peculiar pattern, composed of squares, and such like simple ornament placed close together, and was first made at Ypres, in Flanders. Some of the best examples of pure diaper patterns are to be found sculptured on the walls and spandrils of Westminster Abbey, Lincoln and Canterbury Cathedrals. These were imitated from original diapers painted and woven on linen and other fabrics. Diapered work is very frequent in Arabian and Moorish ornament (see Figs. 75, 76, 77, and 78). "Diapering" is distinguished from "spotting*' and 44 ELEMENTARY "powdering" by the unit of its composition being ad- jacent, and also by its geometric construction. In spotting or in powdering it is not necessary that the surface should be covered equally, or that the spots of 77 ornament should be of the same size or character. The Japanese and Chinese styles of decoration afford good examples as illustrations of spotted and powdered work (see Figs. 79, 80, and 81). The " second" division is next in importance when we consider its extensive application in ornament. The Greeks were pre-eminent in the design and use of the PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 45 horizontal band in their decorations, both painted and sculptured. The embroidered patterns on their dresses and curtains, and the beautiful ornament on their vases, were mainly designed on the horizontal band or frieze system. The frieze is a very characteristic feature in Greek ornament and architecture ; if you take frieze or band ornament out of Greek work there is very little ornament of any kind left. Figs. 28, 36, and 45 are favourite frieze and flat band patterns of Greek origin. A few dress ornaments from the vase paintings are shown at Figs. 82 and 83. Spotting at regular intervals was the favourite way of decorating the larger surface of dress material. The circular flower that usually formed the spot in Greek ornament was composed of a greater number of petals than the later Roman and Gothic, which shows its Assyrian origin (see Fig. 82). Persian work affords also good examples of horizontal band treatment (see Figs. 84 and 85). Third division : perpendicular bands are not so com- mon in decoration as the former class of ornament ; they 4 6 ELEMENTARY are mostly architectural in character, and usually form divisions between panels and wall-spaces, such as pilaster so 8/ panels, upright border to panels, stops in the nature of triglyphs in friezes. Partly belonging to this class would PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. Al be soffits of arches in classic styles, and the decoration of side and under surfaces of groins and ribs in Gothic IfiSnESllEaJh^llc^HSl •S2 63 roofs. The decoration on these parts, when constructed to cover the surface uniformly, is best when it starts from 4 8 ELEMENTARY the springing of the arches and meets at the apex ; this treatment would class it with pilaster decoration, and of course a perpendicular band -ornament. Panelling and scroll work are other methods of decorating a soffit, and seem well adapted for the purpose ; the soffit of an arch 84 being really a kind of ceiling, or something between a ceiling and a pilaster (as far as the decoration of it is concerned), and so may with propriety be treated as either in decoration. As to pilaster decoration, if in re- lief, this should be low, and although some of the minor details may almost sink into the groundwork, still there should be nothing vague ; none of the fine edges should completely melt into the ground, the danger here being a loss of architectural severity that is most essential to a pilaster, it being a feature in architecture somewhat of the nature of a column or a support. So in the orna- PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 49 mentation of it, any picturesque freedom that would be admissible in a spandril or a panel of any shape would be out of place in a pilaster ; for example, the decoration on a panel or spandril may wander almost any way over the surface, but that on a pilaster must be symmetrically built with the strongest elements at the base, and the lightest at the top. The best examples of this kind of decoration will be found amongst the well-known Louis XII. pilasters, andmany others of the Cinque-Cento period. The artists of this time seemed to pay an equal attention to pilaster decoration as the Greeks formerly did to 5o ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT horizontal band work. Figs. 86, 87, and 88 show some arrangements in the lines and masses of pilaster orna- a* *H m t P r^OF^- \ ? \ > \ 1 r * s($mgm ' lf^ V5K! >^\ > ~777/V20 J^\gZ ♦>.W 88 ment, the latter being a design for painted decoration, and the two former for carved work. CHAPTER VI. FOURTH division, " Symmetrical arrangements used as central decorations." Under this head a higher class of ornament is reached than what can be attempted in the previous divisions. It is the commonest and most rational way of designing for panels of doors, of furniture, of ceilings, and of walls ; in fact, on any space or field where inclosing mouldings or borderlines exist, a central symmetrical arrangement is well suited as decoration. Headpieces, tailpieces, pediment and lunette composi- tions belong also to this class. Figs. 89, 90, and 91 are examples. Fifth division, " Ornament composed of any two or more of the above classes." The consideration of this division leads us to examples of finished work in almost all kinds of ornamented objects. Take, for instance, a table cloth or cover, or a carpet : the border belongs to the second division — that of horizontal bands ; the centre or field may be composed of diapers alone, or partly so, and partly filled with a central symmetrical arrangement. The student will have no difficulty in multiplying instances of this kind. We have now to consider the sixth and last division. The ornament in spaces of unusual and awkward shapes comes under this head. Quaint and fanciful compositions that are not symmetrically disposed, heraldic and mne- monic ornament, and that composed of trophies, such as E 2 52 ELEMENTARY groups of armoury, musical instruments, craft emblems, and coats of arms (see Fig. 94). The ornament in spandrils may be said to belong to this class, for in decorating such a space the utmost freedom is allowed in the treatment : it is a peculiar architectural feature coming between arches, or at the angle of a wall and an arch ; PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 53 and if the arch mouldings are properly emphasized, spandril can all the more have a free and un symmetrical treat- ment, for in this way it does not appear so constructively important as the panel of a pilaster, and so the greatest freedom is allowed to the sculptor or decorator. The Gothic spandril (Fig. 92) from Stone Church, in Kent, is an admirable example of this kind of decoration, and Fig. 93 shows a partly symmetrical design for a spandril between round arches. The ornamentist is indebted very much to floral and plant forms, both for material and suggestions in design, more than to any other division in the domain of Nature. The architect, for his very first principles of construction, as well as for his last touches of decorative grace and beauty, will acknowledge his debt to the vegetable kingdom ; and the repetition of a single spray of floral form applied as de- coration to a mechanical pro- duction will elevate it to a work of art. Nearly all, and certainly the best, conventional and purely aesthetic ornament was the outcome of the studv of flowers and plant growth. the That great characteristic form in Greek ornament, the 54 ELEMENTARY anthemion, or so-called honeysuckle pattern, can be clearly traced (not from the honeysuckle), but from the Egyptian lotus flower ; the conventional rendering of this flower into ornament was copied from the Egyptian forms by the Chaldasans ; and later the children of those ancient flower-worshippers, the Assyrians, developed the pattern into forms more ornate. The Greeks in their 91 turn copied the anthemion from the Assyrians by the way of Asia Minor : at first we find it archaic and stiff, but full of vitality, as ornament, and well adapted for its various uses and positions, but at last perfected, as in the Erechtheum example, to such a degree of aesthetic purity, that it lost all traces of any particular plant origin, but embodied the best qualities of natural plant growth, PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 55 such as vigorous life combined with grace and elegance ; so that it may be said to imitate in its lines and construc- tion the underlying principles of plant growth in general, having passed from its ancient prototype the lotus plant form to a concrete expression of vegetable nature with artistic unity. Another phase of floral and leaf growth, and its proper 56 ELEMENTARY development to pure ornament can be studied in the many rosette patterns of the various styles. These, though circular in plan, which at first sight would appear to be derived from flower heads and cups, are in reality a cluster of leaves arranged and radiating like the spokes of a wheel, or in a spiral form, from a central point. There are many plants, as, for instance, the bedstraw and the madder plant, that have their sets of leaves arranged in a whorl around the joints of their upright stems : looking down on these leaves we notice the plan appears like a rosette. This idea must have occurred to the ancients when designing their rosettes and paterae. The results obtained by grouping a cluster of leaves together in this manner are finer and stronger in appear- ance, particularly for sculptured work, than any mere imitation of flower heads (see Fig. 95). Leaflets and PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 57 bracts growing at the junctions of stems and leaves furnished also ideas and forms for the making up of rosettes and such-like ornament (see Figs. 46 and 96) ; but more use is made of these bracts in what is called " clothing the stems," some varieties of which are illus- trated at Fig. 96 ; in fact very good ornament is often 94- composed of a stem or waved line clothed with these bracts alone. Root forms are not used so much in orna- ment as they might be, perhaps from the fact that in Nature they present an incongruous mass, and of course are rarely visible in a plant, and it being generally easier to design a springing or beginning in many other ways, such as hiding the root in a vase or vase form ; Re- 5S ELEMENTARY naissance pilasters afford common illustrations of this. Mediaeval and Gothic work, Indian and Persian work, abound in examples of good treatment of roots in decora- tion (see Fig. 97). It is clear that the general outline of the root only must be taken, and the character of the growth simply expressed to prevent confusion and ob- scurity. As a general rule, all redundance, excrescences, and accidental waywardness of growth that might be interesting to a botantist, ought to be avoided in a decorative and conventional rendering of plant form, the ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 59 higher beauties and general nature alone ought to be expressed, and what may seem a paradox, the less naturalistic we make our designs, the more Nature we will put into them— that is to say, we should strive to put the best intentions of Nature into our ornament, avoiding poor and stunted forms, as well as over-nourished and rank ones (for we find Nature abounds in both) ; but to seek for the finest and the most typical forms of leaves, flowers, and stems, and try to make our designs express the higher ideal that Nature herself is striving after. The truest ideal, after all, is only the most natural. In Persian ornament we find flower and plant forms treated in a thoroughly decorative manner (Figs. 84 and 85) ; the pink and hyacinth were favourites with Persian decorators, as the maple and vine in mediaeval and Gothic work, the lotus and papyrus in Egyptian, the peony in Chinese, and the chrysanthemum in Japanese ; while such styles as the Arabian, Greek, Roman, and Celtic, are more purely conventional, and, without having much apparent naturalism, are still the outcome and are based on natural forms. CHAPTER VII. STUDENTS in design cannot be too strongly advised to cultivate the habit of making small but correct drawings of all kinds of plants, both in flower and in fruit, F/G.98 especially plants of single flower and of simple growth, accompanied by careful notes of the construction at the stem and leaf junctions. There is no need to make a botanical analysis of a ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 61 plant for the purposes of design ; sections of petals, stamens, leaves, and fruit, may serve a scientific end, but make a very poor show in what is intended for an artistic design. Landor the poet thought it was an act of cruelty to cut a flower from its stem : it would be inter- esting to know his opinion of that school of decorators who believe in dissecting plants to find " new forms," so that many of their designs present novelties that Nature never dreamt of, such as broken stems, leaves neatly cut /oo in half, flat elevations, and sections of petals, stamens, pistils, and seed pods, and other curious forms, suggested by these dissections, so that the design when completed is at best an ironed-out barbarism, and certainly innocent of any violation of the second commandment. In this respect the designers of this school will tell you that their work is unlike the Arabian or Moresque decoration (the artists of which were forbidden by their religion to make a representation of anything in " the heavens above or 62 ELEMENTARY the earth beneath"), inasmuch as theirs all comes from Nature, — but, with the barbarous aid of the knife and scissors. The whole testimony of the best old decorative design is decidedly against the above practice, and it is refreshing to see at the present time a reaction setting in, mainly owing to the efforts in England of such men as Morris, Crane, Burne-Jones, and a few others who prefer Nature to novelty ; and, as a consequence, we see already F/G.IQL the beauty and truth of the old work returning afresh, like the flowers again in the spring of the year. In selecting plants for particular purposes and positions in design, it would be as well to bear in mind the material we wish to decorate, whether it be textile, wood, or metal, so as to choose that kind best adapted by their fragility, as the harebell, wild poppy, grasses, and ferns, to muslins, cottons, and lace ; the mallow, oak, orange, PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT. 63 lemon, and other plants of sturdy growth, to wood-carving, stone, and iron-work. At the same time a too rigid ad- herence to these principles is not always to be advised, for many praiseworthy and masterly designs have been produced entirely in opposition to these rules. What is really of more importance, whatever plant we may use, is not to violate the growth and character ; for instance, a plant like the laurel (Fig. 98) is best suited for a border design, either upright or horizontal (see Figs. 99 and 100). The wild rose (Fig. 101) and the lemon (Fig. 103) are both suitable for panel spaces of any form almost, or for all- over patterns, as in paperhangings, &c. (see Figs. 102 and 104). For narrow upright panels, such plants of upright growth as lilies, ox-eye daisies, &c, would be most suitable (see for illustration Figs. 105 and 106). A trailing or creeping vine makes a good ceiling decoration, and was used properly as such by the Byzantine mosaicists. 6 4 ELEMENTARY Lastly, plants of horizontal growth, as the dandelion, would be best adapted for a floor or table covering design. FlG^fOZ LEMON. To extend our consideration of plant form, we naturally turn to the well-known conventional type of foliage that is classed under the head of the acanthus and its / 5 1 , and 55. Setting out, the planning of a scheme of decoration ; the first constructive lines or marking-out of the ornament on panels and other surfaces or spaces ; the skeleton lines of a design. See pages 27, 28, and 29 Spacing, the marking of widths in mouldings, panels, rails, borders, &c. An equality of divisions and sub-divisions in decoration is, in most cases, inartistic, and should be guarded against ; a harmonious variety in such widths and distances is very desirable in gaining an artistic effect. See pages 30, 35, 36, and 37. Spiral, the curved line forming a volute (as in the Ionic Capital) and wave ornament ; the axis or line of construction in univalve shells. See Figs. 20, 35, 36, and y]. Stability, firmness and strength in the general appearance of a design ; the straight line is the chief factor of stability in ornament (see page 6). Where a quantity of curved lines H 90 GLOSSARY. are used in a panel or pilaster decoration straight-lined forms must be introduced to counteract the weak and flimsy effect of the curved ones, especially in a pilaster, which is really an architectural feature of support ; and for the same reason heavier forms should be kept at or near the bottom of such decoration, and lighter ones near the top ; this, however, is not so necessary in ceilings or carpets : the or- nament here seems to float on such surfaces, the inclosing border lines of which afford the required appearance of strength. Style, kind or nature of ornament ; there are two great styles or kinds of ornament — namely, the "naturalistic or realistic," and the "conventional," which is sometimes called " idealistic." Spotting, this word has nearly the same meaning as "powder- ing," the only difference being that the units of form in such decoration have (or may have) an apparent geometrical basis, the ground in both cases occupying a larger space than the ornament. See Figs. 63 and 81. Suitability, fitness or adaptability ; the great thing to remember is the nature and plan of the object we have to decorate, and to design the ornament accordingly, for k is very evident that what would be good ornament for one object or position would be bad for another ; it is obvious, for instance, that designs for engraved silver or muslin prints will not do exactly for stone-carving or iron work, or ornament designed to fill a certain space cannot be expanded or crushed into any space. Superimposed or superposed, an ornament which is laid on the surface of another, such as a flowing pattern on a diapered ground ; or broad, ribbon-like ornament laid on a pattern formed of narrow and fine lines, as seen mostly in the wall decoration of Moresque design and in Persian tiles. In the former kind of ornament, as in the wall-patterns of the Alhambra, we often find two, three, and sometimes four different designs superimposed on each other, and the judicious use of different colours and gold prevented con- fusion in the patterns ; the complexity is even of a well- ordered kind. Subordination, the keeping of certain parts of a design secondary and inferior in importance to other parts that we wish to make the primary elements and of chief prominence ; it is illustrated rby the series of inferior portions regularly de- scending in the order of importance, and used as a foil to show to the best advantage the larger masses in painting and drawing, and the higher relieved portions in modelling. Symmetry, equality of form and mass on either side of a central line in any ornamental composition ; perfect balance and GLOSSARY. 91 absolute sameness in the two sides of a piece of ornament. See Figs. 89, 90, and 91. Tangential growth, the principal construction lines in foliated ornament and scroll patterns should illustrate "tangential growth " ; the stems and curves should appear to flow out of the central line. This natural principle is derived from the growth of stems and branches of freely growing plants, and under this law the secondary lines of construction in a flowing pattern should appear to touch or glide into the primary ones, and not to cross or interlace. Uniformity, see page 33. Unit, the smallest or simplest complete expression of ornament in any scheme of decoration. Unity, perfect agreement in all the parts of a design ; harmony and order. These qualities are best arrived at by the judicious use of the principle of contrast ; unity is often a characteristic of designs that are very monotonous, so by itself it will scarcely render a design pleasing as a whole ; variety must be added to unity in order to effect this. Unsymmetrical, without symmetry, such as the volute or single scroll form. See the word "balance." Variety, a. mixture of various shaped forms ; alternation in different measures of various elements in ornament. RICHARD CLAY \np SONS, LIMITED, LOKDOD MJD BUNGA1 mwr i maw ii ' i Mw i « wi — ■ ■ m — STERLING & FRANCINE CLARK ART INSTITUTE NK1510 .W37 . . J"H Ward, James/Elementary P^C'P'es ° f orn 3 1962 00072 7051 ■ \u ■ \ m ■ ■ l H