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THE 
 
 GRAMMAE OF ORNAMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 OWEN JONES. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY EXAMPLES 
 FROM VARIOUS STYLES OF ORNAMENT. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE PLATES. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY DAY AND SON, LIMITED, 
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 >;V., 
 
PREFACE TO THE FOLIO EDITION. 
 
 It would be far beyond the limits of the powers of any one individual to 
 attempt to gather together illustrations of the innumerable and ever-varying 
 phases of Ornamental Art. It would he harely possible if undertaken by a 
 government, and even then it would be too voluminous to be generally useful. 
 All, therefore, that I have proposed to myself in forming the collection which I 
 have ventured to call the Gramm, ar of Ornament, has been to select a few of 
 the most prominent types in certain styles closely connected with each other, and 
 in which certain general laws appeared to reign independently of the individual 
 peculiarities of each. I have ventured to hope that, in thus bringing into 
 immediate juxtaposition the many forms of beauty which every style of ornament 
 presents, I might aid in arresting that unfortunate tendency of our time to 
 be content with copying, whilst the fashion lasts, the forms peculiar to any 
 bygone age, without attempting to ascertain, generally completely ignoring, the 
 peculiar circumstances which rendered an ornament beautiful, because it was 
 appropriate, and which as expressive of other wants, when thus transplanted, as 
 entirely fails. 
 
 It is more than probable that the first result of sending forth to the world 
 
 E 
 
 1 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 this collection will be seriously to increase this dangerous tendency, and that 
 many will be content to borrow from the past those forms of beauty which 
 have not already been used up ad nauseam. It has been my desire to arrest 
 this tendency, and to awaken a higher ambition. 
 
 If the student will but endeavour to search out the thoughts which have 
 been expressed in so many different languages, he may assuredly hope to find 
 an ever-gushing fountain in place of a half-filled stagnant reservoir. 
 
 In the following chapters I have endeavoured to establish these main facts, — 
 
 First. That whenever any style of ornament commands universal admira- 
 tion, it will always be found to be in accordance with the laws which regulate 
 the distribution of form in nature. 
 
 Secondly. That however varied the manifestations in accordance with these 
 laws, the leading ideas on which they are based are very few. 
 
 Thirdly. That the modifications and developments which have taken place 
 from one style to another have been caused by a sudden throwing off of some 
 fixed trammel, which set thought free for a time, till the new idea, like the old, 
 became again fixed, to give birth in its turn to fresh inventions. 
 
 Lastly. I have endeavoured to show, in the twentieth chapter, that the 
 future progress of Ornamental Art may be best secured by engrafting on the 
 experience of the past the knowledge we may obtain by a return to Nature 
 for fresh inspiration. To attempt to build up theories of art, or to form a style, 
 independently of the past, would be an act of supreme folly. It would be at 
 once to reject the experiences and accumulated knowledge of thousands of 
 years. On the contrary, we should regard as our inheritance all the successful 
 labours of the past, not blindly following them, but employing them simply as 
 guides to find the true path. 
 
 In taking leave of the subject, and finally surrendering it to the judgment of 
 the public, I am fully aware that the collection is very far from being complete : 
 there are many gaps which each artist, however, may readily fill up for himself. 
 My chief aim, to place side by side types of such styles as might best serve 
 
 2 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 as landmarks and aids to the student in his onward path, has, I trust, been 
 fulfilled. 
 
 It remains for me to offer my acknowledgment to all those friends who have 
 kindly assisted me in the undertaking. 
 
 In the formation of the Egyptian Collection I received much valuable 
 assistance from Mr. J. Bonomi, and from Mr. James Wild, who has also con- 
 tributed the materials for the Arabian Collection, his long residence in Cairo 
 having afforded him the opportunity of forming a very large collection of 
 Cairean Ornament, of which the portion contained in this work can give but 
 an imperfect idea, and which I trust he may some day be encouraged to 
 publish in a complete form. 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. T. T. Bury for the plate of Stained Glass. From 
 Mr. C. J. Richardson I obtained the principal portion of the materials of the 
 Elizabethan Collection; from Mr. J. B. Waring, those of the Byzantine, and I 
 am also indebted to him for the very valuable essays on Byzantine and Eliza- 
 bethan Ornament. Mr. J. O. Westwood having directed especial attention to 
 the Ornament of the Celtic races, has assisted in the Celtic Collection, and 
 written the very remarkable history and exposition of the style. 
 
 Mr. C. Dresser, of Marlborough House, has provided the interesting plate 
 No. 8 of the twentieth chapter, exhibiting the geometrical arrangement of 
 natural flowers. 
 
 My colleague at the Crystal Palace, M. Dighy M^yatt, has enriched the 
 work with his admirable essays on the Ornament of the Renaissance and the 
 Italian periods. 
 
 Whenever the material has been gathered from published sources, it has 
 been acknowledged in the body of the work. 
 
 The remainder of the drawings have been chiefly executed by my pupils, 
 Mr. Albert Warren and Mr. Charles Auhert, who, with Mr. Stubbs, have 
 reduced the whole of the original drawings, and prepared them for publication. 
 
 3 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The drawing upon stone of the wdiole collection was entrusted to the care 
 of Mr. Francis Bedford, who, \Yith his able assistants, Messrs. H. Fielding, 
 W. R. Tymms, A. Warren, and S. Sedgfield, with occasional help, have executed 
 the One Hundred Plates in less than one year. 
 
 My special thanks are due to Mr. Bedford for the care and anxiety which 
 he has evinced, quite regardless of all personal consideration, to render this 
 work as perfect as the advanced state of chromolithography demanded ; and 
 I feel persuaded that his valuable services will be fully recognised by all in 
 any way acquainted with the difficulties and uncertainties of this process. 
 
 Messrs. Day and Son, the enterprising publishers, and at the same time 
 the printers of the work, have put forth all their strength ; and notwith- 
 standing the care required, and the vast amount of printing to be performed, 
 the resources of their establishment have enabled them, not only to deliver the 
 work with perfect regularity to the Subscribers, but even to complete it 
 before the appointed time. 
 
 OWEN JONES. 
 
 9 Argyll Place, 
 Dec. 15, 185(). 
 
 4 
 
GENEKAL PEINCIPLES IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF FORM AND COLOUR, 
 IN ARCHITECTURE AND THE DECORATIVE ARTS, WHICH 
 ARE ADVOCATED THROUGHOUT THIS WORK. 
 
 General 
 
 principles. 
 
 Peoposition 1. 
 
 The Decorative Arts arise from, and 
 should properly he attendant upon. Ar- 
 chitecture. 
 
 Proposition 2. 
 
 Architecture is the material expression 
 of the -wants, the faculties, and the senti- 
 ments, of the age in -which it is created. 
 
 Style in Architecture is the peculiar form that 
 expression takes under the influence of climate 
 and materials at command. 
 
 Peoposition 3. 
 
 As Architecture, so all works of the 
 Decorative Arts ; should possess fitness, 
 proportion, harmony, the result of all 
 which is repose. 
 
 Proposition 4. 
 
 True beauty results from that repose 
 which the mind feels when the eye, the 
 intellect, and the affections, are satisfied 
 from the absence of any want. 
 
 Proposition 5. 
 
 Construction should be decorated. 
 Decoration should never be purposely 
 constructed. 
 
 That which is beautiful is trae ; that which is true 
 must he beautiful. 
 
 Proposition 6. 
 
 Beauty of form is produced by lines 
 growing out one from the other in 
 gradual undulations : there are no ex- 
 crescences ; nothing could be removed 
 and leave the design equally good or 
 better. 
 
 Proposition 7. 
 
 The general forms being first cared 
 for, these should be subdivided and orna- 
 mented by general lines; the interstices 
 may then be filled in with ornament, 
 which may again be subdivided and en- 
 riched for closer inspection. 
 
 Proposition 8. 
 
 All ornament should be based upon a 
 geometrical construction. 
 
 Proposition 9. 
 
 As in every perfect work of Archi- 
 tecture a true proportion will be found 
 to reign between all the members which 
 compose it, so throughout the Decorative 
 Arts every assemblage of forms should 
 be arranged on certain definite propor- 
 tions ; the whole and each particular 
 member should be a multiple of some 
 simple unit. 
 
 On general 
 form. 
 
 Decoration 
 of the sur- 
 face. 
 
 On propor- 
 tion. 
 
PROPOSITIONS. 
 
 On harmony 
 and contrast. 
 
 Distribution. 
 
 Radiation. 
 
 Continuity. 
 
 On the con- 
 ventionality 
 of natural 
 forms. 
 
 On colour 
 generally. 
 
 Those proportions will be the most beautiful 
 which it will be most difficult for the eye to 
 detect. 
 
 Thus the proportion of a double square^ 
 or 4 to 8j will be less beautiful than 
 the more subtle ratio of 5 to 8 ; 3 to 6, 
 than 3 to 7 ; 3 to 9, than 3 to 8; 
 3 to 4; than 3 to 5. 
 
 Proposition 10. 
 
 Harmony of form consists in the 
 proper balancing, and contrast of, the 
 straight, the inclined, and the curved. 
 
 Peoposition 11. 
 
 In surface decoration all lines should 
 flow out of a parent stem. Every orna- 
 ment, however distant, should be traced 
 to its branch and root. Orienial practice. 
 
 Proposition 12. 
 
 All junctions of curved lines with 
 curved or of curved lines with straight 
 should be tangential to each other. 
 Natural law. Oriental practice in accord- 
 ance with it. 
 
 Proposition 13. 
 
 Flowers or other natural objects should 
 not be used as ornaments, but conven- 
 tional representations founded upon them 
 sufficiently suggestive to convey the in- 
 tended image to the mind, without de- 
 stroying the unity of the object they are 
 employed to decorate. Universally obeyed 
 in the best periods of Art, equally violated 
 when Art declines. 
 
 Proposition 14. 
 
 Colour is used to assist in the devel- 
 opment of form, and to distinguish 
 objects or parts of objects one from 
 another. 
 
 Proposition 15. 
 
 Colour is used to assist light and 
 shade, helping the undulations of form 
 by the proper distribution of the several 
 colours. 
 
 Proposition 16. 
 
 These objects are best attained by the 
 use of the primary colours on small sur- 
 faces and in small quantities, balanced 
 and supported by the secondary and ter- 
 tiary colours on the larger masses. 
 
 Proposition 17. 
 
 The primary colours should be used 
 on the upper portions of objects, the 
 secondary and tertiary on the lower. 
 
 Proposition 18. 
 
 {Field’s Chromatic equivalents.) 
 
 The primaries of equal intensities will 
 harmonise or neutralise each other, in the 
 proportions of 3 yellow, 5 red, and 8 
 blue, — integrally as 16. 
 
 The secondaries in the proportions of 
 8 orange, 13 purple, 11 green, — integrally 
 as 32. 
 
 The tertiaries, citrine (compound of 
 orange and green), 19; russet (orange 
 and purple), 21 ; olive (green and 
 purple), 24 ; — integrally as 64. 
 
 It follows that, — 
 
 Each secondary being a compound of 
 two primaries is neutralised by the re- 
 maining primary in the same proportions: 
 thus, 8 of orange by 8 of blue, 1 1 of green 
 by 5 of red, 13 of purple by 3 of yellow. 
 
 Each tertiary being a binary com- 
 pound of two secondaries, is neutralised 
 by the remaining secondary: as, 24 of 
 olive by 8 of orange, 21 of russet by 11 
 of green, 19 of citrine by 13 of purple. 
 
 On the pro- 
 portions by 
 which har- 
 mony in 
 colouring is 
 produced 
 
 6 
 
PROPOSITIONS. 
 
 On the con- 
 trasts and 
 .haimonious 
 equivalents 
 of tones, 
 shades, and 
 hues. 
 
 On the posi- 
 tions the 
 several 
 colours 
 should oc- 
 cupy. 
 
 Proposition 19. 
 
 The above supposes the colours to be used in 
 their prismatic intensities, but each colour has 
 a variety of tones when mixed with white, or 
 of shades when mixed with grey or black. 
 
 When a full colour is contrasted with 
 another of a lower tone, the volume of 
 the latter must be proportionally in- 
 creased. 
 
 Peopositiow 20. 
 
 Each colour has a variety of hues, obtained by 
 admixture with other colours, in addition to 
 white, grey, or black : thus we have of yellow, 
 — orange-yellow on the one side, and lemon- 
 yellow on the other; so of red, — scarlet-red, 
 and crimson-red; and of each every variety of 
 tone and shade. 
 
 When a primary tinged with another 
 primary is contrasted with a secondary, 
 the secondary must have a hue of the 
 third primary. 
 
 PnoposmoN 21. 
 
 In using the primary colours on 
 moulded surfaces, we should place blue, 
 which retires, on the concave surfaces ; 
 yellow, which advances, on the convex; 
 and red, the intermediate colour, on the 
 undersides ; separating the colours by 
 white on the vertical planes. 
 
 When the proportions required by Proposition 18 
 cannot be obtained, we may procure the balance 
 by a change in the colours themselves : thus, 
 if the surfaces to be coloured should give too 
 much yellow, we should make the red more 
 crimson and the blue more purple, — i.e. we 
 should take the yellow out of them ; so if the 
 surfaces should give too much blue, we should 
 make the yellow more orange and the red more 
 scarlet. 
 
 Proposition 22. 
 
 The various colours should be so 
 blended that the objects coloured, when 
 viewed at a distance, should present a 
 neutralised bloom. 
 
 Proposition 23. 
 
 No composition can ever be perfect 
 in which any one of the three primary 
 colours is wanting, either in its natural 
 state or in combination. 
 
 Proposition 24. 
 
 When two tones of the same colour Ontiieiaw 
 
 , of simulta- 
 
 are juxtaposed, the light colour will moiMoon- 
 appear lighter, and the . dark colour colours, de- 
 
 rived from 
 
 darker. Mons. chev 
 
 ruil. 
 
 Proposition 25. 
 
 When two different colours are juxta- 
 posed, they receive a double modification; 
 first, as to their tone (the light colour 
 appearing lighter, and the dark colour 
 appearing darker) ; secondly, as to their 
 hue, each will become tinged with the 
 complementary colour of the other. 
 
 Proposition 26. 
 
 Colours on white grounds appear 
 darker ; on black grounds, lighter. 
 
 Proposition 27. 
 
 Black grounds suffer when opposed 
 to colours which give a luminous comple- 
 mentary. 
 
 Proposition 28. 
 
 Colours should never be allowed to 
 impinge upon each other. 
 
 Proposition 29. 
 
 When ornaments in a colour are on a 
 ground of a contrasting colour, the orna- 
 
 On the 
 means of in- 
 creasing the 
 harmonious 
 effects of 
 
 ment should be separated from the ground 
 by an edging of lighter colour ; 
 
 as 
 
 colours. 
 
 1 Observa- 
 3. r6Cl ,tions derived 
 
 flower on a green ground should have an"*dSatio™of 
 edging of lighter red. 
 
 7 
 
ground may be used without outline; 
 but a dark ornament on a light ground 
 requires to be outlined with a still darker 
 tint. 
 
 Pkoposition 35. 
 
 Pkoposition 31. 
 
 Gold ornaments on any coloured 
 ground should be outlined with black. 
 
 Proposition 32. 
 
 Ornaments of any colour may be sepa- 
 rated from grounds of any other colour 
 by edgings of white, gold, or black. 
 
 Proposition 33. 
 
 Ornaments in any colour, or in gold, 
 may be used on white or black grounds, 
 without outline or edging. 
 
 Proposition 34. 
 
 In “self-tints," tones, or shades of the 
 same colour, a light tint on 
 
 Imitations, such as the graining of onimita- 
 woods, and of the various coloured 
 marbles, allowable only, when the em- 
 ployment of the thing imitated would not 
 have been inconsistent. 
 
 Proposition 36. 
 
 The principles discoverable in the 
 works of the past belong to us ; not so 
 the results. It is taking the end for the 
 means. 
 
 Proposition 37. 
 
 No improvement can take place in 
 the Art of the present generation until 
 all classes. Artists, Manufacturers, and 
 the Public, are better educated in Art, 
 and the existence of general principles is 
 more fully recognised. 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Chap. I. Ornament of Savage Tribes. 
 
 Plate. No. 
 
 1 1 Ornaments from Articles belonging to various Savage Tribes, exhibited in the United Service and 
 
 British Museums. 
 
 2 2 Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 3 3 Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 Chap. II. Egyptian Ornament. 
 
 4 1 The Lotus and Papynis, types of Egyptian ornament. 
 
 5 2 Ditto ditto, with Feathers and Palm-branches. 
 
 6 3 Capitals of Columns, showing the varied applications of the Lotus and Papynis. 
 
 6* 3*Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 7 4 Various Cornices, formed by the Pendent Lotus. 
 
 8 5 Ornaments from Mummy Cases in the British Museum and the Louvre. 
 
 9 6 Geometrical Ornaments from Ceilings of Tombs. 
 
 10 7 Ornaments with Curved Lines from Ceilings of Tombs. 
 
 11 8 Various Ornaments from Ceilings and Walls of Tombs. 
 
 Chap. III. Assyrian and Persian Ornament. 
 
 12 1 Painted Ornaments from Nineveh. 
 
 13 2 Ditto ditto. 
 
 14 3 Carved Ornaments from Persepolis, and Sassanian Ornaments from Ispahan and Bi-Sutoun. 
 
 Chap. IV. Greek Ornament. 
 
 15 1 The Various Forms of the Greek Fret. 
 
 16 21 
 
 17 3 
 
 18 4 
 
 Ornaments from Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum and the Louvre. 
 
 19 5 
 
 20 6 
 
 21 7. 
 
 22 8 Painted Greek Ornaments from the Temples and Tombs in Greece and Sicily. 
 
 D 
 
Arabian Ornament. 
 
 1 Arabian Ornaments of the Ninth Century from Cairo. 
 
 2 Ditto Thirteenth Century ditto. 
 
 3 Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 4 Portion of an Illuminated Copy of the Koran.^^ 
 
 5 Mosaics from Walls and Pavements from Houses in Cairo. 
 
 Turkish Ornament. 
 
 1 Ornaments in Relief from Mosques^ Tombs_, and Fountains at Constantinople. 
 
 2 Painted Ornaments from the Mosque of Soliman at Constantinople. 
 
 3 Decoration of the Dome of the Tomb of Soliman I. at Constantinople. 
 
 Chap 
 
 Moresque Ornament from the Alhambra. 
 
 1 Varieties of Interlaced Ornaments. 
 
 2 Spandrils of Arches. 
 
 3 Lozenge Diapers. 
 
 41=^= 3*Ditto ditto. 
 
 42 4 Square Diapers. 
 
 43* 4*Ditto ditto. 
 
 43t 4tDitto ditto. 
 
 43 5 Mosaics. 
 
 Chap. XI. Persian Ornament. 
 
 Ornaments from Persian MSS. in the British Museum. 
 
 45 2 Ditto ditto. 
 
 46 3 Ditto ditto. 
 
 47 4 Prom a Persian Manufacturer's Pattern-Book, South Kensington Museum. 
 
 47* 4*Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 48 5 From a Persian MS. South Kensington Museum. 
 
 10 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Chap. XII. Indian Ornament. 
 
 Plate. No. 
 
 49 1 Ornaments from Metal-work from the Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 50 2 
 
 51 3 
 
 52 4 
 
 53 5 
 53* 5* 
 
 54 6 
 54* 6* 
 
 65 7 Ornaments from Woven and Embroidered Fabrics and Painted Boxes exhibited at Paris in 1855. 
 
 Ditto from Embroidered and Woven Fabrics and Paintings on Vases exhibited in the Indian Collection 
 in 1851, now at South Kensington Museum. 
 
 'i Specimens of Painted Lacquer-work from the Collection at the India-Hoase. 
 
 Chap. XIII. Hiadoo Ornament. 
 
 56 1 Ornaments from a Statue at the Asiatic Society’s House. 
 
 57 2 From the Collection at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. 
 
 58 3 From the Collection at the India House. 
 
 Chap. XIV. Chinese Ornament. 
 
 59 
 
 60 
 61 
 63 
 
 t' 
 
 2 
 
 3 . 
 
 4 
 
 Chinese Ornaments painted on Porcelain, and on Wood, and from Woven Fabrics. 
 Conventional Renderings of Fruits and Flowers. 
 
 Chap. XV. Celtic Ornament. 
 
 63 1 Lapidary Ornamentation. 
 
 64 2 Interlaced Styles. 
 
 65 3 Spii’al, Diagonal, Zoomorphic, and later Anglo-Saxon Ornament. 
 
 Chap. XVI. Mediaeval Ornament. 
 
 66 1 Conventional Leaves and Flowers from Illuminated MSS. 
 
 67 2 Borders from Illuminated MSS. and Paintings. 
 
 67* 2 * Ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 68 3 Diapers from Illuminated MSS. and Backgrounds of Pictures. 
 
 69 4 Stained Glass of various periods. 
 
 69* 4* Ditto ditto. 
 
 70 5 Encaustic Tiles, ditto. 
 
 Illuminated MSS. 
 
 71 1 Portions of Illuminated MSS. of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. 
 
 72 2 Ditto ditto Thirteenth and Fourteenth ditto. 
 
 73 3 Ditto ditto Fourteenth and Fifteenth ditto. 
 
 11 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Plate. 
 
 74 
 
 75 
 
 76 
 
 77 
 
 78 
 
 79 
 
 80 
 81 
 83 
 
 83 1 
 
 84 2 
 
 85 3 
 
 86 1 
 
 86 * 1 
 
 87 2 
 
 88 3 
 
 89 4 
 
 90 5 
 
 91 1 
 
 92 2 
 
 93 3 
 
 94 4 
 
 96 5 
 
 96 6 
 
 97 7 
 
 98 8 
 
 99 9 
 100 10 
 
 Chap. XVII. Renaissance Ornament. 
 
 0 . 
 
 J Renaissance Ornaments in Relief, from Photographs taken from Casts in the Crystal Palace, Syden- 
 ' I ham. 
 r 
 
 ; Enamels from the Louvre and H6tel Cluny. 
 
 1 Ornaments from Potteiy at South Kensington Museum, 
 i Ditto from ditto, H6tel Cluny and the Louvre. 
 
 Ditto ditto, ditto. 
 
 jomaments from Stone and Wood from the Collections of the Louvre and Hotel Cluny. 
 
 Chap. XVIIL Elizabethan Ornament. 
 
 jvarious Ornaments in Belief from tlie Time of Henry Till, to that of Charles II. 
 Painted Ornaments and Ornaments on Woven Eabrics, ditto. 
 
 Chap. XIX. Italian Ornament. 
 
 Pilasters and Ornaments from the Loggie of the Vatican, reduced from the full-size Paintings at South 
 Kensington Museum. 
 
 'Ditto ditto ditto ditto. 
 
 Ornaments from the Palazzo Ducale, Mantua. 
 
 Ditto from the Palazzo Ducale and the Church of St. Andrea, Mantua. 
 
 Ditto from the Palazzo del Te, Mantua. 
 
 Ornaments from Printed Books. 
 
 Chap. XX. Leaves and Flowers from Nature. 
 
 Horse-chestnut leaves. 
 
 Vine leaves. 
 
 Ivy leaves. 
 
 leaves of the Oak, Fig-tree, Maple, White Bryony, Laurel, and Bay-tree. 
 Leaves of the Vine, Hollyoak, Turkey Oak, and Laburnum. 
 
 Wild Rose, Ivy, and Blackberry. 
 
 Hawthorn, Yew, Ivy, and Strawberry-tree. 
 
 Various Flowers in Plan and Elevation. 
 
 Honeysuckle and Convolvulus. 
 
 Passion Flowers. 
 
 13 
 
Chapter I. — Plates 1, 2, 3. 
 
 ORNAMENT OF SAVAGE TRIBES. 
 
 PLATE 1. 
 
 1. Cloth. Otaheite. — United Service Museum. 
 
 2. Matting from Tongotabu, Friendly Islands. 
 
 3. Cloth. Otaheite.— U. S. M. 
 
 4. Cloth. Sandwich Islands. — U. 3- M. 
 
 5-8. Cloths. Sandwich Islands. — British Museum. 
 
 9. Cloth Matting from Tongotabn, Friendly Islands. 
 
 10. Cloth. Otaheite.— U. S. M. 
 
 11. Cloth. Sandwich Islands. — B. M. 
 
 12. Cloth. 
 
 13. Cloth made from Paper Mulberry, Feejee Islands.— B. M. 
 
 PLATE 11. 
 
 1. 
 
 South America. — United Service Museum. 
 
 9, 10. 
 
 Tahiti. Adze. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 2. 
 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 11, 12. 
 
 Friendly Islands. Drum. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 3. 
 
 Owhyhee. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 13, 14. 
 
 Tahiti. Adze, 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 4. 
 
 New Hebrides. Inlaid Shield. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 15. Sandwich Islands. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 5. 
 
 Sandwich Islands, 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 16, 17. 
 
 New Zealand. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 6. 
 
 South Sea Islands. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 18-20. 
 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 7, 
 
 8. Sandwich Islands. 
 
 U. S. M. 
 
 
 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Owhyhee. Club. — United Service Museum. 
 
 Sandwich Islands. Club. U. S. M. 
 New Zealand. Patoo-Patoo. U. S. M. 
 Tahiti. Adze. U. S. M. 
 
 New Zealand. Paddle. U. S. M. 
 
 6. New Zealand. Pajee, or War Club. — U. S. M. 
 
 7. South Sea Isles. War Club. U. S. M. 
 
 8. Handle, full size of Fig. 5. U. S. M. 
 
 9. Feejee Islands. Club. U. S. M. 
 
 From the universal testimony of travellers it would appear, that there is scarcely a people, in however 
 early a stage of civilisation, with whom the desire for ornament is not a strong instinct. The desire is 
 absent in none, and it grows and increases with all in the ratio of their progress in civilisation. Man 
 appears everywhere impressed with the beauties of Nature which surround him, and seeks to imitate to the 
 extent of his power the works of the Creator. 
 
 Man’s earliest ambition is to create. To this feeling must be ascribed the tattooing of the human face 
 and body, resorted to by the savage to increase the expression by which he seeks to strike terror on his 
 enemies or rivals, or to create what appears to him a new beauty.* As we advance higher, from the 
 
 * The tattooing on the head which we introduce from the Museum at Chester is very retoarkahle, as showing that in this 'very 
 barbarous practice the principles of the very highest ornamental art are manifest, every line upon the face is the best adapted to 
 develope the natural features. 
 
 £ 
 
 13 
 
OENAMENT OF SAVAGE TRIBES. 
 
 decoration of the rude tent or wigwam to the sublime works of a Phidias and Praxiteles, the same feeling is 
 everywhere apparent: the highest ambition is still to create, to stamp on this earth the impress of an 
 individual mind. 
 
 From time to time a mind stronger than those around will impress itself on a generation, and carry with 
 it a host of others of less power following in the same track, yet never so closely as to destroy the individual 
 ambition to create ; lienee the cause of styles, and of the modifications of styles. The efforts of a people in 
 
 an eai-ly stage of civilisation are like those of 
 children, though presenting a want of power, they 
 possess a grace and nalveU rarely found in mid-age, 
 and never in manhood’s decline. It is equally so in 
 the infancy of any art. Cimabue and G-iotto have 
 not the material charm of Raphael or the manly 
 power of Michael Angelo, but surpass them both in 
 grace and earnest truth. The very command of 
 means leads to their abuse : when Art struggles, it 
 succeeds ; when revelling in its own successes, it as 
 signally fails. The pleasure we receive in con- 
 templating the rude attempts at ornament of the 
 most savage tribes arises from our appreciation of 
 a difficulty accomplished; we are at once charmed 
 by the evidence of the intention, and surprised at 
 the simple and ingenious process by which the result 
 is obtained. In fact, what we seek in every work of 
 Art, whether it be humble or pretentious, is the 
 evidence of mind,— the evidence of that desire to 
 create to which we have referred, and which all, 
 feeling a natural instinct within them, are satisfied 
 with when they find it developed in others. It is 
 
 Female Head from Kerr Zealand, to the Muaenm, Cheater. strange, but SO it IS, that this evidence of mind Will 
 
 be more readily found in the rude attempts at 
 ornament of a savage tribe than in the innumerable productions of a highly-advanced civilisation. 
 Individuality decreases in the ratio of the power of production. When Art is manufactured by combined 
 effort, not originated by individual effort, we fail to recognise those true instincts which constitute its 
 greatest charm. 
 
 Plate I. The ornaments on this Plate are from portions of clothing made chiefly from the bark 
 of trees. Patterns Nos. 2 and 9 are from a dress brought by Mr. Oswald Brierly from Tongotabu, the 
 principal of the Friendly Island group. It is made from thin sheets of the inner rind of the bark of 
 a species of hibiscus, beaten out and united together so as to form one long parallelogram of cloth, which 
 being wrapped many times round the body as a petticoat, and leaving the chest, arms, and shoulders 
 bare, forms the only dress of the natives. Nothing, therefore, can be more primitive, and yet the 
 arrangement of the pattern shows the most refined taste and skiU. No. 9 is the border on the edge 
 of the cloth; with the same limited means of production, it would be difficult to improve upon it. The 
 patterns are formed by small wooden stamps, and although the work is somewhat rude and irregular 
 in execution, the intention is everywhere apparent ; and we are at once struck with the skilful balancing 
 of the masses, and the judicious correction of the tendency of the eye to run in any one direction by 
 opposing to them lines having an opposite tendency. 
 
 14 
 
ORNAMENT OF SAVAGE TRIBES. 
 
 WTien Mr. Brierly visited the island one woman was the designer of all the patterns in use there, 
 aud for every new pattern she designed she received as a reward a certain number of yards of cloth. 
 The pattern No. 2, from the same place, is equally an admirable lesson in composition which we 
 may derive from an artist of a savage tribe. Nothing can be more judicious than the general arrange- 
 ment of the four squares and the four red spots. Without the red spots on the yellow ground there 
 
 would have been a great want of repose in the general arrangement; without the red lines round the 
 
 red spots to carry the red through the yellow, it would have been still imperfect. Had the small red 
 triangles turned outwards instead of inwards, the repose of the pattern would again have been lost, 
 and the effect produced on the eye would have been that of squinting; as it is, the eye is centred in 
 each square, and centred in each group by the red spots round the centre square. The stamps which 
 
 form the pattern are very simple, each triangle A and each leaf 
 
 how readily the possession of a simple tool, even 4Bkby the most 
 stinctive observation of the forms in which all the works of Nature 
 
 creation of all the geometrical arrangements of form with which 
 we are acquainted. On the upper left-hand corner of pattern 
 No. 2, the eight-pointed star is formed by eight applications of 
 the same tool ; as also the black flower with sixteen pointing 
 inwards f and sixteen pointing outwards. 1 The most com- 
 plicated patterns of the Byzantine, Arabian, I and Moresque 
 mosaics would be generated by the same means. The secret of success in all ornament is the pro- 
 duction of a broad general effect by the repetition of a few simple elements; variety should rather be 
 sought in the arrangement of the several portions of a design, than in the multiplicity of varied 
 forms. 
 
 The stamping of patterns on the coverings of the body, when either of skins of animals or material such 
 as this, would be the first stage towards ornament after the tattooing of the body by an analogous process. 
 In both there would remain a greater variety and individuality than in subse- 
 quent processes, which would become more mechanical. The first notions of 
 weaving which would be given by the plaiting of straws or strips of bark, 
 instead of using them as thin sheets, would have equally the same result of 
 gradually forming the mind to an appreciation of the proper disposition of 
 masses : the eye of the savage, accustomed only to look upon Nature’s 
 harmonies, would readily enter into the perception of the true balance both 
 of form and colour ; in point of fact, we find that it is so, that in savage 
 ornament the true balance of both is always maintained. 
 
 After the formation of ornament by stamping and weaving, would naturally 
 follow the desire of forming ornament in relief or carving. The weapons for 
 defence or the chase would first attract attention. The most skilful and the 
 bravest would desire to be distinguished from their fellows by the possession 
 of weapons, not only more useful, but more beautiful. The shape best fitted Plaited straw from the sandwich islands, 
 for the purpose having been found by experience, the enriching of the surface by carving would naturally 
 follow ; and the eye, already accustomed to the geometrical forms produced by weaving, the hand would 
 seek to imitate them by a similar repetition of cuts of the knife. The ornaments on Plate II. show this 
 instinct very fully. They are executed with the utmost precision, and exhibit great taste and judgment 
 in the distribution of the masses. Nos. 11 and 12 are interesting, as showing how much this taste and 
 skill may exist in the formation of geometrical patterns, whilst those resulting from curved lines, and the 
 human form more especially, remain in the very first stage. 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 being a single stamp, we thus see 
 uncultivated, if guided by an in- 
 are arranged, would lead to the 
 
 15 
 
!i3f- 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 
 ORNAMENT OF SAVAGE TRIBES. 
 
 The ornaments in the woodcuts below and at the side show a far higher advance in the distribution 
 of curved lines, the twisted rope forming the type as it naturally would be of all curved lines in ornament. 
 
 The uniting of two strands for additional strength would early accustom 
 the eye to the spiral line, and we always find this form side by side with 
 
 
 
 Head of Cauoe, New Guinea. 
 
 geometrical patterns formed by the interlacing of equal lines in the orna- 
 ment of every savage tribe, and retained in the more advanced art of every 
 civilised nation. 
 
 Head of Canoe, New Guinea. 
 
 The ornament of a savage tribe, being the result of a natural instinct, 
 is necessarily always true to its purpose ; whilst in much of the ornament of civilised nations, the first 
 impulse which generated received forms being enfeebled by constant repetition, the ornament is often- 
 times misapplied, and instead of first seeking the most convenient form and adding beauty, all beauty is 
 destroyed, because all fitness, by superadding ornament to iU-oontrived form. If we would return to 
 a more healthy, condition, we must even be as little children or as savages ; we must get rid of the 
 acquired and artificial, and return to and develope natural instincts. 
 
 The beautiful New Zealand paddle. Nos. 6-8, on Plate III., would rival works of the highest civilisa- 
 tion : there is not a line upon its surface misapplied. The general shape is most elegant, and the 
 decoration everywhere the best adapted to develope the form. A modem manufacturer, with his 
 16 
 
ORNAMENT OF SAVAGE TRIBES. 
 
 stripes and plaids, would have continued the bands or rings round the handle across the blade. The 
 New Zealander’s instinct taught him better. He desired not only that his paddle should be strong, 
 but should appear so, and his ornament is so disposed to give an appear- 
 ance of additional strength to what it would have had if the surface 
 had remained undecorated. The centre band in the length of the blade 
 
 Handle of a Paddle. — B. M, 
 
 is continued round on the other side, binding together the border on 
 the edge, which itself fixes all the other bands. Had these bands run 
 out like the centre one, they would have appeared to slip off. The centre 
 one was the only one that could do so without disturbing the repose. 
 
 The swelling form of the handle where additional weight was required 
 is most beautifully contrived, and the springing of the swell is well 
 defined by the bolder pattern of the rings.* 
 
 Club, Eastern Archipelago. 
 
 * Captain Cook and other voyagers repeatedly notice the taste and ingenuity of the islanders of the Pacific and South Seas : 
 instancing especially cloths, painted “ in such an endless variety of figures that one might sxxppose they borrowed their patterns from a 
 mercer’s shop in which the most elegant productions of China and Europe are collected, besides some original patterns of their own.” 
 The “ thousand different patterns ” of their basket-work, their mats, and the fancy displayed in their rich carvings and inlaid shell-work, 
 are, likewise, constantly mentioned. See The Three Voyages of Captain Cook, 3 vols. Lend. 1841— i3j Dumont D’Urville’s Voyage au 
 Po/c Surf, 8vo. Paris, 1841 ; Ditto, rf’.ffisfoire, fol.; Prichard's Natural History of Man, G. W. Earle’s .Jfaijwe Races of 
 Indian Archipelago, Lond. 1853 ; Kerr’s General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, London, 1811-17. 
 
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Chapter II.— Plates 4, 5, 6, 6*, 7 , 8, 9, 10, II. 
 
 EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 1. The Lotus, drawn from Nature. 
 
 2. Egyptian representation of the Lotus. 
 
 3. Another, in a different stage of growth. 
 
 4. Three Papyrus Plants, and three full-blown Lotus 
 
 Flowers with two Buds, held in the hand of a 
 King as an offering to a God. 
 
 5. A full-blown Lotus and two Buds, bound together with 
 
 Eibbons, the type of the Capitals of Egyptian 
 Columns. 
 
 6. The Lotus and Buds in the form of a Column, bound 
 
 round with Matting, from a Painting representing 
 the Portico of a Temple. 
 
 7. The Base of the Stem of the Papyrus, drawn from 
 
 Nature ; the type of the Bases and Shafts of 
 Egyptian Columns. 
 
 8. Expanding Bud of the Papyrus, drawn from Nature. 
 
 9. Another, in a less advanced stage of growth. 
 
 10. Egyptian representation of the Papyrus Plant ; the com- 
 
 plete type of the Capital, Shaft, and Base of the 
 Egyptian Columns. 
 
 11. The same, in combination with Lotus Buds, Grapes, and 
 
 Ivy. 
 
 12. A combination of the Lotus and Papyrus, representing a 
 
 Column bound with Matting and Eibbons. 
 
 13. Egyptian representation of the Lotus and Buds. 
 
 14^ "i Eepresentations of the Papyrus, from an Egyptian 
 
 15. ) Painting. 
 
 16. Representation of Plants growing in the Desert. 
 
 17. Representation of the Lotus and Papyrus growing in 
 
 the Nile. 
 
 18. Another variety of Desert Plants. 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 1. Fan made of Feathers, inserted into a wooden Stem in 
 
 the form of a Lotus. 
 
 2. Feathers from the Head-dress of the Horses of the Royal 
 
 Chariots. 
 
 3. Another variety, from Aboo-Simbel. 
 
 4. Fans made of dried Leaves. 
 
 5. Ditto. 
 
 6. Fan. 
 
 7. Royal Head-dress. 
 
 8. Ditto. 
 
 9. Representation of a species of Lotus. 
 
 10. The true Lotus. 
 
 11. Insignia borne by certain Officers of the time of the 
 
 Pharaohs. 
 
 12. Another variety. 
 
 13.1 
 
 14, > Gold and enamelled Vases in the Form of the Lotus. 
 16.) 
 
 16. A Rudder Oar decorated with the Lotus and the Eye, 
 
 representing the Divinity. 
 
 1 7. Ditto, another variety. 
 
 18.1 
 
 f Boats made of Papyrus Plants bound together. 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 1. Capital of the large Columns of the Temple of Luxor, 
 
 Thebes, of the time of Amunoph III., 1250 B.C., ac- 
 cording to Sharpe. It represents the full-blown 
 Papyrus, and around it Papyri and Lotus Buds alter- 
 nating. 
 
 2. Capital of the smaller Columns of the Memnonium, 
 
 Thebes, b.c. 1200. Represents a single Bud of the 
 
 Papyrus decorated with the coloured pendent Fascise 
 that are seen in the painted representations of Columns 
 of Plate rV. Nos. 5, 6, 12. 
 
 3. Capital of the smaller Columns of the Temple of Luxor, 
 B.c. 1250. Representing eight Buds of the Papyrus 
 bound together, and adorned with pendent and 
 coloured Fasciae. 
 
 19 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 Capital from the unfinished hypjethral Temple in the 
 Island of Philae. Roman period, b.c. 140. Composed 
 of the Papyrus Plant in three stages of growth, and 
 arranged in three tiers : the first composed of four 
 full-blown and four large expanding Papyri ; the 
 second tier, of eight smaller expanding flowers ; and 
 the third tier, of sixteen buds : making in all a 
 bundle of thirty-two plants. The stem of each plant 
 may be traced, by the size and colour of its stalk, 
 down to the horizontal bands or fascise. See Plate 
 IV. Nos. 5, 6, 12. 
 
 Capital from the Temple at Koom-Ombos. The full- 
 grown Papyrus surrounded by various flowers. 
 
 Capital from the principal Temple, Philse. Representing 
 two tiers of the Papyrus, in three stages of growith. 
 The first tier composed of eight plants, four full-blown 
 and four expanding ; the second tier composed of eight 
 
 buds : making sixteen plants. In this capital the 
 circular form is not disturbed, as in No. 11. 
 
 Capital from the unfinished hypsethral Temple, Philge. 
 Composed of three tiers of the Papyrus Plant in 
 three stages of growth. The first tier has eight full- 
 blown and eight expanding plants ; the second tier, six- 
 teen expanding flowers ; and the third tier, thirty-two 
 buds of the Papyrus : in all, sixty-four plants. The 
 stem of each plant is distinguished by its size and 
 colour, and continued down to the horizontal bands 
 which bind them together round the shaft. 
 
 Capital from the Portico of Edfu, b.c. 146. Represents 
 the Palm-tree, with nine branches, or faces. The 
 horizontal fasciae of the Palm-tree Capital differ from 
 the fasciae of all the other capitals, inasmuch as there 
 is always a pendent loop. 
 
 PLATE VP. 
 
 Capital from a Temple in the Oasis of Thebes. Repre- 
 senting a collection of Aquatic Plants, with triangular 
 Stalks tied round a single full-blown Papyrus. 
 
 Capital from the Portico of Edfu, b.c. 145, of similar 
 structure to No. 4. 
 
 Capital from the principal Temple in the Island of Philse, 
 B.C. 106. The full-blown Papyrus surrounded by the 
 same flower in various stages of growth. 
 
 Capital from a Temple in the Oasis of Thebes. 
 
 Capital from the Colonnade of the Island of Philse. 
 Representing sixteen Lotus Flowers bound together 
 in three tiers. Shown in elevation. 
 
 The Capital No. 8 seen in Perspective. 
 
 10. Capital from a Temple in the Oasis of Thebes. Re- 
 presenting eight Lotus Flowers bound together in two 
 tiers. 
 
 15. Capital from the unfinished hyp^thral Temple, Phil». 
 Composed of the Papyrus in two stages of grcwth, 
 arranged in three tiers. The first composed of four 
 full-blown and four expanding flowers ; the second 
 tier, of eight smaller, full-blown ; and the third tier, of 
 sixteen, still smaller. 
 
 17. Capital of the Orseco-Egyptian form, but of tlie Roman 
 period. Very remarkable, as showing the Egyptian 
 and Greek elements combined, viz. the Papyrus in 
 two stages of growth, with the Acanthus leaf and the 
 tendrils of the Honeysuckle. 
 
 PLATE VIL 
 
 7, - 
 
 8 , 
 9.. 
 
 10 . 
 
 11 . 
 
 12 . 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 
 17 , 
 
 18, 
 
 19. 
 
 20 . 
 21 . 
 
 Ornament on the top of the Walls of a Tomb at Beni- 
 hassan. 
 
 Ditto ditto. 
 
 Ditto, from Karnac, Thebes. 
 
 Ditto, from Gouma, Thebes. 
 
 Ditto, from Sakhara. 
 
 Decoration of the Torus moulding of some of the early 
 Tombs in the neighbourhood of the Pyramids of Giza. 
 
 ^From a wooden Sarcophagus. 
 
 From the Tombs, El E[ab. 
 
 From the Tombs, Benihassan. 
 
 From the Tombs, Gourna. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 From a Necklace. 
 
 From the Wall of a Tomb, Gourna, immediately under 
 the Ceiling. 
 
 Portions of a Necklace. 
 
 From the Wall of a Tomb. 
 
 From a Necklace. 
 
 20 
 
 22. From the upper part of the Wall of a Tomb, Sakhara. 
 
 23. Ditto, at Thebes. 
 
 24. From a Necklace. 
 
 25. From the Wall of a Tomb, Gourna. 
 
 26. From a Sarcophagus. 
 
 27. From the Wall of a Tomb. 
 
 28. From a Sarcophagus. 
 
 29. From the upper part of a Picture. 
 
 30. Arrangement of Lines from dados. 
 
 31. From a Sarcophagus in the Louvre. 
 
 32. From the Wall of a Tomb, Gourna, representing the 
 
 Lotus, in plan as well as in elevation. 
 
 33. From a Ceiling at Medinet Haboo. 
 
 34. Arrangement of Lines from dados, in Tombs. 
 
 Nos. 1-5, 10, 11, always occur on vertical surfaces, and on 
 the upper part of the walls of tombs and temples. Nos. 7-9, 
 12, 14, 18, 20, are all derived from the same elements, viz. the 
 lotus in a pendent position, with a bunch of grapes interven- 
 ing. This very constant Egyptian ornament in some of its 
 forms so much resembles the Greek moulding, usually termed 
 the egg-and-tongue, or egg-and-dart moulding, that we can 
 hardly doubt that the Greek moulding, was derived from this 
 source. Nos. 13, 15, 24, 32, exhibit another element of 
 Egyptian ornamentation derived from the separated leaves 
 of the Lotus. 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 The whole of the Ornaments on this Plate are from Mummy- 
 cases in the British Museum and the Louvre, and, like 
 those of the last Plate, are mostly composed of the 
 Lotus-flower and single leaves of the same plant. In 
 No. 2, above the Lotus-leaves, is a white ornament on 
 a black ground, very common in the tombs, suggested 
 
 by the interwoven strands of a rope ; and in No. 7 
 we have the chequered pattern, one of the earliest 
 ornaments, evidently derived from the weaving to- 
 gether of different-coloured strands. In the lower 
 part of No. 18 we have another very common orna- 
 ment, derived from feathers. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 The Ornaments on this Plate are taken from Paintings on 
 Tombs in various parts of Egypt, from original Draw- 
 ings. They are chiefly patterns that could be pro- 
 duced by the loom, and a single glance will show that 
 this is doubtless the origin of most of them. 
 
 1-8 are representations of Mats on which the kings stand. 
 They were evidently formed of interwoven straws of 
 different colours. The transition from this state to the 
 formation of patterns, such as 9-12, 17-19, 21, would 
 be very rapid, and they are most probably only repro- 
 
 ductions of woven articles of daily use. Nos. 9 and 
 10 may have suggested the fret to the Greeks, unless 
 they arrived at it themselves by a similar process. 
 
 20 is from a Ceiling of a Tomb at Gourna. It represents the 
 Trellis-work of a Garden Walk, covered with a Vine. 
 It is by no means an uncommon ornament for the 
 curved ceilings of small tombs, and usually occupies 
 the whole ceiling of each excavation at the period of 
 the nineteenth dynasty, 
 
 21-23 are derived from Mummy-cases in the Louvre, of a late 
 period. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 1-5. From Mummy-cases in the Louvre, of a late period. 
 Geometrical arrangements of the single Lotus-leaf. 
 
 6. From a Tomb at Thebes. Each circle is formed of four 
 
 Lotus-flowers and four Buds, the inteimediate star 
 probably intended for four Lotus-leaves. 
 
 7, From a Tomb at Thebes. 
 
 8, 9, From a Mummy-case, 
 
 10-24 are from Ceilings of Tombs in various parts of Egypt. 
 In Nos. 10, 13-16, 18-23, are various examples of an 
 ornament representing the unvTinding of a pile of 
 rope, which may have given the first suggestion of 
 the volute. In No. 24 the continuous blue line is 
 evidently from the same type. 
 
 PLATE XL 
 
 1, 4, 6, 7, are from Tombs at Thebes, and are further examples 
 of the Rope Ornament given in the last Plate. Nos. 
 2 and 3 are varieties of arrangements of Stars, very 
 common on the ceilings both of tombs and temples. 
 No 2 is formed on squares, No, 3 on equilateral 
 triangles. 
 
 9. From a Mummy-case. 
 
 10. From the Embroidery on a King’s Robe. 
 
 11-16 are varieties of Borders from Paintings in Tombs. 
 
 17. From the Dress of a Figure in one of the Royal Tombs 
 of Biban el Moluk. It represents the Scales of the 
 Armour worn by the Heroes and Gods of Egypt. 
 
 18-20 are similar, and most probably were suggested by the 
 feathers of birds. 
 
 21. Ornament on the Dress of the god Amun, from Aboo- 
 
 simbel. 
 
 22. From a Fragment in the Louvre. 
 
 23. Dado from the Tomb of Ramses, Biban el Moluk, pro- 
 
 bably representing, in diagram, a Papyrus -grove, as 
 it occupies a similar position to those dados of a 
 later period which were formed of buds and flowers 
 of the papyrus. 
 
 24. From a very ancient Tomb at Giza, opened by Dr. 
 
 Lepsius. The upper part represents the usual 
 Egyptian torus ; the lower portion is from the dado 
 of the same tomb, and shows that the practice of 
 imitating grained woods in painting is of the highest 
 antiquity. 
 
 G 
 
 21 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 The Architecture of Egypt has this peculiarity over all other styles, that the more ancient the monu- 
 ment tlie more perfect is the art. All the remains with which we are acquainted exhibit Egyptian Art in 
 a state of decline. Monuments erected two thousand years before the Christian era are formed from the 
 ruins of still more ancient and more perfect buildings. We are thus carried back to a period too remote 
 from our time to enable us to discover any traces of its origin ; and whilst we can trace in direct succession 
 the G-reek, the Eoman, the Byzantine, with its offshoots, the Arabian, the Moresque, and the Gothic, 
 from this great parent, we must believe the architecture of Egypt to be a pure original style, which 
 arose with civilisation in Central Africa,* passed through countless ages, to the culminating point of 
 perfection and the state of decline in which we see it. Inferior as this state doubtless is to the unknown 
 perfection of Egyptian Art, it is far beyond all that followed after ; the Egyptians are inferior only to 
 themselves. In all other styles we can trace a rapid ascent from infancy, founded on some bygone 
 style, to a culminating point of perfection, when the foreign influence was modified or discarded, to a 
 period of slow, lingering decline, feeding on its owm elements. In the Egyptian we have no traces 
 of infancy or of any foreign influence ; and we must, therefore, believe that they went for inspiration 
 direct from nature. This view is strengthened when we come to consider more especially the ornament 
 of Eg3q)t ; the types are few and natural types, the representation is but slightly removed from the type. 
 The later we descend in art, the more and more do we find original types receded from ; till, in much 
 ornament, such as the Arabian and Moresque, it is difficult to discover the original type from which the 
 ornament has been by successive mental efforts developed. 
 
 The lotus and papyrus, growing on the banks of their river, symbolising the food for the body and 
 mind; the feathers of rare birds, which were carried before the king as emblems of sovereignty; the 
 palm-branch, with the twisted cord made from its stems ; these are the few types which form the basis 
 of that immense variety of ornament with which the Egyptians decorated the temples of their gods, the 
 palaces of their kings, the covering of their persons, their articles of luxury or of more modest daily use, 
 from the wooden spoon which fed them to the boat which carried their similarly adorned embalmed bodies 
 across the Nile to their last home in the valley of the dead. Following these types as they did in a 
 manner so nearly allied to their natural form, they could hardly fail to observe the same laws which the 
 works of nature ever display; and we find, therefore, that Egyptian ornament, however conventionalised, 
 is always true. We are never shocked by any misapplication or violation of a natural principle. On 
 the other hand, they never, by a too servile imitation of the type, destroyed the consistency of the 
 representation. A lotus carved in stone, forming a graceful termination to a column, or painted on the 
 walls as an offering to their gods, was never such a one as might be plucked, but an architectural 
 
 * In the British Museum may be seen a east of a bas-relief from Kalabshee in Nubia, representing the conquests of Eamses II. 
 over a black people, supposed to be Ethiopians. It is very remarkable, that amongst the presents which these people are represented 
 as bringing with them as a tribute to the King, besides the leopard skins and rare auiroals, ivory, gold, and other products of the country, 
 there are three ivory carved chairs precisely Similar to that on which the King sits to receive them ; from which it would appear that 
 these highly.elaborated articles of luxury were derived by the Egj-ptians from the interior of Africa. 
 
 22 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 representation ; in eitlier case the best adapted for the purpose it had to fill, sufficiently resembling the 
 type to call forth in the beholder the poetic idea which it was sought to supply, without shocking his 
 feeling of consistency. 
 
 Egyptian ornament is of three kinds : that which is constructive, or forming part of the monument 
 itself, of which it is the outward and graceful covering of the skeleton within; that which is representative, 
 but at the same time conventionally rendered ; and that which is simply decorative. In all cases it was 
 symbolic, and, as we have observed, formed on some few types, which were but slightly changed during 
 the whole period of Egyptian civilisation. 
 
 Of the first kind, viz. constructive ornament, are the decorations of the means of support and the 
 crowning members of the walls. The column only a few feet high, or one forty or sixty feet, as at 
 Luxor and Karnac, was an enlarged papyrus plant : the base representing the root ; the shaft, the stalk ; 
 and the capital, the full-blown flower, surrounded by a bouquet of smaller plants (No. 1, Plate VI.), 
 tied together by bands. Not only did a series of columns represent a grove of papyri, but each column 
 was in itself a grove ; and at No. 17 of Plate IV. we have a representation of a grove of papyri in 
 various stages of growth, which would only have to be assembled as they stand, and be tied round with 
 a string, and we should have the Egyptian shaft and its highly-ornamental capital ; and further, we have 
 in Nos. 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, on Plate IV., painted representations of columns forming parts of temples, in 
 which the original idea is unmistakably portrayed. 
 
 We may imagine it the custom of the Egyptians in early times to decorate the wooden posts of 
 their primitive temples with their native flowers tied round them ; and this custom, when their art 
 took a more permanent character, became solidified in their monuments of stone. These forms, once 
 sacred, their religious laws forbade a change; but a single glance, however, at Plates VI. and VI.*, 
 will show how little this possession of one leading idea resulted in uniformity. The lotus and papyrus 
 form the type of fifteen of the capitals we have selected for illustration ; yet how ingeniously varied, 
 and what a lesson do they teach us ! From the Greeks to our own time the world has been content 
 with the acanthus leaf arranged round a bell for the capitals of columns of all architecture called 
 classic, differing only in the more or less perfection of the modelling of the leaves, or the graceful 
 or otherwise proportions of the bell; a modification in plan has but rarely been attempted. And this 
 it was that opened the way to so much development in the Egyptian capital; beginning with the 
 
 circle, they surrounded it with four, eight, and sixteen other circles. If the same change were 
 
 attempted with the Corinthian capital, it could not fail to produce an entirely new order of forms 
 whilst still retaining the idea of applying the acanthus leaf to the surface of a bell-shaped vase. 
 
 The shaft of the Egyptian column, when circular, was made to retain the idea of the triangular 
 
 shape of the papyrus stalk, by three raised lines, which divided its circumference into three equal 
 
 portions; when the column was formed by a union of four or eight shafts bound together, these had 
 each a sharp arris on their outer face with the same intention. The crowning member or comice of 
 an Egyptian building was decorated with feathers, which appear to ha^e been an emblem of sovereignty ; 
 whilst in the centre was the winged globe, emblem of divinity. 
 
 The second kind of Egyptian ornament results from the conventional representation of actual things 
 on the walls of the temples and tombs ; and here again, in the representations of offerings to the gods 
 or of the various articles of daily use, in the paintings of actual scenes of their domestic life, every 
 flower or other object is portrayed, not as a reality, but as an ideal representation. It is at the same 
 time the record of a fact and an architectural decoration, to which even their hieroglyphical writing, 
 explanatory of the scene, by its symmetrical arrangement added effect. In No. 4, on Plate TV., we 
 have an example in the representation of three papyrus plants and three lotus flowers, with two buds, 
 in the hand of a king as an offering to the gods. The arrangement is symmetrical and graceful, and 
 
 23 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 we here see that the Egyptians, in thus conventionally rendering the lotus and papyrus, instiactively 
 obeyed the law which we find everywhere in the leaves of plants, viz. the radiation of the leaves, and 
 all veins on the leaves, in graceful curves from the parent stem ; and not only do they follow this law 
 in the drawing of the individual flower, but also in the grouping of several flowers together, as may 
 be seen, not only in No. 4, but also in their representation of plants growing in the desert. Nos. 16 
 and 18 of the same plate, and in No. 13. In Nos. 9 and 10 of Plate V. they learned the same 
 lesson from the feather, another type of ornament (11 and 12, Plate V.); the same instinct is again at 
 work at Nos. 4 and 5, where the type is one of the many forms of palm-trees so common in the country. 
 
 The third kind of Egyptian ornament, viz. that which is simply decorative, or which appears so to 
 our eyes, but which had doubtless its own laws and reasons for its application, although they are not 
 so apparent to us. Plates VIII., IX., X., XI., are devoted to this class of ornament, and are from 
 paintings on tombs, dresses, utensils, and sarcophagi. They are all distinguished by graceful symmetry 
 and perfect distribution. The variety that can be produced by the few simple types we have referred 
 to is very remarkable. 
 
 On Plate IX. are patterns of ceilings, and appear to be reproductions of woven patterns. Side by 
 side with the conventional rendering of actual things, the first attempts of every people to produce 
 works of ornament take this direction. The early necessity of plaiting together straw or bark of trees, 
 for the formation of articles of clothing, the covering of their rude dwelling, or the ground on which 
 they reposed, induced the employment at first of straws and bark of different natural colours, to be 
 afterwards replaced by artificial dyes, which gave the first idea, not only of ornament, but of geome- 
 trical arrangement. Nos. 1-^, Plate IX., are from Egyptian paintings, representing mats whereon the 
 king stands ; whilst. Nos. 6 and 7 are from the ceilings of tombs, which evidently represent tents 
 covered by mats. Nos. 9, 10, 12, show how readily the meander or G-reek fret was produced by the 
 same means. The universality of this ornament in every style of architecture, and to be found in some 
 shape or other amongst the first attempts of ornament of every savage tribe, is an additional proof of 
 their having had a similar origin. 
 
 The formation of patterns by the equal division of similar lines, as by weaving, would give to a 
 rising people the first notions of symmetry, arrangement, disposition, and the distribution of masses. 
 The Egyptians, in their decoration of large surfaces, never appear to have gone beyond a geometrical 
 arrangement. Flowing lines are very rare, comparatively, and never the motive of the composition, 
 though the germ of even this mode of decoration, the volute form, exists in their rope ornament. 
 (Nos. 10, 13-16, 18—24, on Plate X., and 1, 2, 4, 7, Plate XI.) Here the several coils of rope are 
 subjected to a geometrical arrangement ; but the unrolling of this cord gives the very form which is 
 the source of so much beauty in many subsequent styles. We venture, therefore, to claim for the 
 Egyptian style, that though the oldest, it is, in all that is requisite to constitute a true style of art, 
 the most perfect. The language in which it reveals itself to us may seem foreign, peculiar, formal, 
 and rigid ; but the ideas and the teachings it conveys to us are of the soundest. As we proceed with 
 other styles, we shall see that they approach perfection only so far as they followed, in common with 
 the Egyptians, the true principles to be observed in every flower that grows. Like these favourites of 
 Nature, every ornament should have its perfume; i.e. the reason of its application. It should 
 endeavour to rival the grace of construction, the harmony of its varied forms, and due proportion and 
 subordination of one part to the other found in the model. When we find any of these characteristics 
 wanting in a work of ornament, we may be sure that it belongs to a borrowed style, where the spirit 
 which animated the original work has been lost in the copy. 
 
 The architecture of the Egyptians is thoroughly polychromatic, — they painted everything ; therefore 
 we have much to learn from them on this head. They dealt in flat tints, and used neither shade 
 24 
 
 nor 
 
EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 shadow, yet found no difficulty in poetically conveying to the mind the identity of the object they 
 desired to represent. They used colour as they did form, conventionally. Compare the representation 
 of the lotus (No. 3, Plate IV.) with the natural flower (No. 1); how charmingly are the characteristics 
 of the natural flower reproduced in the representations I See how the outer leaves are distinguished 
 by a darker green, and the inner protected leaves by a lighter green ; whilst the purple and yellow 
 tones of the inner flower are represented by red leaves floating in a field of yellow, which most 
 completely recalls the yellow glow of the original. We have here Art added to Nature, and derive 
 an additional pleasure in the perception of the mental effort which has produced it. 
 
 The colours used by the Egyptians were principally red, blue, and yellow, with black and white 
 to define and give distinctiveness to the various colours ; with green used generally, though not 
 universally, as a local colour, such as the green leaves of the lotus. These were, however, 
 indifferently coloured green or blue; blue in the more ancient times, and green during the Ptolemaic 
 period; at which time, also, were added both purple and brown, but with diminished effect. The red 
 also, which is found on the tombs or mummy-cases of the Greek or Roman period, is lower in tone 
 than that of the ancient times ; and it appears to be a universal rule that, in all archaic periods of 
 art, the primary colours, blue, red, and yellow, are the prevailing colours, and these used most 
 harmoniously and successfully. Whilst in periods when art is practised traditionally, and . not 
 instinctively, there is a tendency to employ the secondary colours and hues, and shades of every 
 variety, though rarely with equal success. We shall have many opportunities of pointing this out in 
 subsequent chapters. 
 
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Chaptek III. Plates 12, 13, 14, 
 
 ASSYRIAN AND PERSIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 1. Sculptured Pavement, Kouyunjik. 6-11. Painted Ornaments from Nimroud. 
 
 2-4. Painted Ornaments from Nimroud. 12-14. Sacred Trees from Nimroud. 
 
 5. Sculptured Pavement, Kouyunjik. 
 
 The whole of the ornaments on this Plate are taken from Mr. Layard’s great work, The Monvments of Nineveh. Nos. 2, 3, 
 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, are coloured as published in his work. Nos. 1, 5, and the three Sacred Trees, Nos. 12, 13, 14, are in relief, 
 and only in outline. We have treated them here as painted ornaments, supplying the colours in accordance with the prin- 
 ciples indicated by those above, of which the colours are known. 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 1-4. Enamelled Bricks from Khorsabad. — Flandin & Coste. 
 
 5. Ornament on King’s Dress, from Khorsabad. — F. & C. 
 
 6, 7. Ornaments on a Bronze Shield, Ditto. F. & 0. 
 
 8, 9. Ornaments on a King’s Dress, Ditto. F. & C. 
 
 10, 11. Ornaments from a Bronze Vessel, N imr oud.— 
 
 Layard. 
 
 12. Ornament on a King’s Dress, from Khorsabad. — 
 Flandin & Coste. 
 
 13. Enamelled Brick, from Khorsabad. F. & C. 
 
 14. Ornament on a Battering Bam, Khorsabad. — F. & C. 
 
 15. Ornament from a Bronze Vessel, Nimroud. — Layard. 
 
 1 6-21. Enamelled Bricks, from Khorsabad. — Flandin& Coste. 
 
 22. Enamelled Brick, from Nimroud. — Layard. 
 
 23. Ditto, from Bashikhah. — Layard. 
 
 24. Ditto, from Khorsabad. — Flandin & Coste. 
 
 The ornaments Nos. 5, 8, 9, 12, are very common on the royal robes, and represent embroidery. We have restored the 
 colouring in a way which we consider best adapted for developing the various patterns. The remainder of the ornaments on 
 this Plate are coloured as they have been published by Mr. Layaid and Messrs. Flandin and Coste. 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 1. Feathered Ornament in the Curvetto of the Cornice, 
 
 Palace No. 8, Persepolis. — Flandin & Coste. 
 
 2. Base of Column from Ruin No. 13, Persepolis. — F. & C. 
 
 4. Ornament on the Side of the Staircase of Palace No. 2, 
 
 Persepolis. — F. & C. 
 
 5. Base of Column of Colonnade No. 2, Persepolis. — F. & C. 
 
 6. Base of Column, Palace No. 2, Persepolis. F. & C. 
 
 7. Base of Column, Portico No. 1, Persepohs. F. & C. 
 
 8. Base of Column at Istakhr. F. & C. 
 
 9-12. From Sassanian Capitals, Bi Sutoun. F. & C. 
 
 13-15. From Sassanian Capitals, at Ispahan. — Flandin & 
 
 Coste. 
 
 16. From a Sassanian Moulding, Bi Sutoun. F. & C. 
 
 17. Ornament from Tak I Bostan. F. & C. 
 
 18, 19. Sassanian Ornaments from Ispahan. F. & C. 
 
 20. Archivolt from Tak I Bostan. F. & C. 
 
 21. Upper part of Pilaster, Tak I Bostan. F. & C. 
 
 22. Sassanian Capital, Ispahan. F. & C. 
 
 23. Pilaster, Tak I Bostan. F. & C. 
 
 24. Capital of Pilaster, Tak I Bostan. F. & C. 
 
 25. Sassanian Capital, Ispahan. F. & C. 
 
 27 
 
ASSYKIAN AND PERSIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 Eich as has been the harvest gathered by Mods. Botta and Mr. Layard from the rnins of Assyrian Palaces, 
 the monuments which they have made known to us do not appear to carry us back to any remote period 
 of Assyrian Art. Like the monuments of Egypt, those hitherto discovered belong to a period of decline, 
 and of a decline much farther removed from a culminating point of perfection. The Assyrian must have 
 
 either been a borrowed style, or the ‘ 
 remains of a more perfect form of art 
 have yet to be discovered. We are 
 strongly inclined to believe that the 
 Assyrian is not an original style, but 
 was borrowed from the Egyptian, 
 modified by the difference of the reli- 
 gion and habits of the Assyrian people. 
 
 On comparing the bas-reliefs of 
 Nineveh with those of Egypt we can- 
 not but be struck with the many points 
 of resemblance in the two styles; not 
 only is the same mode of representa- 
 tion adopted, but the objects repre- 
 sented are oftentimes so similar, that 
 it is difficult to believe that the same 
 style could have been arrived at by two 
 people independently of each other. 
 
 The mode of representing a river, a 
 tree, a besieged city, a group of prison- 
 ers, a battle, a king in his chariot, are 
 almost identical, — the differences which 
 exist are only those which would result 
 from the representation of the habits of 
 two different people ; the art appears to 
 us to be the same. Assyrian sculpture 
 seems to be a development of the 
 Egyptian, but, instead of being carried 
 forward, descending in the scale of 
 perfection, bearing the same relation to 
 the Egyptian as the Eoman does to the 
 Greek. Egyptian sculpture gradually 
 declined from the time of the Pharaohs to that of the Greeks and Eomans ; the forms, which were 
 at first flowing and graceful, became coarse and abrupt ; the swelling of the limbs, which was at first 
 28 ' 
 
ASSYRIAIT AND PEESIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 ratlier indicated than expressed, became at last exaggerated; the conventional was abandoned for an 
 imperfect attempt at the natural. In Assyrian sculpture this attempt was carried still farther, and 
 while the general arrangement of the subject and the ^ose of the single figure were still conventional, 
 an attempt was made to express the muscles of the limbs and the rotundity of the flesh; in all art 
 this is a symptom of decline. Nature should be idealised not copied. Many modem statues differ in 
 the same way from the Venus de Milo, as do the bas-reliefs of the Ptolemies from those of the 
 Pharaohs. 
 
 Assyrian Ornament, we think, presents also the same aspect of a borrowed style and one in a state 
 of decline. It is tme that, as yet, we are but imperfectly acquainted with it; the portions of the 
 Palaces, which would contain the most ornament, the upper portions of the walls and the ceilings, 
 having been, from the nature of the construction of Assyrian edifices, destroyed. There can be little 
 doubt, however, that there was as much ornament employed in the Assyrian monuments as in the 
 Egyptian : in both styles there is a total absence of plain surfaces on the walls, which are either 
 covered with subjects or with writing, and in situations where these 
 would have been inapplicable, pure ornament must have been employed 
 to sustain the general effect. What we possess is gathered from the 
 dresses on the figures of the bas-reliefs, some few fragments of painted 
 bricks, some objects of bronze, and the representations of the sacred 
 trees in the bas-reliefs. As yet we have had no remains of their con- 
 structive ornament, the columns and other means of support, which 
 would have been so decorated, being everywhere destroyed; the con- 
 structive ornaments which we have given in Plate XIV., from Persepolis, 
 being evidently of a much later date, and subject to other influences, 
 would be very unsafe guides in any attempt to restore the constructive 
 ornament of the Assyrian Palaces. 
 
 Assyrian ornament, though not based on the same types as the 
 Egyptian, is represented in the same way. In both styles the orna- 
 ments in relief, as well as those painted, are in the nature of diagrams. 
 
 There is but little surface-modelling, which was the peculiar invention 
 of the Grreeks, who retained it within its true limits, but the Eomans 
 caiTied it to great excess, till at last all breadth of effect was destroyed. 
 
 The Byzantines returned again to moderate relief, the Arabs reduced 
 the relief still farther, while with the Moors a modelled surface became 
 extremely rare. In the other direction, the Romanesque is distinguished 
 in the same way from the Early -Grothic, wMch is itself much broader Assyrian, 
 
 in effect than the later Grothic, where the surface at last became so laboured that all repose was 
 destroyed. 
 
 With the exception of the pine-apple on the sacred trees, Plate XII., and in the painted ornaments, 
 and a species of lotus. Nos. 4 and 5, tlie ornaments do not appear to be formed on any natural type, 
 which still farther strengthens the idea that the Assyrian is not an original style. The natural laws 
 of radiation and tangential curvature, which we find in Egyptian ornament, are equally observed 
 here, but much less truly, — rather, as it were, traditionally than instinctively. Nature is not followed 
 so closely as by the Egyptians, nor so exquisitely conventionalised as by the Greeks. Nos. 2 and 3, 
 Plate XIII., are generally supposed to be the types from which the Greeks derived some of their 
 painted ornaments, but how inferior they are to the Greek in purity of form and in the distribution 
 of the masses ! 
 
 I 29 
 
ASSYRIAN AND PERSIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 The colours in use by the Assyrians appear to have been blue, red, white, and black, on their 
 painted ornaments; blue, red, and gold, on their sculptured ornaments; and green, orange, buff, white 
 and black, on their enamelled bricks. 
 
 The ornaments of Persepolis, represented on Plate XIV., appear to be modifications of Roman 
 details. Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, are from bases of fluted columns, which evidently betray a Roman influ- 
 ence. The ornaments from Tak I Bostan, — 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, — are all constructed on the same 
 principle as Roman ornament, presenting only a similar modification of the modelled surface, such as 
 we find in Byzantine ornament, and which they resemble in a most remarkable manner. 
 
 The ornaments, 12 and 16, from Sassanian capitals, Byzantine in their general outline, at Bi 
 Sutoun, contain the germs of all the ornamentation of the Arabs and Moors. It is the earliest example 
 we meet with of lozenge-shaped diapers. The Egyptians and the Assyrians appear to have covered 
 large spaces with patterns formed by geometrical arrangement of lines; but this is the first instance 
 of the repetition of curved lines forming a general pattern enclosing a secondary form. By the prin- 
 ciple contained in No. 16 would be generated all those exquisite forms of diaper which covered the 
 domes of the mosques of Cairo and the walls of the Alhambra. 
 
 Sassanian Capital from Bi Siitoun.— Flandin & Costs. 
 
 30 
 

ASSYRISCH &PERSISCH. NINEVEH & PER SIA N° 2 assyriens et perses 
 
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Chapter IV. 
 
 Plates 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 . 
 
 GREEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 A collection of the various forms of the Greek Fret from Vases and Pavements. 
 
 PLATE XVI.-XXI. 
 
 Ornaments from Greek and Etrascan Vases in the British Museum and the Louvre. 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 1 and 4. 
 3, 5-11. 
 12-17. 
 IS. 
 
 19-21, 24-26. 
 22 and 27. 
 29. 
 
 30-33. 
 
 From a Sarcophagus, in Sicily. — Hittorpf. 
 
 From the Propylsea, Athens. — Hittorpf. 
 
 From the Coffers of the Ceiling of the Propylaea. — Penrose. 
 
 String-course oyer tlie Panathenaic Frieze. Pnblislled by Mr, Penrose in gold only, we have supplied the blue 
 and red. 
 
 Painted Ornaments. — Hittorpf. 
 
 Ornaments in Terra Cotta. 
 
 Painted Ornament from the Cymatium of theraking Cornice of the Parthenon. — L. Vulliamy, the blue 
 and red supplied. 
 
 Various Frets, the traces of which exist on all the Temples at Athens. The colours supplied. 
 
 We have seen that Egyptian Ornament was derived direct from natural inspiration, that it was 
 founded on a few types, and that it remained unchanged during the whole course of Egyptian 
 civilization, except in the more or less perfection of the execution, the more ancient monuments being 
 the most perfect. We have further expressed our belief that the Assyrian was a borrowed style, 
 possessing none of the characteristics of original inspiration, but rather appearing to have been 
 suggested by the Art of Egypt, already in its decline, which decline was carried still farther. Greek 
 Art, on the contrary, though borrowed partly from the Egyptian and partly from the Assyrian, was the 
 development of an old idea in a new direction; and, unrestrained by religious laws, as would appear 
 
 31 
 
GEEEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 to have been both the Assyrian and the Egyptian, Greek Art rose rapidly to a high state of perfection, 
 from which it was itself able to give forth the elements of future greatness to other styles. It carried 
 
 Upper part ofa Stole. L. Vctlliamy. The upperpart ofa'Stele. L. Vulliamt. 
 
 the perfection of pure form to a point which has never since been reached; and from the very 
 abundant remains we have of Greek ornament, we must believe the presence of refined taste was 
 32 
 
GREEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 almost universal, and that the land was overflowing with artists, whose hands and minds were so 
 trained as to enable them to execute these beautiful ornaments with unerring truth, 
 
 Greek ornament was wanting, however, in one of the great charms which should always accompany 
 ornament, — viz. Symbolism, It was meaningless, purely decorative, never representative, and can 
 hardly be said to be constructive; for the various members of a Greek monument rather present 
 surfaces exquisitely designed to receive ornament, which they did, at flrst, painted, and in later times 
 both carved and painted. The ornament was no part of the construction, as with the Egyptian : it 
 could be removed, and the structure remained unchanged. On the Corinthian capital the ornament is 
 applied, not constructed : it is not so on the Egyptian capital ; there we feel the whole capital is the 
 ornament, — to remove any portion of it would destroy it. 
 
 However much we admire the extreme and almost divine perfection of the Greek monumental 
 sculpture, in its application the Greeks frequently went beyond the legitimate bounds of ornament. 
 The frieze of the Parthenon was placed so far from the eye that it became a diagram ; the beauties 
 which so astonish us when seen near the eye could only have been valuable so far as they evidenced 
 the artist-worship which cared not that the eye saw the perfection of the work if conscio.us that it was 
 to be found there : but we are bound to consider this an abuse of means, and that the Greeks were 
 in this respect inferior to the Egyptians, whose system of incavo relievo for monumental sculpture 
 appears to us the more perfect. 
 
 The examples of representative ornament are very few, with the exception of the wave ornament 
 and the fret used to distinguish water from land in their pictures, and some conventional renderings 
 of trees, as at No. 12, Plate XXI., we have little that can deserve this appellation, but of decorative 
 ornament the Greek and Etruscan vases supply us with abundant materials; and as the painted 
 ornaments of the Temples, which have as yet been discovered in no way differ from them, we have 
 little doubt that we are acquainted with Greek ornament in all its phases. Like the Egyptian 
 the types are few, but the conventional rendering is much further removed from the types. In 
 the well - known honeysuckle ornament it is difficult to recognise any attempt at imitation, but 
 rather an appreciation of the principle on which the flower gr^ws ; and, indeed, on examining 
 the paintings on the vases, we are rather tempted to believe that the various forms of the leaves 
 of a Greek flower have been generated by the brush of the painter, 
 according as the hand is turned upwards or downwards in the 
 formation of the leaf would the character be given, and it is more 
 likely that the slight resemblance to the honeysuckle may have been 
 an after recognition than that the natural flower should have ever 
 served as the model. In Plate XCIX. will be found a representation 
 of the honeysuckle : and how faint indeed is the resemblance. What is evident is, that the Greeks 
 in their ornament were close observers of nature, and although they did not copy, or attempt to 
 imit^e, they worked on the same principles. The three great laws which we find everywhere in 
 nature — radiation from the parent stem, proportionate distribution of the areas, and the tangential 
 curvature of the lines — are always obeyed, and it is the unerring perfection with which they are, 
 in the most humble works as in the highest, which excites our astonishment, and which is only 
 fully realised on attempting to reproduce Greek ornament, so rarely done with success. A very 
 characteristic feature of Greek ornament, continued by the Romans, but abandoned during the 
 Byzantine period, is, that the various parts of a scroll grow out of each other in a continuous Hne, 
 as the ornament from the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. 
 
 In the Byzantine, the Arabian Moresque, and Early English styles, the flowers flow off on 
 either side from a continuous line. We have here an instance how slight a change in any 
 
 K 33 
 
GREEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 generally received principle is sufficient to generate an entirely new order of forms and ideas. 
 Koman ornament is constantly struggling against this apparently fixed law. At the head of the 
 Eoman chapter is a fine example, which may be taken as a type of all other Roman ornament, 
 which scarcely ever got beyond the arrangement of a volute springing from a stem fitting into 
 
 From the Choragic Monument of Lysicaates, Athens. L. Vuluamt. 
 
 another stem, encircling a flower. The change which took place during the Byzantine period in 
 getting rid of this fixed law was as important in its results to the development of ornament, 
 as was the substitution of the arch by the Eomans for the straight architrave, or the introduction 
 of the pointed arch in Gothic architecture. These changes have the same influence in the 
 development of a new style of ornament as the sudden discovery of a general law in science, 
 or the lucky patented idea which in any work .of industry suddenly lets loose thousands of minds 
 to examine and improve upon the first crude thought. 
 
 Plate XXII. is devoted to the remains of coloured ornaments on the Greek monuments. It will 
 be seen that there is no difference whatever in the character of the drawing to those found on the 
 vases. It is now almost universally recognised, that the white marble temples of the Greeks were 
 entirely covered with painted ornament. Whatever doubts may exist as to the more or less colouring 
 of the sculpture, there can be none as. to the ornaments of the mouldings. The traces of colour exist 
 everywhere so strongly, that in taking casts of the mouldings the traces of the pattern are strongly 
 marked on the plaster cast. What the particular colours were, however, is not so certain. Different 
 authorities give them differently : where one will see green, another finds blue, — or imagines gold 
 where another sees brown. We may be quite certain, however, of one point, — all these ornaments on 
 the mouldings were so high from the ground, and so small in proportion to the distance from which 
 they were seen, that they must have been coloured in a manner to render them distinct and to bring 
 out the pattern. It is with this consideration that we have ventured to supply the colour to 18, 29 
 31, 32, 33, which have hitherto been published only as gold or brown ornaments on the white 
 marble. 
 
 Plate XV. In this Plate are given a collection of the different varieties of the Greek fret, from 
 the simple generating form No. 3, to the more complicated meander No. 13. It will be seen, that 
 the variety of arrangement of form that can be produced by the interlacing of lines at right angles in this 
 form is very limited. We have, first, the simple fret. No. 1, running in one direction with a single line ; 
 
 34 
 
GEEEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 the double fret, No. 11, with the second line interlacing with the first; all the others are formed by 
 placing these frets one under the other, running in different directions, as at No. 17 ; back to back, 
 as at Nos. 18 and 19; or enclosing squares, as at No. 20. All the other kinds are imperfect frets, — 
 that is, not forming a continuous meander. The raking fret. No. 2, is the parent of all the other forms 
 of interlacing ornament in styles which succeeded the Greek. From this was first derived the Arabian 
 fret, which in its turn gave birth to that infinite variety of interlaced ornaments formed by the 
 intersection of equidistant diagonal lines, which the Moors carried to such perfection in the 
 Alhambra. 
 
 Greek. 
 
 Arabian. 
 
 Arabian. Moresque. 
 
 Celtic. 
 
 The knotted work of the Celts differs from the Moresque interlaced patterns only in adding 
 curved terminations to the diagonal intersecting lines. The leading idea 
 once obtained, it gave birth to an immense variety of new forms. 
 
 The knotted rope ornament of the Greeks may also have had some 
 influence in the formation both of these and the Arabian and Moresque 
 interlaced ornaments. 
 
 The Chinese frets are less perfect than any of these. They are 
 formed, like the Greek, by the intersection of perpendicular with horizontal lines, but they have 
 not the same regularity, and the meander is more often elongated in the horizontal direction. 
 
 
 They are also most frequently used fragmentally,— that is, there is a repetition of one fret after 
 the other, or one below the other, without forming a continuous meander. 
 
 The Mexican ornaments and frets, of which we here give some illustrations from Mexican pottery 
 in the British Museum, have a remarkable affinity with the &reek fret ; and 
 in Mr. Catherwood’s illustra- 
 tions of the architecture of 
 Yucatan we have several va- 
 rieties of the Greek fret : one 
 especially is thoroughly Greek. 
 
 But they are, in general, fragmentary, like the Chinese: there is also to be 
 found at Yucatan a fret with a diagonal line, which is peculiar. 
 
 The ornaments on Plate XVI. have been selected to show the various forms 
 of conventional leafage to be found on the Greek vases. They are all very far removed from any natural 
 
 35 
 
 E/3 E\3 
 
 From Yucatan. 
 
GREEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 type^ and are rather constructed on the general principles which reign in all plants, than attempt to 
 represent any particular one. The ornament No. 2 is the nearest approach to the honeysuckle, — that is, 
 the leaves have the peculiar turn upwards of that flower, but it can hardly be called an attempt to 
 represent it. Several of the ornaments on Plate XVII. are much nearer to Nature : the laurel, the ivy, 
 and vine will be readily distinguished. Plates XVIII., XIX., XX., and XXI., present further varieties 
 from borders, necks, and lips of vases in the British Museum and the Louvre. Being produced by one 
 or two colours, they all depend for their effect on pure form : they have 
 mostly this peculiarity, that the groups of leaves or flowers all spring from 
 a curved stem, with a volute at either end, and all the lines grow out 
 of this parent stem in tangential curves. The individual leaves all radiate from the centre 
 of the group of leaves, each leaf diminishing in exquisite proportion as it approaches the 
 springing of the group. 
 
 When we consider that each leaf was done with a single stroke of the brush, and that from the 
 differences which appear we may be sure no mechanical aids were employed, we must be astonished 
 at the high state of the Arts which must have existed for artists to be found in such numbers able 
 to execute with unerring truth what it is almost beyond the skill of modern times even to copy with 
 the same happy result. 
 
 36 
 
GREEK ORNAMENT. 
 
 ORNAMENTS FROM MEXICAN POTTERY IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
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 37 
 
GRIECIHSCH 
 
 GREEK N°I. 
 
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Chapter V. — Plates 23, 24, 25. 
 
 POMPEIAN OKNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE X X TTT. 
 
 Collection of Borders from different Houses in Pompeii.— Z ahn^s Pompeii. 
 
 PLATE XXIV. 
 
 V arious Pilasters and Friezes from different Houses in Pompeii. — Z ahn’s Pompeii. 
 
 PLATE XXV. 
 
 Collection of Mosaics from Pompeii and the Museum at Naples. — From the Author’s Sketches. 
 
 The ornament of Pompeii has been so ably and so fully illustrated in Zahn’s magnificent 
 work, that we have thought it only necessary for this series to borrow from him the materials 
 for two plates, to illustrate the two distinct styles of ornament which prevail in the decorations 
 of the edifices of Pompeii. The first (Plate XXIII.) are evidently of Grreek origin, composed of 
 conventional ornaments in fiat tints, either painted dark on a light ground, or light on a dark 
 ground, but without shade or any attempt at relief; the second (Plate XXPV.) are more Roman 
 in character, based upon the acanthus scroll, and interwoven "with ornament in direct imitation of 
 Nature. 
 
 We refer the reader to Zahn’s work* for a full appreciation of the system of ornamentation 
 in use at Pompeii. An examination of this work will show that this system was carried to the 
 very limit of caprice, and that almost any theory of colouring and decoration could be supported 
 by authority from Pompeii. 
 
 The general arrangement of the decoration on the walls of the interior of a Pompeian house 
 
 * Les plus Beaux Ornemens et les Tableaux let plus Remarquables de Pompei, d’Herculanum, et de Stabiee, (to., par GruUlaunie Zahn : 
 Berlin, 1828. 
 
 39 
 
POMPEIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 consists of a dado, about one-sixtb of the height of the wall, upon which stand broad pilasters, 
 half the width of the dado, dividing the wall into three or more panels. The pilasters are 
 united by a frieze of varjring width, about one - fourth of the height of the wall from the top. 
 The upper space is frequently white, and it is always sub- 
 jected to a much less severe treatment than the parts below, 
 generally representing the open air, and upon the ground are 
 painted those fantastic architectural buildings which excited 
 the ire of Vitruvius. In the best examples there is a gra- 
 dation of colour from the ceiling downwards, ending with 
 black in the dado, but this is very far from being a fixed 
 law. We select from the coloured illustrations in Zahn’s 
 work several varieties which will show how little this was 
 
 the result of system: — Diagram ofthe side ofa Pompeian House. 
 
 Dado. 
 
 Pilasters. 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Green 
 
 Bed 
 
 Bed 
 
 Black 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Black 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Blue 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Blue 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Black 
 
 Green 
 
 Black 
 
 Grey 
 
 Black 
 
 Black 
 
 Pands. 
 
 Freize. 
 
 Bed 
 
 Black 
 
 Black 
 
 Purple 
 
 Black 
 
 Red 
 
 Green 
 
 Green 
 
 Green 
 
 Green 
 
 Blue 
 
 Blue 
 
 Yellow and Bed 
 
 White 
 
 (alternately) 
 Yellow and Bed 
 
 Black 
 
 (alternately) 
 
 Green and Red 
 
 White 
 
 (alternately) 
 
 
 The most effective arrangement appears to be black dado, red pilasters and frieze, with 
 yellow, blue, or white panels, the upper part above the frieze being in white, with coloured 
 decorations upon it. The best arrangement of colours for the ornaments on the ground, appears 
 to be, on the black grounds, green and blue in masses, red sparingly, and yellow still more so. 
 On the blue grounds, white in thin lines, and yellow in masses. On the red grounds, green, 
 white, and blue in thin lines; the yellow on red is not effective unless heightened with shade. 
 
 Almost every variety of shade and tone of colour may be found at Pompeii. Blue, red, and 
 yellow are used, not only in small quantities in the ornaments, but also in large masses as 
 grounds for the panels and pilasters. The yellow of Pompeii, however, nearly approaches orange, 
 and the red is strongly tinged with blue. This neutral character of the colours enables them 
 to be so violently juxtaposed without discord,— a result still further assisted by the secondary and 
 tertiary colours by which they are surrounded. 
 
 The whole style, however, of the decoration is so capricious that it is beyond the range of 
 true art, and strict criticism cannot be applied to it. It generally pleases, but, if not absolutely 
 vulgar, it oftentimes approaches vulgarity. It owes its greatest charm to the light, sketchy, 
 free-hand manner of its execution, which it Is quite impossible to render in any drawing ; and 
 40 
 
POMPEIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 whicl\ kas never been accomplished in any restoration of the style. The reason is obvious : the 
 artists of Pompeii invented as they drew; every touch of their brush had an intention which no 
 copyist can seize. 
 
 Mr. Digby Wyatt’s restoration of a Pompeian house in the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, admirable 
 and faithful as it is in all other respects, necessarily failed in this; no one could possibly have 
 brought greater knowledge, experience, and zeal to bear upon the realisation of that accuracy in 
 the decorations which was so much desired than did Signor Abbate. The want of his perfect 
 success consisted in the fact, that his paintings were at the same time too well executed and not 
 sufficiently individual. 
 
 The ornaments which are given on Plate XXIII., and which have evidently a Greek character, 
 are generally borders on the panels, and are executed with stencils. They have a thinness of 
 character compared with Greek models, which show a marked inferiority ; we no longer find 
 perfect radiation of lines from the parent stem, nor perfect distribution of masses and proportional 
 areas. Their charm lies in an agreeable contrast of colour, which is still further heightened when 
 surrounded with other colours in situ. 
 
 The ornaments from pilasters and friezes on Plate XXIV., after tlie Eoman type, are shaded 
 to give rotundity, but not sufficiently so to detach them from the ground. In this the Pompeian 
 artists showed a judgment in not exceeding that limit of the treatment of ornament in the round, 
 altogether lost sight of in subsequent times. We have here the acanthus - leaf scroll forming the 
 groundwork, on which are engrafted representations of leaves and flowers interlaced with animals, 
 precisely similar to the remains found in the Eoman baths, and which, in the time of Eaphael, 
 became the foundation of Italian ornament. 
 
 In Plate XXV. we have gathered together all the forms of mosaic pavement, which was such 
 a feature in every home of the Eomans, wherever their dominion extended. In the attempt at 
 relief shown in several of the examples, we have evidence that their taste was no longer so refined 
 as that of their Greek teachers. The borders formed by a repetition of hexagons at the top and 
 the sides of the page, are the types from which we may directly trace all that immense variety 
 of Byzantine, Arabian, and Moresque mosaics. 
 
 4 
 
 M 
 
 41 
 
POMPEIEHS 
 
 PL XX IIl 
 
 


I^OMPE-IISCH 
 
 POMPEIAN 3 
 
 -Mi 
 
Fragment in White Marble from the Mattel Palace, Rome.—L. Vulliamy.' 
 
 Chapter VI. — Plates 26, 27. 
 
 ROMAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. 
 
 1, 2. Fragments from the Forum of Trajan, Rome. 1 4. Pilaster from the Villa Medici, Rome. 
 
 3. Pilasters from the Villa Medici, Rome. ] 5, 6. Fragments from the Villa Medici, Rome. 
 
 Nos. 1-5 are from Casts in the Crystal Palace ; No. 6 from a Cast at South Kensington Museum. 
 
 PLATE XXVII. 
 
 1-3. Fragments of the Frieze of the Roman Temple at 
 Brescia. 
 
 4. Fragment of the Soffits of the Architraves of the Roman 
 Temple at Brescia. 
 
 Nos. 1-4 from the Museo Bresciano ;f 
 
 6. Fragment of the Soffits of the Architraves of the Roman 
 Temple at Brescia. 
 
 6. From the Frieze of the Arch of the Goldsmiths, Rome. 
 No. 6 from Taylor and Crest’s Rome. 
 
 Examples of Ornamentul Sculpture in Archilecture, by Lewis Vulliamy, Architect. London, 
 f Masco Brcsciano, itliistrato, Brescia, 1833. 
 
 43 
 
ROMAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 The real greatness of tlie Romans is rather to be seen in their palaces, baths, theatres, aqueducts, 
 and other works of public utility, than in their temple architecture, which being the expression of a 
 religion borrowed from tlie Greeks, and in which probably they had little faith, exhibits a corre- 
 sponding want of earnestness and art-worship. 
 
 In the Greek temple it is everywhere apparent that the struggle was to arrive at a perfection 
 worthy of the gods. In the Roman temple the aim was self-glorification. From the base of the 
 column to the apex of the pediment every part is overloaded with ornament, tending rather to dazzle 
 by quantity, than to excite admiration by the quality of the work. The Greek temples when painted 
 were as ornamented as those of the Romans, but with a very different result. The ornament was so 
 arranged that it threw a coloured bloom over the whole structure, and in no way disturbed the 
 exquisitely designed surfaces which received it. 
 
 The Romans ceased to value the general proportions of the structure and the contours of the 
 moulded surfaces, which were entirely destroyed by the elaborate surface-modelling of the ornaments 
 carved on them; and these ornaments do not grow naturally from the surface, but are applied 
 on it. The acanthus leaves under the modillions, and those round the bell of the Corinthian 
 capitals, are placed one before the other most unartistically. They are not even bound together 
 by the necking at the top of the shaft, but rest upon it. Unlike in this the Egyptian capital, 
 where the stems of the flowers round the bell are continued through the necking, and at tlie 
 same time represent a beauty and express a truth. 
 
 The fatal facilities which the Roman system of decoration gives for manufacturing ornament, 
 by applying acanthus leaves to any form and in any direction, is the chief cause of the invasion 
 of this ornament into most modern works. It requires so little thought, and is so completely a 
 manufacture, that it has encouraged architects in an indolent neglect of one of their especial 
 provinces, and the interior decorations of buildings have fallen into hands most unfitted to supply 
 their place. 
 
 In the use of the acanthus leaf the Romans showed but little art. They received it from the 
 Greeks beautifully conventionalised ; they went much nearer to the general outline, but exaggerated 
 the surface-decoration. The Greeks confined themselves to expressing the principle of the foliation 
 of the leaf, and bestowed all their care in, the delicate undulations of its surface. 
 
 The ornament engraved at the head of the chapter is typical of all Roman ornament, which 
 consists universally of a scroll growing out of another scroll, encircling a flower or group of leaves. 
 This example, however, is constructed on Greek principles, but is wanting in Greek refinement. 
 In Greek ornament the scrolls grow out of each other in the same way, but they are much more 
 delicate at the point of junction. The acanthus leaf is also seen, as it were, in side elevation. 
 The purely Roman method of using the acanthus leaf is seen in the Corinthian capitals, and in the 
 44 
 
ROMAN ORNAJIENT. 
 
 examples on Plites XXVL and XXVII. The leaves are flattened out, and they lay one over the 
 other, as in the cut. 
 
 Fragment of the Frieze of the Temple of the Sun, Colomia Palace, Boroe. — L. Vdlliamy. 
 
 The various capitals which we have engraved from Taylor and Cresy’s work have been placed in 
 juxtaposition, to show how little variety the Eomans were able to produce in following out this application 
 of the acanthus. The only difference which exists is in the proportion of the general form of the mass ; 
 the decline in this proportion from that of Jupiter Stator may be seen readily. How different from the 
 immense variety of Eg3rptian capitals which arose from the modification of the general plan of the 
 capital, even the introduction of the Ionic volute in the Composite order fails to add a beauty, but 
 rather increases the deformity. 
 
 The pilasters from the Villa Medici, Xos. 3 and 4, Plate XXVL, and the fragment. No. 5, are as 
 perfect specimens of Eoman ornament as could be found. As specimens of modelling and drawing 
 they have strong claims to be admired, but as ornamental accessories to the architectural features of 
 a building, they most certainly, from their excessive relief and elaborate surface treatment, are defi- 
 cient in the first principle, viz. adaptation to the purpose they have to fill. 
 
 The amount of design that can be obtained by working out this principle of leaf within leaf and 
 leaf over leaf is very limited; and it was not till this principle of one leaf growing out of another in a 
 continuous line was abandoned for the adoption of a continuous stem throwing off ornaments on 
 either side, ^hat pure conventionrd ornament received any development. The earliest examples of the 
 change are found in St. Sophia at Constantinople ; and we introduce here an example from St. Denis, 
 where although the swelling at the stem 
 and the turned back leaf at the junction of 
 stem and stem have entirely disappeared, 
 the continuous stem is not yet fully deve- 
 loped, as it appears in the narrow border 
 top and bottom. This principle became 
 very common in the illuminated MSS. of 
 the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth cen- 
 turies, and is the foundation of Early 
 English foliage. 
 
 The fragments on Plate XXVII., from 
 the Museo Bresciano, are more elegant than 
 those from the Villa Medici; the leaves are more sharply accentuated and more conventionally treated. 
 The frieze from the Arch of the Goldsmiths is, on the contrary, defective from the opposite cause. 
 
 N 45 
 
 From the Abbey of St. Deiiis, Paris. 
 
ROMAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 We have not thought it necessary to give in this series any of the painted decorations of the 
 Romans, of which remains exist in the Roman baths. We had no reliable materials at command ; 
 and, further, they are so similar to those at Pompeii, and show rather what to avoid than what to 
 follow, that we have thought it sufficient to introduce the two subjects from the Forum of Trajan, 
 in which figures terminating in scrolls may be said to be the foundation of that prominent feature 
 in their painted decorations. 
 
 Tlie Aciintiua, full si®, from a Photogrraph. 
 
 4G 
 
ROMAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 Arch of Trajan, Ancoua. 
 
 Aroh of Titus, Borne. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 V* 
 
 
 
 
 Temple of Mars Victor, Borne. 
 
 Pantheon, Rome. Portico. 
 
 Pantheon, Rome. 
 
 Interior of Pantheon, Home. Arch ot Septimius Sevcrua, Rome. 
 
 Corinthian and Composite Capitals reduced from Taylor and Crest’s Rome.* 
 
 * The Architectural Antiquities of Rome, by G. L. Taylor and Cresy, Architects. London, 1821. 
 
 47 
 
iUliiAiCI[ii!|iU‘u f .ijin.'' vi r .^ a diljn! i;iL< L| il LU J liiJlljlMIU^ llJ.iiJiiii«J ^4«ii v iik ‘■: -^iimhiai' ^■^takW^Khi ii iiJiiMiM Jt|.llii<|iiiMiUlil ilil 
 

Chapter VII. — Plates 28, 29, 29*, 30. 
 
 BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 1, 2, 3. Stone Sculptured Ornament, Sta. Sofia, Constanti- 
 nople. 6th Century. — Salzenberg, Alt Christliche 
 Baudenkmale, Conatantinopel. 
 
 4, 5. From the Bronze Gates, Sta. Sofia. — Saxzenbeeg, u. a. 
 
 6, 7. Pox-tions of Ivory Diptychs, Beauvais Cathedral; 
 apparently Anglo-Saxon work of the 11th century. 
 — WiLLEMiN, Monuments Frangais inedits. 
 
 8. Portion of Bronze Door, Basilica of the Nativity, Beth- 
 lehem. 3rd or 4th century. — Gailhabaud, L" Ar- 
 chitecture et les Arts qui en dependent. 
 
 9-13. Stone Sculptures, from St. Mark’s, Venice. 11th 
 century. — J. B. W. from Casts at Sydenham. 
 
 14, 15, 16. Portion of a Capital, St. Michael’s Church, 
 Schwabisch Hall. 12th Centuiy. — Heideloff, 
 OrnameniiJc des Mittelalters. 
 
 17. From a Doorway, preserved at Murrhard Monastery 
 
 — Heideloff, u. a. 
 
 18. Composition of Bosses, from St. Sebald, Nuremberg, 
 
 and the Church of Nosson, Saxony. — Heideloff. 
 
 19, 20. Friezes from the Church of St. John, Gmund 
 Swabia. — Heideloff. 
 
 21. Romanesque Wood and Ivory Carving, in the Collec- 
 tion of Heir Leven, Cologne. — Heideloff. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 22. From the principal Bronze Door, 
 
 Monreale, near Palermo.— J. B. W. 
 
 23. From the Bronze Door of the 
 
 Duomo, RaveEo, near Amalfi. — 
 
 J. B. W. 
 
 24. 25. From the Bronze Door of the Duomo, Trani. 12th 
 
 century. — Barras et Ltjynes, Recherches sur les Monu- 
 ments des Normands en Sidle. 
 
 26. Stone Sculpture, from the small Cloister, Huelgas 
 
 Monastery, near Burgos, Spaia 12th century. — J. B. W. 
 
 27. From the Porch of Lucca Cathedral. Circa 1204 a.d. 
 
 — J. B. W. 
 
 28. From St. Denis (Porch), near Paris. 12th century. — 
 
 J. B. W. 
 
 29. From the Cloisters of Sant’ Ambrogia, Milan. — J. B. W. 
 
 30. From the Chapel of Heilsbronn, Bavaria. — Heideloff. 
 
 31. From St. Denis.— J. B. W. 
 
 32. From Eayeux Cathedral. 12th century. — Pugin, An- 
 
 tiquities of Normandy. 
 
 33. From St Denis. — J. B. W. 
 
 34. Bayeux Cathedral. — Pugin, u. a. 
 
 35. From Lincoln Cathedral Porch. Close of 12th cen- 
 
 txxry. — J. B. W. 
 
 36. From the Kilpeck Porch, Herefordshire. 12th century. 
 
 — J. B. W. 
 
 t ilth and 12th cen- 
 turies. 
 
 PLATE XXIX. 
 
 1-6. Mosaics from Sta. Sofia, Constantinople. 6th century. 
 — Salzenberg, Alt Christliche Baudenkmale von 
 Constantinopel. 
 
 7. Msu'ble Pavement, Agios Pantokrator, 'Constantinople. 
 First half of 12th century. — Salzenberg, u. a. 
 
 8, 9. Mai’ble Pavement, Sta. Sofia. 
 
 10, 11. Mosaics, Sta. Sofia. — Salzenberg. 
 
 12-15. From Illuminated Greek MSS., British Museum. — 
 J. B. W. 
 
 16, 17. Borders, from Illuminated Greek MSS. — Champolijon 
 Figeac, Palceographie Universelle. 
 
 18. The centre, from St. Mark’s, Venice. — Digby Wyatt, 
 Mosaics of the Middle Ages. 
 
 O 
 
 49 
 
BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XXIX*. 
 
 19. From a Greek MS., British Museum. — J. B. W. 
 
 The border beneath from Monreale. — Digby Wyatt’s 
 Mosaics. 
 
 20. From the Homilies of Gregory Nazianzen. 12th 
 
 century. — Champollion Figeac, u. a. 
 
 21, 22. From Greek MSS., British Museum. — J. B. W. 
 
 23. From the Acts of the Apostles, Greek MS., Vatican 
 
 Library, Rome.— Digby Wyatt, u. a. 
 
 24. St. Mark’s, Venice. — Digby Wyatt, u. a. 
 
 25. Portion of a Greek Diptych. 10th century. Florence. 
 
 — J. B. W. (The Jieurs-de-lys are believed to be 
 of later workmanship.) 
 
 26. Enamel of the 13th contury (French). — Willemiy, 
 
 Monuments Franqais in^dits. 
 
 27. From an Enamelled Casket (the centre from the 
 
 Statue of Jean, son of St. Louis). — Du Sommerard, 
 Les Arts du Moyen Age. 
 
 28. From the Enamelled Tomb of Jean, son of St. Louis, 
 
 A.D. 1247. — WiT.LEMIN, u. a. 
 
 29. Limoges Enamel, probably of the close of 12th 
 
 century. — Willemin, u. a. 
 
 30. Portion of Mastic Pavement, 12th century. Preserved 
 
 at St. Denis, near Paris. — Willemin. 
 
 1 , 2 . 
 
 3. 
 4, 5. 
 6 . 
 
 7-10. 
 
 11 . 
 
 12 . 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 
 15, 16. 
 
 17. 
 
 18. 
 
 19. 
 
 20 . 
 21 . 
 
 PLATE XXX. 
 
 Mosaics (opus Grecanicum) from Monreale Cathe- 
 dral, near Palermo. Close of 12th century.— 
 J. B. W. 
 
 Mosaics from the Church of Ara Cceli, Rome.— J.B.W. 
 
 Monreale Cathedral. — J. B. W. 
 
 Marble Pavement, St. Mark’s, Venice. — J. B. W. 
 
 From San Lorenzo Fuori, Rome. Close of 12th 
 century. — J. B. W. 
 
 San Lorenzo Fuori, Rome. — J. B. W. 
 
 Ara Cceli, Rome. — J. B. W. 
 
 Marble Pavement, St. Mark’s, Venice. — J. B. W. 
 
 San Lorenzo Fuori, Rome. — Architectural Art in Italy 
 and Spain, hy Waring and MacQuoid. 
 
 Palermo.— Digby Wyatt, Mosaics of the Middle Ages. 
 
 From the Cathedral, Monreale. — J. B. W. 
 
 From Ai’a Cceli, Rome. — J. B. W. 
 
 Marble Pavement, S. M. Maggiore, Rome. — Hessemer, 
 Arahische und alt Italidnische Bau Yerzierungen. 
 
 Marble Pavement, San Vitale, Ravenna. — Hessemer, 
 u. a. 
 
 Marble Pavement, S. M. in Cosmedin, Rome.— Hes- 
 SEMER, 11. a. 
 
 22, 23. 
 
 24. 
 
 25. 
 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 29. 
 
 30. 
 
 31. 
 
 32. 
 
 33-36. 
 
 36-38. 
 
 39. 
 
 40. 
 
 41. 
 
 42. 
 
 Mosaic, St. Mark’s, Venice. — Specimens of the Mosaics 
 of the Middle Ages, Digby Wyatt. 
 
 Baptistery of St. Mark, Venice. — Architectural Art in 
 Italy and Spain, Waring and MacQuoed. 
 
 San Giovanni Laterano, Rome. 
 The Duomo, Civita Castellana. 
 
 From Digby Wyatt’s 
 Mosaics of the Mid- 
 dle Ages. 
 
 Ara Cceli, Rome. — J. B. W. 
 
 San Lorenzo, Rome. ) Architectural Art in Italy and 
 Ara Cceli, Rome. I Spain, Waring and Mac- 
 San Lorenzo, Rome, j Quoid. 
 
 San Lorenzo Fuori, Rome. — J. B. W. 
 
 San Giovanni Laterano, Rome. — Digby Wyatt’s 
 Mosaics of the Middle Ages. 
 
 Monreale Cathedral. — J. B. W. 
 
 Marble Pavement, S. M. Maggiore, Rome. — Hesse- 
 MER, u. a. 
 
 St. Mark’s, Venice. — Mosaics of the Middle Ages, 
 Digby Wyatt. 
 
 From the Baptistery, St. Mark’s, Venice.— J. B. W. 
 From St. Mark’s, Y qtAcq.— A rchitectural Art in Italy 
 and Spain. 
 
 From the Duomo, Monreale. — J. B. W. 
 
 BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 The vagueness with wliich writers on Art have treated the Byzantine and Romanesque styles of 
 Architecture, even to within the last few years, has extended itself also to their concomitant decoration. 
 This vagueness has arisen chiefly from the want of examples to which the writer could refer; nor 
 was it until the publication of Herr Salzenberg’s great work on Sta. Sofia at Constantinople, that 
 we could obtain any complete and definite idea of what constituted pure Byzantine ornament. San 
 Vitale at Ravenna, though thoroughly Byzantine as to its architecture, still afforded us but a very 
 incomplete notion of Byzantine ornamentation: San Marco at Venice represented but a phase of the 
 Byzantine school; and the Cathedral of Monreale, and other examples of the same style in Sicily, 
 served only to show the influence, but hardly to illustrate the true nature, of pure Byzantine Art ; 
 
 50 
 
BYZANTINE OENAMENT. 
 
 fully to understand that, we required what the ravages of time and the whitewash of the Mahom- 
 medan had deprived us of, namely, a Byzantine building on a grand scale, executed during the best 
 period of the Byzantine epoch. Such an invaluable source of information has been opened to us 
 through the enlightenment of the present Sultan, and been made public to the world by the liberality 
 of the Prussian government; and we recommend all those who desire to have a graphic idea of what 
 Byzantine decorative art truly was, to study Herr Salzenberg’s beautiful work on the churches and 
 buildings of ancient Byzantium. 
 
 In no branch of art, probably, is the observation, ex nihilo nihil Jit, more applicable than in 
 decorative art. Thus, in the Byzantine style, we perceive that various schools have combined to form 
 its peculiar characteristics, and we shall proceed to point out briefly what were the principal formative 
 causes. 
 
 Even before the transfer of the seat of the Koman Empire from Eome to Byzantium, at the 
 commencement of the fourth century, we see all the arts in a state either of decline or transformation. 
 Certain as it is that Rome had given her peculiar style of art to the numerous foreign peoples 
 ranged beneath her sway, it is no less certain that the hybrid art of her provinces had powerfully 
 reacted on the centre of civilisation ; and even at the close of the third century had materially 
 affected that lavish style of decoration which characterised the magnificent baths and other public 
 buildings of Rome. The necessity which Constantine found himself under, when newly settled in 
 Byzantium, of employing Oriental artists and workmen, wrought a still more vital and marked change 
 in the traditional style; and there can be little doubt but that each surrounding nation aided in 
 giving its impress to the newly-formed school, according to the state of its civilisation and its 
 capacity for Art, until at last the motley mass became fused into one systematic whole during the 
 long and (for Art) prosperous reign of the first Justinian. 
 
 b 
 
 In this result we cannot fail to be struck with the important influence exercised by the great 
 temples and theatres built in Asia Minor during the rule of the Caesars ; in these we already see the 
 tendency to elliptical curved outlines, acute-pointed leaves, and thin continuous foliage without the 
 springing-ball and flower, which characterise Byzantine ornament. On the frieze of the theatre at 
 
 51 
 
BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 c 
 
 !) 
 
 c 
 
 6 
 
 Patara (a), and at the Temple of Venus at Aphrodisias (Caria), are to be seen examples of flowing 
 foliage such as we allude to. On the doorway of the temple erected by the native rulers of Gralatia 
 at Ancyra (b'), in honour of Augustus, is a still more characteristic t3Tpe ; and the pilaster capital of 
 a small temple at Patara (c), ascribed by Texier to the first century of the Christian era, is almost 
 identical with one drawn by Salzenberg at Smyrna (c2), which he believes to be of the first part of 
 Justinian’s reign, or about the year 525 A.D. 
 
 In the absence of authentic dates we cannot decide satisfactorily how far Persia influenced the 
 Byzantine style, but it is certain that Persian workmen and artists were much employed at Byzantium ; 
 and in the remarkable monuments at Tak-i-Bostan, Bi-Sutoun, and Tak-i-Gihero, and in several 
 
 ancient capitals at Ispahan — given in Flandin and 
 Coste’s great work on Persia — we are struck at 
 once with their thoroughly Byzantine character; 
 but we are inclined to believe that they are pos- 
 terior, or at most contemporaneous with the best 
 period of Byzantine art, that is, of the sixth century. 
 
 However that may be, we find the forms of a still 
 earlier period reproduced so late as the year 363 
 A.D. ; and in Jovian’s column at Ancyra (e), erected 
 during or shortly after his retreat with Julian’s 
 army from their Persian expedition, we recognise 
 an application of one of the most general orna- 
 mental forms of ancient Persepolis. At Persepolis 
 also are to be seen the pointed and channelled 
 leaves so characteristic of Byzantine work, as seen 
 in the accompanying example from Sta. Sofia (/) ; 
 and at a later period, i.e. during the rule of the 
 Cgesars, we remark at the Boric temple of Kangovar (g) contours of moulding precisely similar 
 to those affected in the Byzantine style. 
 
 Interesting and instructive as it is to trace the derivation of these forms in the Byzantine style, 
 it is no less so to mark the transmission of them and of others to later epochs. Thus in No. 1, 
 
 Plate XXVIII., we perceive the peculiar leaf, as giveD in 
 Texier and in Salzenberg, reappear at Sta. Sofia; at No. 3, 
 Plate XXVIII., is the foliated St. Andrew’s cross within a 
 circle, so co mm on as a Bomanesque and Giothic ornament. 
 On the same frieze is a design repeated with but slight altera- 
 tion at No. 17, from Hermany. The curved and foliated branch 
 of No. 4 of the sixth century ^Sta. Sofia) is seen reproduced, 
 with slight variation, at No. 11 of the eleventh century (St. 
 Mark’s). The toothings of the leaves of No. 19 (Germany) 
 are almost identical with those of No. 1 (Sta. Sofia) ; and be- 
 tween all the examples on the last row but one (Plate XXVIII.) 
 is to be remarked a generic resemblance in subjects from Germany, Italy, and Spain, founded on 
 a Byzantine type. 
 
 The last row of subjects in this plate illustrates more especially the Eomanesque style (Nos. 27 
 and 36), showing the interlaced ornament so afifected by the Northern nations, founded mainly on a 
 native type; whilst at No. 35 (St. Denis) we have one instance out of numbers of the reproduction 
 52 
 
BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 of Roman models; tlie type of the present subject, — a common one in the Romanesque style, — being 
 found on the Roman column at Cussy, between Dijon and Chalons-sur-Saone. 
 
 Thus we see that Rome, Syria, Persia, and other countries, all took part as formative causes in 
 the Byzantine style of art, and its accompanying decoration, which, complete as we find it in Justinian’s 
 time, reacted in its new and systemised form upon the Western world, undergoing certain changes 
 in its course ; and these modifying causes, arising from the state of religion, art, and manners in 
 the countries where it was received, frequently gave it a specific character, and produced in some 
 cases co-relative and yet distinct styles of ornament in the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Lombardic, and 
 Arabian schools. Placing on one side the question of how far Byzantine workmen or artists were 
 employed in Europe, there can be no possible doubt that the character of the Byzantine school of 
 ornament is very strongly impressed on aU the earlier works of central and even Western Europe, 
 which are generically termed Romanesque. 
 
 Pure Byzantine ornament is distinguished by broad-toothed and acute-pointed leaves, which in 
 sculpture are bevelled at the edge, are deeply channelled throughout, and are drilled at the several 
 springings of the teeth with deep holes ; the running foliage is generally thin and continuous, as at 
 Nos. 1, 14, and 20, Plate XXIX*., Plate XXIX. The ground, whether in Mosaic or painted work, 
 is almost universally gold; thin interlaced patterns are preferred to geometrical designs. The 
 introduction of animal or other figures is very limited in sculpture, and in colour is confined prin- 
 cipally to holy subjects, in a stiff, conventional style, exhibiting little variety or feeling ; sculpture 
 is of very secondary importance. 
 
 Romanesque ornament, on the other hand, depended mainly on sculpture for effect : it is rich in 
 light and shade, deep cuttings, massive projections, and a great intermixture of figure-subjects of 
 every kind with foHage and conventional ornament. The place of mosaic work is generally supplied 
 by paint; in coloured ornament, animals are as freely introduced as in sculpture, vide No. 26, Plate 
 XXIX*.; the ground is no longer gold alone, but blue, red, or green, as at Nos. 26, 28, 29, Plate 
 XXIX*. In other respects, allowing for local differences, it retains much of the Byzantine character; 
 and in the case of painted glass, for example, handed it down to the middle, and even the close of 
 the thirteenth century. 
 
 One style of ornament, that of geometrical mosaic work, belongs particularly to the Romanesque 
 period, especially in Italy; numerous examples of it are given in Plate XXX. This art flourished 
 principally in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and consists in the arrangement of small diamond- 
 shaped pieces of glass into a complicated series of diagonal lines ; the direction of which is now 
 stopped, now defined, by means of different colours. .The examples from central Italy, such as Nos. 
 7, 9, 11, 27, 31, are much simpler than those of the southern provinces and Sicily, where Saracenic 
 artists introduced their innate love of intricate designs, some ordinary examples of which are to be 
 seen in Nos. 1, 5, 33, from Monreale, near Palermo. It is to be remarked, that there are two 
 distinct styles of design coexistent in Sicily: the one, such as we have noted, consisting of diagonal 
 
 interlacings, and eminently Moresque in character, as may be seen by reference to Plate XXXIX.; 
 
 the other, consisting of interlaced curves, as at Nos. 33, 34, 35, also from Monreale, in which we 
 may recognise, if not the hand, at least the influence, of Byzantine artists. Altogether of a different 
 character, though of about the same period, are Nos. 22, 24, 39, 40, 41, which serve as examples 
 
 of the Veneto-Byzantine style ; limited in its range, being almost local, and peculiar in style. Some 
 
 are more markedly Byzantine, however, as No. 23, with interlaced circles; and the step ornament, 
 so common at Sta. Sofia, as seen at Nos. 3, 10, and 11, Plate XXIX. 
 
 The o^us Alexandrinum, or marble mosaic work, differs from the ojpus Grecanicum, or glass 
 mosaic work, chiefly from the different nature of the material ; the principal (that of complicated 
 
 53 
 
 p 
 
BYZANTINE ORNAMENT. 
 
 geometric design) is still ttie same. The pavements of the Romanesque churches in Italy are rich 
 in examples of this class ; the tradition of which was handed down from the Augustan age of Rome ; 
 a good idea of the nature of this ornament is given in Nos. 19, 21, 36, 37, and 38. 
 
 Local styles, on the system of marble inlay, existed in several parts of Italy during the Roman- 
 esque period, which bear little relation either to Roman or Byzantine models. Such is No. 20, from 
 San Vitale, Ravenna; such are the pavements of the Baptistery and San Miniato, Florence, of the 
 eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries; in these the effect is produced by black and white 
 marble only; with these exceptions, and those produced by Moresque influence in the South of Italy, 
 the principles both of the glass and marble inlay ornament are to be found in ancient Roman inlay, 
 in every province under Roman sway, and especially is it remarkable in the various mosaics found 
 at Pompeii, of which striking examples are given in Plate XXV. 
 
 Important as we perceive the influence of Byzantine Art to have been in Europe, from the sixth 
 to the eleventh century, and still later, there is no people whom it affected more than the great and 
 spreading Arab race, who propagated the creed of Mahomet, conquered the finest countries of the 
 East, and finally obtained a footing even in Europe. In the earlier buildings executed by them at 
 Cairo, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Cordova, and Sicily, the influence of the Byzantine style is very strongly 
 marked. The traditions of the Byzantine school affected more or less all the adjacent countries ; 
 in Greece they remained almost unchanged to a very late period, and they have served, in a great 
 degree, as the basis to all decorative art in the East and in Eastern Europe. 
 
 J. B. WARING. 
 
 September 1856. 
 
 *** For more information on this subject, see “Handbook” to Byzantine and Romanesque Court at Sydenham. — 
 
 ■Wyatt and Waking. 
 
 BOOKS EEFEEKED TO FOE ILLESTEATIOKS. 
 
 Saxzenberg. Alt Christliche Baudenkmale von Constantinopel. 
 Flandin et Coste. f^oynge en Perse. 
 
 Texiek, Description de I’Armdnie, Perse, dc. 
 
 Heideloee. Die Ornamentik des Mittelaltei's. 
 
 Kkeutz. La Basilica di San Marco. 
 
 Gailhabatjd. L'Architecture et les Arts qui en dependent. 
 
 Du SoiffMERABD. Les Arts du Moyen Age. 
 
 I Baekas et Luynes (Due de). Recherches sur les Monuments des 
 Normands en Sidle. 
 
 Chasitollion Figeac. Palaographie UniverseUe. 
 
 W11J.EMIN. Monuments Frangnis inedits. 
 
 Hessemer. Arabische und alt Italidnische Bau Verzierungen, 
 Digby Wyatt. Geometrical Mosaics of the Middle Ages. 
 
 Waring and MacQuoid. Architectural Arts in Italy and Spain. 
 Waring. Architectural Studies at Burgos and its Neighbourhood. 
 
 54 
 
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 BYZANTINS 
 



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 BYZANTINE N"2^ byzantihs 
 
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Chapter VIII. — Plates 31, 32, 33, 34, 35. 
 
 ARABIAN ORNAMENT, 
 
 FROM CAIRO. 
 
 PLATE XXXL 
 
 This Plate consists of the ornamented Architraves and Soffits of the Windows in the interior of the Mosque of 
 Tooloon, Cairo. They are executed in plaster, and nearly all the windows are of a different pattern. The main arches 
 of the building are decorated in the same way ; but only a fragment of one of the soffits now remains, sufficiently large 
 to make out the design. This is given in Plate XXXIII., No. 14. 
 
 Nos. 1-14, 27, 29, 34-39, are designs from architraves round the windows. The rest of the patterns are from their 
 soffits and jambs. 
 
 The Mosque of Tooloon was founded a.d. 876-7, and these ornaments are certainly of that date. It is the oldest 
 Arabian building in Cairo, and is specially interesting as one of the earliest known examples of the pointed arch. 
 
 PLATE XXXII. 
 
 1-7. From the Parapet of the Mosque of Sultan Kalaoon. 
 9, 16. Ornaments round Arches in the Mosque En Nasi- 
 reeyeh. 
 
 11-13. Ornaments round curved Architrave sin the Mosque 
 Sultan Kalaoon. 
 
 14. Soffit of one of the Main Arches in the Mosque of 
 Tooloon. 
 
 15-21. Ornaments on the Mosque of Kalaoon. 
 
 22. Wooden Stringcourse Pulpit. 
 
 23-26. From the Mosque of Kalaoon. 
 
 The Mosque of Kalaoon was founded in the year 1284-6. All these ornaments are executed in plaster, and seem to 
 have been cut on the stucco while still wet. There is too great a variety on the patterns, and even disparities on the 
 corresponding parts of the same pattern, to allow of their having been cast or struck from moulds. 
 
 PLATE XXXIII. 
 
 1-7. 
 
 8 - 10 . 
 
 12 . 
 
 13. 
 
 14 
 
 From the Parapet of the Mosque of Sultan Kalaoon. 
 Curved Architraves from ditto. 
 
 Soffit of Arch, Mosque En Nasireeyeh. 
 
 From Door in the Mosque El Barkookeyeh. 
 
 Wooden Architrave, Mosqire En Nasireeyeh. 
 
 These designs were traced from a splendid copy of the Koran in the Mosque El Barkookeyeh, founded a.d. 1384. 
 
 55 
 
 . 
 
ARABIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XXXV. 
 
 Consists of different Mosaics taken from Pavements and Walla in Private Houses and Mosques in Cairo. They are 
 executed in black and white marble, with red tile. 
 
 Nos. 14-16 are patterns engraved on the white marble slab, and filled in with red and black cement. 
 
 The ornament on the white marble on the centre of No. 21 is slightly in relief. 
 
 The materials for these five Plates have been kindly furnished by Mr. James William Wild, who passed considerable time 
 in Cairo studying the interior decoration of the Arabian houses, and they may be regarded as very faithful transcripts of 
 Cairean ornament. 
 
 
 
 ARABIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 When the religion of IMohammad spread mth such astounding rapidity over the East, the growing 
 wants of a new civilisation naturally led to tlie formation of a new style of Art ; and whilst it is certain 
 that the early edifices of the Mohammadans were either old Roman or Byzantine buildings adapted 
 
 S] ar.i^ril of au arch from Sta. Sophia. S^iLZEMSEEG. 
 
 to their own uses, or buildings constructed on the ruins and with the materials of ancient monuments 
 it is equally certain that the new wants to he supplied, and the new feelings to be expressed, must 
 at a very early period have given a peculiar character to their architecture. 
 
 56 
 
ARABIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 In the buildings which they constructed partly of old materials they endeavoured, in the new 
 parts of the structure, to imitate the details borrowed from old buildings. The same result followed 
 as had already taken place in the transformation of the Roman style to the Byzantine: the imitations 
 were crude and imperfect. But this very imperfection gave birth to a new order of ideas ; they never 
 returned to the original model, but gradually threw off the shackles which the original model imposed. 
 The Mohammadans, very early in their history, formed and perfected a style of Art peculiarly their 
 own. The ornaments on Plate XXXI. are from the Mosque of Tooloon in Cairo, which was erected in 
 876, only 250 years after the establishment of Mohammadanism, and we in this mosque already find 
 a style of architecture complete in itself, — retaining, it is true, traces of its origin, but being entirely 
 freed from any direct imitation of the previous style. This result is very remarkable when compared 
 with the results of the Christian religion in another direction. It can hardly be said that Christianity 
 produced an architecture peculiarly its own, and entirely freed from traces of paganism, until the twelfth 
 or thirteenth century. 
 
 The mosques of Cairo are amongst the most beautiful buildings in the world. They are remarkable 
 at the same time for the grandeur and simpHcity of' their general forms, and for the refinement and 
 elegance which the decoration of these forms displays. 
 
 This elegance of ornamentation appears to have been derived from the Persians, from whom the 
 Arabs are supposed to have derived many of their arts. It is more than probable that this influence 
 reached them by a double process. The art of Byzantium already displays an Asiatic influence. The 
 remains at Bi Sutoun, published by Flandin and Coste, are either Persian under Byzantine influence, 
 or, if of earlier date, there must be much of Byzantine art which was derived from Persian sources, 
 so similar are they in general character of outline. We have already, in Chapter III., referred to an 
 ornament on a Sassanian capital. No. 16, Plate XIV., which appears to be the type of the Arabian 
 diapers ; and on the spandril of the arch which we here introduce from Salzenberg’s work on Sta. Sophia, 
 will be seen a system of decoration totally at variance with much of the G-rgeco-Roman features of that 
 building, and which it may not be impossible are the result of some Asiatic influence. Be that as it 
 may, this spandril is itself the foundation of the surface decoration of the Arabs and Moors. It will 
 be observed that, although the leafage which surrounds the centre is still a reminiscence of the acanthus 
 leaf, it is the first attempt at throwing off the principle of leafage growing out one from the other: 
 the scroll is continuous without break. The pattern is distributed all over the spandril, so as to produce 
 one even tint, which was ever the aim of the Arabs and Moors. There is also another feature connected 
 with it, — the mouldings on the edge of the arch are ornamented from the surface, and the soffit of the 
 arch is decorated in the same way as the soffits of Arabian and Moresque arches. 
 
 The collection of ornaments from the Mosque of Touloon, on Plate XXXI., are very remarkable 
 
 as exhibiting in this early stage of Arabian art the types of all those arrangements of form which 
 
 reach their culminating point in the Alhambra. The differences which exist result from the less perfection 
 of the distribution of the forms, the leading principles are the same. They represent the first stage of 
 surface decoration. They are of plaster, and the surface of the part to be decorated being first brought 
 to an even face, the patterns were either stamped or traced upon the material whilst still in a plastic 
 state, with a blunt instrument, which in making the incisions slightly rounded the edges. We at once 
 recognise that the principles of the radiation of the lines from a parent stem and the tangential curva- 
 ture of those lines had been either retained by Greeco-Roman tradition, or was felt by them from 
 observation of nature. 
 
 Many of the patterns, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 32, 38, still retain traces of this Greek origin: 
 
 two flowers, or a flower turned upwards and another downwards, from either end of a stalk ; but 
 
 57 
 
 Q 
 
ARABIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 there was this difference, that with the Greeks the flowers or leaves do not form part of the scroll, 
 but grow out of it, whilst with the Arabs the scroll was transformed into an intermediate leaf. No. 37 
 shows the continuous scroll derived from the Romans, with the division at each turn of the scroll, so 
 characteristic of Roman ornament, omitted. The ornament we engrave here from Sta. Sophia would 
 seem to be one of the earliest examples of the change. 
 
 *1 1 ® 1 ® I ■ ® ® 1 
 
 
 
 
 Arabifiu. 
 
 
 Arabian. 
 
 Arabian. 
 
 
 
 
 Moresque. 
 
 The upright patterns on this Plate, chiefly from the soffits of windows, and therefore having all 
 an upright tendency in their lines, may be considered as the germs of all those exquisitely-designed 
 patterns of this class, where the repetition of the same patterns side by side produces another or 
 several others. Many of the patterns on this Plate should be double in the lateral direction : 
 our anxiety to exhibit as many varieties as possible preventing the engraving of the repeat 
 
 With the exception of the centre ornament on Plate XXXIL, which is from the same mosque as 
 the ornament on the last plate, the whole of the ornaments on Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV. are 
 of the thirteenth century, i.e. fom- hundred years later than those of the Mosque of Touloon. The 
 progress which the style had made in this period may be seen at a glance. As compared, however, 
 with the Alhambra, which is of the same period, they are very inferior. The Arabs never arrived 
 at that state of perfection in the distribution of the masses, or in the ornamenting of the surfaces 
 of the ornaments, in which the Moors so excelled. The guiding instinct is the same, but the 
 execution is very inferior. In Moresque ornament the relation of the areas of the ornament to the 
 ground is always perfect; there are never any gaps or holes; in the decoration of the surfaces of 
 the ornaments also they , exhibited much greater skill,— there was less monotony. To exhibit dearly 
 the difference, we repeat the Arabian ornament. No. 12, from Plate XXXIII., compared with two 
 varieties of lozenge diapers from the Alhambra. 
 
 The Moors also introduced another feature into their surface ornament, viz., that there were 
 often two and sometimes three planes on which the patterns were drawn, the ornaments on the 
 
 58 
 
ARABIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 upper plane being boldly distributed over the mass, whilst those on the second interwove themselves 
 with the first, enriching the surface on a lower level ; by which admirable contrivance a piece of 
 ornament retains its breadth of effect when viewed at a distance, and affords most exquisite, and 
 oftentimes most ingenious, decoration for close inspection. G-enerally there was more variety in 
 their surface treatment; the feathering which forms so prominent a feature on the ornaments on 
 Plates XXXIL, XXXIIL, was intermixed with plain surfaces, such as we see at Nos. 17, 18, 32, 
 Plate XXXIL The ornament No. 13, Plate XXXIII., is in pierced metal, and is a very near 
 
 Arabian. 
 
 approach to the perfection of distribution of the Moorish forms ; it finely exhibits the proportionate 
 diminution of the forms towards the centre of the pattern, and that fixed law, never broken by 
 the Moors, that however distant an ornament, or however intricate the pattern, it can always be' 
 traced to its branch and root. 
 
 Grenerally, the main differences that exist between the Arabian and Moresque styles may be 
 summed up thus, the constructive features of the Arabs possess more grandeur, and those of the 
 Moors more refinement and elegance. 
 
 The exquisite ornaments on Plate XXXIV., from a copy of the Koran, will give a perfect 
 idea of Arabian decorative art. Were it not for the introduction of flowers, which rather 
 destroy the unity of the style, and which betray a Persian influence, it would be impossible to 
 find a better specimen of Arabian ornament. As it is, however, it is a very perfect lesson both 
 in form and colour. 
 
 The immense mass of fragments of marble derived from Roman ruins must have very early 
 led the Arabs to seek to imitate the universal practice of the Romans, of covering the floors of 
 their houses and monuments with mosaic patterns, arranged on a geometrical system ; and we have 
 on Plate XXXV. a great number of the varieties which this fashion produced with the Arabs. 
 No better idea can be obtained of what style in ornament consists than by comparing the mosaics 
 on Plate XXXV. with the Roman mosaics, Plate XXV. ; the Byzantine, XXX. ; the Moresque, 
 Plate XLIII, There is scarcely a form to be found in any one which does not exist in all the 
 others. Yet how strangely different is the aspect of these plates ! It is like an idea expressed 
 in four different languages. The mind receives from each the same modified conception, by the 
 sounds so widely differing. 
 
 59 
 
AEABIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 The twisted cord, the interlacing of lines, the crossing of two squares Hv ✓ the equilateral 
 triangle arranged within a hexagon, are the starting-points in each; the main differences resulting in 
 the scheme of colouring, which the material employed and the uses to which they were applied 
 mainly suggested. The Arabian and the Roman are pavements, and of lower tones ; the Moresque 
 are dados ; whilst those of the brighter hues, on Plate XXX., are decorations on the constructive 
 features of the buildings. 
 

ARABI3CH 
 
 ARABIAN Wl 
 
 ARABES 
 
 TAFEL XXXI 
 
 
 1 T 
 
 


ARABISCH 
 
 ARABIAN N ® A 
 
 ARABES 
 
 PLXXXIV 
 
 tafel xxxiy. 
 
 


Chaptee IX. — Plates 36, 37, 38. 
 
 TURKISH ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XXXVI. 
 
 1, 2, 3, 16, 18. From a Fountain at Pera, Constantinople. 
 
 4. From the Mosque of Sultan Achmet, Constantinople. 
 
 6, 6, 7, 8, 13. From Tombs at Constantinople. 
 
 9, 12, 14, 16. From the Tomb of Sultan Soliman I., Con- 
 stantinople. 
 
 10, 11, 17, 19, 21. From the Yeni D'jami, or new mosque, 
 Constantim>ple. 
 
 20, 22. From a Fountain at Tophana, Constantinople. 
 
 PLATE XXXVII. 
 
 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. From the Yeni D’jami, Constantinople. I 4 , 5 . Ornaments in Spandrils under the Dome of the Mosque 
 
 3. Rosace in the Centre of the Dome of the Mosque of of Soliman I., Constantinople. 
 
 Soliman I., Constantinople. 
 
 PLATE XXXViri. 
 
 Portion of the Decoration of the Dome of the Tomb of Soliman I., Constantinople. 
 
 The architecture of the Turks, as seen at Constantinople, is in all its structural features mainly 
 based upon the early Byzantine monuments ; their system of ornamentation, however, is a modifi- 
 cation of the Arabian, bearing about the same relation to this style as Elizabethan ornament does to 
 Italian Renaissance. 
 
 When the art of one people is adopted by another having the same religion, but differing in 
 natural character and instincts, we should expect to find a deficiency in all those qualities in which 
 the borrowing people are inferior to their predecessors. And thus it is with the art of the Turks as 
 compared with the art of the Arabs : there is the same difference in the amount of elegance and 
 refinement in the art of the two people as exists in their national character. 
 
 We are, however, inclined to believe that the Turks have rarely themselves practised the arts ; 
 but that they have rather commanded the execution than been themselves executants. All their 
 mosques and public buildings present a mixed style. On the same building, side by side with 
 ornaments derived from Arabian and Persian floral ornaments, we find debased Roman and Renaissance 
 details, leading to the belief that these buildings have mostly been executed by artists differing in 
 religion from themselves. In more recent times, the Turks have been the first of the Mohammadan 
 
 61 
 
 R 
 

 
 i 
 
 V 
 
 2 
 
 TURKISH ORNAMENT. 
 
 races to abandon the traditional style of building of their forefathers, and to adopt the prevailing 
 fashions of the day in their architecture ; the modern buildings and palaces being not only the work 
 of European artists, but designed in the most approved European style. 
 
 The productions of the Turks at the Great Exhibition of 1851 were the least perfect of all the 
 Mohammadan exhibiting nations. 
 
 In Mr. M. Digby Wyatt’s admirable record of the state of the Industrial Arts of the Nineteenth 
 Century, will be found specimens of Turkish embroidery exhibited in 1851, and which may be 
 compared with the many valuable specimens of Indian embroidery represented in the same work. 
 
TURKISH ORNAMENT. 
 
 distribution of form, and in all the principles of ornamentation, as the most elaborate and important 
 article of decoration. ^ 
 
 The only examples we have of perfect ornamentation are to be found in Turkey carpets ; but 
 these are chiefly executed in Asia Minor, and most probably not by Turks. The designs are 
 thoroughly Arabian, differing from Persian carpets in being much more conventional in the treatment 
 of foliage. 
 
 By comparing Plate XXXVII. with Plates XXXII. and XXXIII, the differences of style will be 
 readily perceived. The general principles of the distribution of form are the same, but there are a 
 few minor differences that it will be desirable to point out. 
 
 The surface of an ornament both in the Arabian and Moresque styles is only slightly rounded, 
 and the enrichment of the surface is obtained by sinking lines on this surface ; or where the surface 
 was left plain, the additional pattern upon pattern was obtained by painting. 
 
 The Turkish ornament, on the contrary, presents a carved surface, and such ornaments as we 
 find painted in the Arabian MSS., Plate XXXPV., in black lines on the gold flowers, are here 
 carved on the surface, the effect being not nearly so broad as that produced by the sunk feathering of 
 the Arabian and Moresque. 
 
 Another peculiarity, and one which at once distinguishes a piece of Turkish ornament from 
 Arabian, is the great abuse which was made of the re-entering curve A A. 
 
 This is very prominent in the Arabian, but more especially in the Persian styles. See Plate 
 XLVI. 
 
 With the Moors it is no longer a feature, and appears only exceptionally. 
 
 This peculiarity was adopted in the Elizabethan ornament, which, through the Benaissance of 
 France and Italy, was derived from the East, in imitation of the damascened work which was at that 
 period so common. 
 
 It will be seen on reference to Plate XXXVI., that this swell always occurs on the inside of the 
 spiral curve of the main stem ; with Elizabethan ornament the swell often occurs indifferently on the 
 inside and on the outside. 
 
 It is very difficult, nay, almost impossible, thoroughly to explain by words differences in style of 
 ornament having such a strong family resemblance as the Persian, Arabian, and Turkish ; yet the eye 
 readily detects them, much in the same way as a Roman statue is distinguished from a Greek. The 
 general principles remaining the same in the Persian, the Arabian, and the Turkish styles of ornament, 
 there will be found a peculiarity in the proportions of the masses, more or less grace in the flowing 
 of the curves, a fondness for particular directions in the leading lines, and a peculiar mode of inter- 
 weaving forms, the general form of the conventional leafage ever remaining the same. The relative 
 degree of fancy, delicacy, or coarseness, with which these are drawn, will at once distinguish them as 
 the works of the refined and spiritual Persian, the not less refined but reflective Arabian, or the unimagi- 
 native Turk. 
 
 Plate XXXVIII. is a portion of the decoration of the dome of the tomb of Soliman I. at Constan- 
 tinople; it is the most perfect specimen of Turkish ornament with which we are acquainted, and nearly 
 approaches the Arabian. One great feature of Turkish ornament is the predominance of green and 
 black; and, in fact, in the modern decoration of Cairo the same thing is observed. Green is much 
 more prominent than in ancient examples where blue is chiefly used. 
 
 63 
 


 u 
 
 

TURKISCH. T-URKIS'H N°2. turgs 
 
 PL.XXXYIl 
 
 TAFEL XXXVII. 
 
 
 mmk 
 
 
LlRKISCK 
 
 TURKISH N° a 
 
 T LI R C S 
 
Chapter X. — Plates 39, 40, 41, 41*, 42, 42*, 42'f, 43. 
 
 MORESQUE ORNAMENT, 
 
 FROM THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 
 
 PLATE XXXIX. 
 
 INTERLACED ORNAMENTS. 
 
 1-5, 16, 18, are Borders on Mosaic Dados. j 13, 16. Square Stops in the Bands of the Inscriptions. 
 
 6-12,14. Plaster Ornaments, used as upright and horizon- 17. Painted Ornament from the Great Arch in the Hall of 
 tal Bands enclosing Panels on the walls.' 1 the Boat. 
 
 PLATE XL. 
 
 SPANDRILS OF ARCHES. 
 
 1. From the centre Arch of the Court of the Lions. 
 
 2. From the Entrance to the Divan Hall of the Two Sisters. 
 
 3. From the Entrance to the Court of the Lions from the 
 
 Court of the Fish-ponds. 
 
 4. From the Entrance to the Court of the Fish-pond from 
 the Hall of the Boat. 
 
 6, 6. From the Arches of the Hall of Justice. 
 
 PLATE XLI. 
 
 LOZENGE 
 
 1. Ornament in Panels from the Hall of the Boat. 
 
 2. „ „ from the HaU of the Ambassadors. 
 
 3. „ in Spandril of Arch, entrance to Court of Lions. 
 
 4. „ in Doorway of the Divan, Hall of the Two 
 
 Sisters. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 9, 10. Ornaments in Panels, Court of the Mosque. 
 
 11. Soffit of Great Arch, entrance to Court of Fish-pond. 
 
 12. Ornaments in Sides of Windows, Upper Story, Hall 
 
 of Two Sisters. 
 
 DIAPERS. 
 
 5. Ornament in Panels of the Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 
 6. „ in Panels of the Courts of the Mosque. 
 
 7. 5 , in Panels, Hall of the Abencerrages. 
 
 8. „ over Arches, entrance to the Court of Lions. 
 
 XLI*. 
 
 13. Oraaments in Spandrils of Arches, Hall of the Abencer- 
 rages. 
 
 14, 15. Ornaments in Panels, Hall of Ambassadors. 
 
 16. „ inSpandrils ofArches, Hall ofthe Two Sisters. 
 
 PLATE XLII. 
 
 SQUARE DIAPERS. 
 
 1. Frieze over Columns, Court of the Lions. 
 
 2. Panelling in Windows, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 
 PLATE XLII*. 
 
 3. Panelling of the centre Recess of the Hall of the Ambassadors. 4. Panelling on the Walls, Tower of the Captive. 
 
 65 
 
 s 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE XLIIf. 
 
 6. Panelling on the Walls, House of Sanchez. 6. Part of the Ceiling of the Portico of the Court of the Fish-pond. 
 
 PLATE XLIII. 
 
 Pilaster, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 Dado, ditto. 
 
 Dado, Hall of the Two Sisters. 
 Pilaster, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 Dados, Hall of the Two Sisters. 
 
 7. Pilaster, Hall of Justice. 
 
 8. Dado, HaU of the Two Sisters. 
 
 MOSAICS. 
 
 10 . 
 11 . 
 12, 13. 
 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 
 Dado in centre Window, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 Pilaster, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 
 Dado, Hall of Justice. 
 
 Dados, Hall of the Ambassadors. 
 
 From a Column, Hall of Justice. 
 
 Dado in the Baths. 
 
 Dado in Divan, Court of the Fish-pond. 
 
 MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Our illustrations of the ornament of the Moors have been taken exclusively from the Alhambra, 
 not only because it is the one of their works with which we are best acquainted, but also because it 
 is the one in which their marvellous system of decoration reached its culminating point. The 
 Alhambra is at the very summit of perfection of Moorish art, as is the Parthenon of Greek art. We 
 can find no work so fitted to illustrate a Grammar of Ornament as that in which every ornament 
 contains a grammar in itself. Every principle which we can derive from the study of tlie ornamental 
 art of any other people is not only ever present here, but was by the Moors more universally and 
 truly obeyed. 
 
 We find in the Alhambra the speaking art of the Egyptians, the natural grace and refinement of 
 the Greeks, the geometrical combinations of the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Arabs. The 
 ornament wanted but one charm, which was the peculiar feature of the Egyptian ornament, symbolism. 
 This the religion of the Moors forbade ; but the want was more than supplied by the inscriptions, 
 which, addressing themselves to the eye by their outward beauty, at once excited the intellect by the 
 difficulties of deciphering their curious and complex involutions, and delighted the imagination when 
 read, by the beauty of the sentiments they expressed and the music of their composition. 
 
 “ There is no conqueror but God.” Arabic inscription from the Alhambra. 
 
 To the artist and those provided with a mind to estimate the value of the beauty to which they 
 gave a life they repeated, Looh dud Ibcitti. To the people they proclaimed the might, majesty, and 
 good deeds of the king. To the king himself they never ceased declaring that there was none 
 powerful but God, that He alone was conqueror, and that to Him alone was for ever due praise and 
 glory. 
 
 66 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 The builders of this wonderful structure were fully aware of the greatness of their work. It is 
 asserted in the inscriptions on the walls, that this building surpassed all other buildings ; that at sight 
 of its wonderful domes all other domes vanished and disappeared ; in the playful exaggeration of their 
 poetry, that the stars grew pale in their light through envy of so much beauty ; and, what is more to 
 our purpose, they declare that he who should study them with attention would reap the benefit of a 
 commentary on decoration. 
 
 We have endeavoured to obey the injunctions of the poet, and will attempt here to explain -some 
 of the general principles which appear to have guided the Moors in the decoration of the Alhambra — 
 principles which are not theirs alone, but common to all the best periods of art. The principles which 
 are everywhere the same, the forms only differ. 
 
 1. * The Moors ever regai’ded what we hold to be the first principle in architecture — to decorate 
 construction^ never to construct decoration : in Moorish architecture not only does the decoration arise 
 naturally from the construction, but the constructive idea is carried out in every detail of the 
 ornamentation of the surface. 
 
 We believe that true beauty in architecture results from that ^‘repose which the mind feels when 
 the eye, the intellect, and the affections are satisfied, from the absence of any want.” When an 
 object is constructed falsely, appearing to derive or give support without doing either the one or the 
 other, it fails to afford this repose, and therefore never can pretend to true beauty, however harmonious 
 it may be in itself ; the Mohammadan races, and Moors especially, have constantly regarded this rule ; 
 we never find a useless or superfluous ornament ; every ornament arises quietly and naturally from 
 the surface decorated. They ever regard the useful as a vehicle for the beautiful ; and in this they 
 do not stand alone : the same principle was observed in all the best periods of art ; it is only when 
 art declines that true principles come to be disregarded; or, in an age of copying, like the present, 
 when the works of the past are reproduced without the spirit which animated the originals. 
 
 2. All lines grow out of each other in gradual undulations ; there are no excrescences ; nothing 
 could be removed and leave the design equally good or better. 
 
 In a general sense, if construction be properly attended to, there could be no excrescences ; but 
 we use the word here in a more limited sense : the general lines might follow truly the construction, 
 and yet there might be excrescences, such as knobs or bosses, which would not violate the rule of 
 construction, and yet would be fatal to beauty of form, if they did not grow out gradually from the 
 general lines. 
 
 There can be no beauty of form, no perfect proportion or arrangement of lines, which does not 
 produce repose. 
 
 All transitions of curved lines from curved, or of curved lines from straight, must be gradual. 
 Thus the transition would cease to be agreeable if the break at A were too deep in proportion to 
 the curves, as at B. Where two curves are separated by a 
 break (as in this case), they must, and with the Moors always 
 do, run parallel to an imaginary line (c) where the curves would 
 be tangential to each other ; for were either to depart from this, 
 as in the case at D, the eye, instead of following gradually down the curve, would run outwards, and 
 repose would be lost.f 
 
 * This essay on the general principles of the ornamentation of the Alhambra is partially reprinted from the “ Guide Book 
 to the Alhambra Court in the Crystal Palace,” by the Author, 
 
 f These transitions were managed most perfectly by the Greeks in all their mouldings, which exhibit this refinement in the 
 highest degree ; so do also the exquisite contom*s of their vases. 
 
 67 
 

 3. The general forms were first cared for ; these were subdivided by general lines ; the interstices 
 were then filled in with ornament, which was again subdivided and enriched for closer inspection. 
 They carried out this principle with the greatest refinement, and the harmony and beauty of all their 
 ornamentation derive their chief success from its observance. Their main divisions contrast and 
 balance admirably; the greatest distinctness is obtained; the detail never interferes with the general 
 form. When seen at a distance, the main lines strike the eye; as we approach nearer, the detail 
 comes into the composition ; on a closer inspection, we see still further detail on the surface of the 
 ornaments themselves. 
 
 4. Harmony of form appears to consist in the proper balancing and contrast of the straight, the 
 inclined, and the curved. 
 
 As in colour there can be no perfect composition in which either of the three primary colours is 
 wanting, so in form, whether structural or decorative, there can be no perfect composition in which 
 either of the three primary figures is wanting ; and the varieties and harmony in composition and 
 design depend on the various predominance and subordination of the three.* 
 
 In surface decoration, any arrangement of forms, as at A, consisting only of straight lines, is 
 monotonous, and affords but imperfect pleasure; but introduce lines which tend to carry the eye 
 towards the angles, as at B, and you have at once an increased pleasure. Then add lines giving a 
 circular tendency, as at c, and you have now complete harmony. In this case the square is the 
 
 leading form or tonic ; the angular and curved are subor- 
 dinate. 
 
 We may produce the same result in adopting an angular 
 composition, as at D : add the lines as at E, and we at once 
 correct the tendency to follow only the angular direction 
 of the inclined lines ; but unite these by circles, as at f, 
 ABC and we have still more perfect harmony, i.e. repose, for the 
 
 eye has now no longer any want that could be supplied.^ 
 
 5. In the surface decoration of the Moors all lines flow 
 out of a parent stem : every ornament, however distant, can 
 be traced to its branch and root. They have the happy art 
 of so adapting the ornament to the surface decorated, that the 
 ornament as often appears to have suggested the general form 
 as to have been suggested by it. In all cases, we find the 
 foliage flowing out of a parent stem, and we are never offended, 
 as in modern practice, by the random introduction of an 
 ornament just dotted down, without a reason for its existence. However irregular the space they 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 * There can be no better example of this harmony than the Greek temple, where the straight, the angular, and the curved, 
 are in most perfect relation to each other. Gothic architecture also offers many illustrations of this principle; every tendency of 
 lines to run in one direction is immediately counteracted by the angular or the curved: thus, the capping of the buttress is exactly 
 what is required to counteract the upwai'd tendency of the sti’aight lines; so the gable contrasts admirably with the ouiwed window- 
 head and its perpendicular raullions. 
 
 t It is to the neglect of this obvious rule that we find so many failures in paper-hangings, carpets, and more especially articles 
 of costume; the lines of papers generally run through the ceiling most disagreeably, because the straight is not coixected by the 
 angular, or the angular by the curved; so of carpets, the lines of cai'pets are constantly running in one direction only, carrying the 
 eye right through the walls of the apai-tment. Again, to this we owe all those abominable checks and plaids which constantly 
 disfigure the human form — a custom detrimental to the public taste, and gradually lowering the tone of the eye for form of this 
 generation. If children were bom and bred to the sound of hurdy-gurdies grinding out of tune, their ears would no doubt 
 suffer deterioration, and they would lose their sensibility to the harmonious in sound. This, then, is what is certainly taking place 
 with regard to form, and it requires the most strenuous efforts to be made by all who would take an interest in the welfare of the 
 rising generation to put a stop to it. 
 
 68 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 haye to fill, they always commence by dividing it into equal areas, and round these trunk-lines they 
 fill in their detail, but invariably return to their parent stem. 
 
 They appear in this to work by a process analogous to that of 
 nature, as we see in the vine-leaf; the object being to distribute the 
 sap from the parent stem to the extremities, it is evident the main stem 
 would divide the leaf as near as may be into equal areas. So, again, 
 of the minor divisions ; each area is again subdivided by intermediate 
 lines, which all follow the same law of equal distribution, even to the 
 jnost minute filling-in of the sap-feeders. 
 
 6. The Moors also follow another principle ; that of radiation from 
 the pai’ent stem, as we may see in nature with the human hand, or 
 in a chestnut leaf. 
 
 We may see in the example how beautifully all these lines radiate from the parent stem ; how 
 each leaf diminishes towards the extremities, and how each area is in pro- 
 portion to the leaf. The Orientals carry out this principle with marvellous 
 perfection ; so also did the G-reeks in their honeysuckle ornament. We have 
 already remarked, in Chapter IV., a peculiarity of Greek ornament, which 
 appears to follow the principle of the plants of the cactus tribe, where one 
 leaf grows out of another. This is generally the case with G-reek ornament ; 
 the acanthus leaf-scrolls are a series of leaves growing out one from the other 
 in a continuous line, whilst the Arabian and Moresque ornaments always grow 
 out of a continuous stem. 
 
 7. All junctions of curved lines with curved, or of curved with straight, should be tangential to 
 each other; this also we consider to be a law found everywhere in nature, and the 
 Oriental practice is always in accordance with it. Many of the Moorish ornaments 
 are on the same principle which is observable in the lines of a feather and in the articu- 
 lations of every leaf; and to this is due that additional charm found in all perfect 
 ornamentation, which we call the graceful. It may be called the melody of form, as 
 what we have before described constitutes its harmony. 
 
 We shall find these laws of equal distribution, radiation from a parent stem, 
 continuity of line, and tangential curvature, ever present in natural leaves. 
 
 8. We would call attention to the nature of the exquisite curves in use by the Arabs and Moors. 
 
 As with proportion, we think that those proportions will be the most beautiful which it will be 
 
 most difficult for the eye to detect;* so we think that those compositions of curves will be most 
 agreeable, where the mechanical process of describing them shall be least apparent; and we shall fiod 
 it to be universally the case, that in the best periods of art, all mouldings and ornaments were founded 
 on curves of the higher order, such as the conic, sections ; whilst, when art declined, circles and 
 compass-work were much more dominant. 
 
 The researches of Mr. Penrose have shown that the mouldings and curved lines in the Parthenon 
 are all portions of curves of a very high order, and that segments of circles were very rarely used. 
 The exquisite curves of the G-reek vases are well known, and here we never find portions of circles. 
 In Roman architecture, on the contrary, this refinement is lost ; the Romans were probably as little 
 able to describe as to appreciate curves of a high order ; and we find, therefore, their mouldings 
 mostly parts of circles, which could be struck with compasses. 
 
 * All compositions of squares or of circles will lie monotonous, and afford lut little pleasure, because the means whereby they 
 are produced are very apparent. So we think that compositions distiibuted in equal lines or divisions will be less beautiful than 
 those which require a higher mental effort to appreciate them. 
 
 T 
 
 69 
 
In the early works of the Gothic period, the tracery would appear to have been much less the 
 offspring of compass-work than in the later period, which has most appropriately been termed the 
 Geometrical, from the immoderate use of compass-work. 
 
 Here is a curve (a) common to Greek Art, to the Gothic 
 period, and so much delighted in by the Mohammadan races. 
 This becomes graceful the more it departs from the curve which 
 the union of two parts of circles would give. 
 
 9. A still further charm is found in the works of the Arabs 
 and Moors from their conventional treatment of ornament, which, 
 forbidden as they were by their creed to represent living forms, 
 they carried to the highest perfection. They ever worked as nature worked, but always avoided a 
 direct transcript; they took her principles, but did not, as we do, attempt to copy her works. In 
 this, again, they do not stand alone; in every period of faith in art, all ornamentation was ennobled 
 by the ideal ; never was the sense of propriety violated by a too faithful representation of nature. 
 
 Thus, in Egypt, a lotus carved in stone was never such an one as you might have plucked, but a 
 conventional representation perfectly in keeping with the architectural members of which it formed a 
 part ; it was a symbol of the power of the king over countries where the lotus grew, and added poetry 
 to what would otherwise have been a rude support. 
 
 The colossal statues of the Egyptians were not little men carved on a large scale, but architectural 
 representations of Majesty, in which were symbolised the power of the monarch, and his abiding love 
 of his people. 
 
 In Greek art, the ornaments, no longer symbols, as in Egypt, were still further conventionalised ; 
 and in their sculpture applied to architecture, they adopted a conventional treatment both oi pose and 
 relief very different to that of their isolated works. 
 
 In the best periods of Gothic art the floral ornaments are treated conventionally, and a direct 
 imitation of nature is never attempted ; but as art declined, they became less idealised, and more 
 direct in imitation. 
 
 The same decline may be traced in stained glass, where both figures and ornaments were treated 
 at first conventionally ; but as the art declined, figures and draperies, through which light was to be 
 transmitted, had their own shades and shadows. 
 
 In the early illuminated MSS. the ornaments were conventional, and the illuminations were in flat 
 tints, with little shade and no shadow; whilst in those of a later period highly-finished representations 
 of natural flowers were used as ornament, casting their shadows on the page. 
 
 ON THE COLOURING OF MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 When we examine the system of colouring adopted by the Moors, we shall find, that as with 
 form, so with colour, they followed certain fixed principles, founded on observations of nature’s laws, 
 and which they held in common with all those nations who have practised the arts with success. In 
 all archaic styles of art, practised during periods of faith, the same true principles prevail ; and 
 although we find in all somewhat of a local or temporary character, we yet discern in all much that 
 is eternal and immutable ; the same grand ideas embodied in different forms, and expressed, so to 
 speak, in a different language. 
 
 10. The ancients always used colour to assist in the development of fo'inn, always employed it 
 as a further means of bringing out the constructive features of a building. 
 
 70 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Thus, iu the Egyptian column, the base of which represented the root — the shaft, the stalk — 
 the capital, the buds and flowers of the lotus or papyrus, the several colours were so applied that 
 the appearance of strength in the column was increased, and the contours of the various lines more 
 fully developed. 
 
 In Gothic architecture, also, colour was always employed to assist in developing the forms of the 
 panel-work and tracery ; and this it effected to an extent of which it is difficult to form an idea, in 
 the present colourless condition of the buildings. In the slender shafts of their lofty edifices, the 
 idea of elevation was still further increased by upward-running spiral lines of colour, which, while 
 adding to the apparent height of the column, also helped to define its form. 
 
 In Oriental art, again, we always find the constructive lines of the building well defined by colour; 
 an apparent additional height, length, breadth, or bulk always results from its judicious application ; and 
 with the ornaments in relief it developes constantly new forms which would have been altogether 
 lost without it. 
 
 The artists have in this but followed the guiding inspiration of Nature, in whose works every 
 
 transition of form is accompanied by a modification of colour, so disposed as to assist in producing 
 
 distinctness of expression. For example, flowers are separated by colour from their leaves and stalks, 
 and these again from the earth in which they grow. So also in the human figure every change of 
 
 form is marked by a change of colour; thus the colour of the hair, the eyes, the eyelids, and 
 
 lashes, the sanguine complexion of the lips, the rosy bloom of the cheek, all assist in producing 
 distinctness, and in more visibly bringing out the form. We all know how much the absence or im- 
 pairment of these colours, as in sickness, contributes to deprive the features of their proper meaning 
 and expression. 
 
 Had nature applied but one colour to all objects, they would have been indistinct in form as well 
 as monotonous in aspect. It is the boundless variety of her tints that perfects the modelling and 
 defines the outline of each ; detaching equally the modest lily from the grass from which it springs, 
 and the glorious sun, parent of all colour, from the firmament in which it shines. 
 
 11. The colours employed by the Moors on their stucco-work were, in all cases, the primaHes, 
 blue, red, and yellow {gold). The secondary colowrs, purple, green, and orange, occur only in the 
 Mosaic dados, which, being’ near the eye, formed a point of repose from the more brilliant colouring 
 above. It is true that, at the present day, the grounds of many of the ornaments are found to be 
 green ; it will always be found, however, on a minute examination, that the colour originally employed 
 was blue, which, being a metallic pigment, has become green from the effects of time. This is proved 
 by the presence of the particles of blue colour, which occur everywhere in the crevices : in the restora- 
 tions, also, which were made by the Catholic kings, the grounds of the ornaments were repainted 
 both green and purple. It may be remarked that, among the Egyptians and the Greeks, the Arabs 
 and the Moors, the primary colours were almost entirely, if not exclusively, employed, during the 
 early periods of art ; whilst, during the decadence, the secondary colours became of more importance. 
 Thus, in Egypt, in Pharaonic temples, we find the primary colours predominating ; in the Ptolemaic 
 temples, the secondary; so also on the early Greek temples are found the primary colours, whilst at 
 Pompeii every variety of shade and tone was employed. 
 
 In modern Cairo, and in the East generally, we have green constantly appearing side by side with 
 red, where blue would have been used in earlier times. 
 
 This is equally true of the works of the Middle Ages. In the early manuscripts and in stained 
 glass, though other colours were not excluded, the primaries were chiefly used; whilst in later times 
 we have every variety of shade and tint, but rarely used with equal success. 
 
 12. With the Moors, as a general rule, the primary colour's were used on the upper portions 
 
 71 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 of objects, the secondary and tertiary on the lower. This also appears to he in accordance with a 
 natural law ; we have the primary blue in the sky, the secondary green in the trees and fields, ending 
 with the tertiaries on the earth ; as also in flowers, where we generally find the primaries on the 
 buds and flowers, and the secondaries on the leaves and stalks. 
 
 The ancients always observed this rule in the best periods of art. In Egypt, however, we do see 
 occasionally the secondary green used in the upper portions of the temples, but this arises from the 
 fact, that ornaments in Egypt were symbolical; and if a lotus leaf were used on the upper part of 
 a building, it would necessarily be coloured green; but the law is true in the main; the general 
 aspect of an Egyptian temple of the Pharaonic period gives the primaries above and the secondaries 
 below ; but in the buildings of the Ptolemaic and Eoman periods more especially, this order was 
 inverted, and the palm and lotus leaf capitals give a superabundance of green in the upper portions 
 of the temples. 
 
 In Pompeii we find sometimes in the interior of the houses a gradual gradation of colour downwards 
 from the roof, from light to dark, ending with black; but this is by no means so universal as to 
 convince us that they felt it as a law. We have already shown in Chapter V. that there are many 
 examples of black immediately under the ceiling. 
 
 13. Although the ornaments which are found in the Alhambra, and in the Court of the Lions 
 especially, are at the present day covered with several thin coats of the whitewash which has at various 
 periods been applied to them, we may be said to have authority for the whole of the colouring of 
 our reproduction ; for not only may the colours be seen in the interstices of the ornaments in many 
 places by scaling off the whitewash, but the colouring of the Alhambra was carried out on so perfect 
 a system, that any one who will make this a study, can with almost absolute certainty, on being 
 shown for the first time a piece of Moorish ornament in white, define at once the manner in which it 
 was coloured. So completely were all the architectural forms designed with reference to their subsequent 
 colouring, that the surface alone will indicate the colours they were destined to receive. Thus, in 
 using the colours blue, red, and gold, they took care to place them in such positions that they should 
 be best seen in themselves, and add most to the general effect. On moulded surfaces they placed 
 red, the strongest colour of the three in the depths, where it might be softened by shadow, never 
 on the surface; blue in the shade, and gold on all surfaces exposed to light; for it is evident that 
 by this arrangement alone could their true value be obtained. The several colours are either 
 separated by white bands, or by the shadow caused by the relief of the ornament itself — and this 
 appears to be an absolute principle required in colouring — colours should never be allowed to impinge 
 upon each other. 
 
 14. In colouring the grounds of the various diapers the blue always occupies the largest area; 
 and this is in accordance with the theory of optics, and the experiments which have been made 
 with the prismatic spectrum. The rays of light are said to neutralise each other in the proportions 
 of 3 yellow, 5 red, and 8 blue; thus, it requires a quantity of blue equal to the red and yellow 
 put together to produce a harmonious effect, and prevent the predominance of any one colour over 
 the others. As in the “Alhambra,” yellow is replaced by gold, which tends towards a reddish- 
 yellow, the blue is still further increased, to counteract the tendency of the red to overpower the 
 other colours. 
 
 INTEKLACED PATTERNS. 
 
 We have already suggested, in Chapter IV., the probability that the immense variety of Moorish 
 ornaments, which are formed by the intersection of equidistant lines, could be traced through the 
 72 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Arabian to the Greek fret. The ornaments on Plate XXXIX. are constructed on two general 
 principles; Nos. 1—12, 16—18, are constructed on one principle (Diagram No, 1), No. 14 on the other 
 (Diagram No. 2). In the first series the lines are equidistant diagonally crossed by horizontal and 
 
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 Diagram No. 1. 
 
 Diagram No. 2 . 
 
 perpendicular lines on each square. But the system on which No. 14 is constructed, the perpendicular 
 and horizontal lines are equidistant, and the diagonal lines cross only each alternate square. The 
 number of patterns that can be produced by these two systems would appear to be infinite ; and it 
 will be seen, on reference to Plate XXXIX., that the variety may be still further increased by the 
 mode of colouring the ground or the surface lines. Any one of these patterns which we have 
 engraved might be made to change its aspect, by bringing into prominence different chains or other 
 general masses. 
 
 LOZENGE DIAPERS. 
 
 The general effect of Plate XLI. and XLI*. will, we think, at once justify the superiority we have 
 claimed for the ornament of the Moors. Composed of but three colours, they are more harmonious 
 and effective than any others in our collection, and possesses a peculiar charm which all the others 
 fail to approach. The various principles for which we have contended, the constructive idea whereby 
 each leading line rests upon another, the gradual transitions from curve to curve, the tangential 
 curvatures of the lines, the flowing off of the ornaments from a parent stem, the tracing of each 
 flower to its branch and root, the division and subdivision of general lines, will readily be perceived in 
 every ornament on the page. 
 
 SQUARE DIAPERS. 
 
 The ornament No. 1, on Plate XLII., is a good example of the principle we cofitend for, that to 
 produce repose the lines of a composition should contain in equilibrium the straight, the inclined, and 
 the curved. We have lines running horizontally, perpendicularly, and diagonally, again contrasted by 
 circles in opposite directions. So that the most perfect repose is obtained, the tendency of the eye to 
 run in any direction is immediately corrected by lines giving an opposite tendency, and wherever the 
 eye strikes upon the patterns it is inclined to dwell. The blue ground of the inscriptions and 
 ornamental panels and centres, being carried over the red ground by the blue feathers, produces a 
 most cheerful and brilliant effect. 
 
 The leading lines of the ornaments Nos. 2-4, Plates XLII. and XLII*., are produced in the same 
 way as the interlaced ornaments on Plate XXXIX. In Nos. 2 and 4 it will be seen how the repose 
 
 73 
 
 u 
 
MORESQUE ORNAMENT. 
 
 of tke pattern is obtained by the arrangement of tbe coloured grounds ; and bow, also, by this means 
 an additional pattern besides that produced by form results from the arrangement of the colours. 
 
 Pattern No. 6, Plate XLIIf., is a portion of a ceiling, of which there are immense varieties in the 
 Alhambra, produced by divisions of the circle crossed by intersecting squares. It is the same principle 
 which exists in the copy from the illuminated Koran, Plate XXXIV., and is also very common on the 
 ceilings of Arabian houses. 
 
 The ornament No. 5, Plate XLIIf., is of extreme delicacy, and is remarkable for the ingenious 
 system on which it is constructed. All the pieces being similar, it illustrates one of the most 
 important principles in Moorish design, — one which more perhaps than any other contributed to the 
 general happy result, viz., that by the repetition of a few simple elements the most beautiful and 
 complicated effects were produced. 
 
 However much disguised, the whole of the ornamentation of the Moors is constructed 
 geometrically. Their fondness for geometrical forms is evidenced by the great use they made of 
 mosaics, in which their imagination had full play. However complicated the patterns on Plate XLIII. 
 may appear, they are all very simple when the principle of setting them out is once understood. 
 They all arise from the intersection of equidistant lines round fixed centres. No. 8 is constructed on 
 the principle of Diagram No. 2, cited on the other side, and is the principle which produces the 
 greatest variety; in fact, geometrical combinations on this system may be said to be infinite. 
 
 74 
 
MORESQUE N° I 
 
 MAURIS CH 
 
 MAURESQUES 
 
 PL XXXIX 
 
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Chapter XI.— Plates 44, 45, 46, 47, 47*, 48. 
 
 PERSIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATES XLIV., XLY., XLVI. 
 
 Ornaments from Persian MSS. in the British Museum. 
 
 PLATES XLYII., XLYII*. 
 
 From a Persian Manufacturer’s Pattern-Book, South Kensington Museum. 
 
 PLATE XLYIII. 
 
 From a Persian MS. South Kensington Museum. 
 
 The Mohammadan architecture of Persia, if we may judge from the representations published in 
 Flandin and Coste’s ^‘Voyages en Perse,” does not appear to have ever reached the perfection of the 
 Arabian buildings of Cairo. Although presenting considerable grandeur in the main features, the 
 general outlines are much less pure, and there would appear to be a great want of elegance in all 
 the constructive features as compared with those of Cairo. Their system of ornamentation also appears 
 to us much less pure than the Arabian and Moresque. The Persians, unhke the Arabs and the 
 Moors, were free to introduce animal life, and this mixing up of subjects drawn from real life in 
 their decoration led to a much less pure style of ornament. With the Arabs and Moors, ornaments 
 with their inscriptions had to supply every want, and therefore it became of more importance in their 
 structures, and reached a higher point of elaboration. Persian ornament is a mixed style; combining 
 the conventional, which is similar to the Arabian, and probably derived from a common origin, with 
 an attempt at the natural which sometimes has influenced both the Arabian and Turkish styles, and 
 is even felt in portions of the Alhambra. The great attention paid to the illuminating of manuscripts 
 
 75 
 
PERSIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 in Persia, which, doubtless, were widely disseminated in Mohammadan countries, would readily spread 
 the influence of this mixed style. The decorations of the houses of Cairo and Damascus, the mosques 
 and fountains of Constantinople more especially, exhibit this mixed style; groups of natural flowers 
 are constantly found growing from a vase and enclosed in panels of conventional Arabian ornament. 
 The ornament of modern India also feels this ever-present influence of the Persian mixed style. In a 
 book-cover fropa the India House (Plates LIII. and LIV.) is an example of this; the outside is 
 treated in the ^ure Arabian manner, whilst the inside (Plate LIV.) is quite Persian in character. 
 
 The ornaments on Plate XLIV., from illuminated MSS. in the British Museum, present also the 
 mixed character we have referred to. The geometrical patterns are purely conventional ornament, and 
 have great aflSnity with the Arabian, but are less perfect in distribution. Nos. 1-10, on the contrary, 
 are from backgrounds of pictures, representing tapestry on the walls ; they possess great elegance, and 
 the masses are well contrasted with the grounds. 
 
 The patterns on Plate XLV. are chiefly representations of pavements and dados, and probably 
 were intended for glazed tiles so abundantly used by the Persians. Compared with the Arabian 
 and Moresque mosaics, they exhibit a marked inferiority, both in the distribution of form and in 
 the arrangement of colour; it will be observed that, throughout our Persian subjects, the secondary 
 and tertiary colours are much more dominant than in the Arabian (Plate XXXIV.), or in the Moresque, 
 where blue, red, and gold, are the prevailing harmonies, and, as may be seen at a glance, with much- 
 increased effect. 
 
 The ornaments on Plate XLVI. have a much greater affinity with the Arabian: Nos. 7, 16, 17, 21, 
 23-25, are very common ornaments for the heads of chapters in Persian MSS., indeed there is but 
 little variety to be found in these, numerous as they are. Compared with the Arabian MSS. (Plate 
 XXIV.), a great similarity will be found in all the leading lines of the construction of the ornaments 
 and also in the surface decoration of the ornaments themselves ; but the masses are much less evenly 
 distributed. However the same general principles prevail. 
 
 Plates XLVII. and XLVII*. are arranged from a very curious Persian book at South Kensington 
 Museum, which appears to be a manufacturer’s pattern-book. The designs exhibit much elegance, 
 and there is great simplicity and ingenuity displayed in the conventional rendering of natural flowers. 
 Both these Plates and Plate XLVIII. are very valuable, as showing the extreme limit of this conven- 
 tional rendering, reached, but not exceeded. When natural flowers are used as decoration, and subjected 
 to a geometrical arrangement, they can have neither shade nor shadow, as was the case with the later 
 MSS. of the Mediaeval School, see Plate LXXIII. ; without falling under that reproach so justly due 
 to the floral papers and floral carpets of modern times. The ornament at the top of Plate XLVIII., 
 which forms the title-page to the book as well as the borders throughout, present that mixed character 
 of pure ornament, arranged in conjunction with the ornamental rendering of naturai forms, which we 
 have considered as characteristic of the Persian style, and which, we think, renders it so much inferior 
 to the Arabian and the Moresque. 
 
 7 ? 
 
TAFEL XLIY 
 
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PERSISCH. 
 
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Chapter XII.— Plates 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 53% 54, 54*, 55. 
 
 INDIAN ORNAMENT, 
 
 FROM THE EXHIBITIONS OF 1851 AND 1855. 
 
 ^ r-9iiir38pii< 
 
 PLATE XLIX. 
 
 Ornaments from Works in Metal, exlubited in the Indian Collection in 1851. 
 
 PLATES L., LL, LII. 
 
 Ornaments from Embroidered and Woven Eabrics, and Paintings on Vases, exhibited in the Indian Collection in 1851, 
 
 and now at South Kensington Museum. 
 
 PLATES LIIL, LIII*., LIV., LIV*. 
 
 Specimens of Painted Lacquer-work, from the Collection at the India House. 
 
 PLATE LV. 
 
 Ornaments from Woven and Embroidered Fabrics, and Painted Boxes, exhibited in the Indian Collection at Paris in 1855. 
 
 C 8- =■ 
 
 The Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations in 1851 was barely opened to the public 
 ere attention was directed to the gorgeous contributions of India. 
 
 Amid the general disorder everywhere apparent in the application of Art to manufactures, the 
 presence of so much unity of design, so much skill and judgment in its application, with so much of 
 elegance and refinement in the execution, as was observable in all the works, not only of India, but 
 of all the other Mohammadan contributing countries, — Tunis, Egypt, and Turkey, — excited a degree 
 of a.ttention from artists, manufacturers, and the public, which has not been without its fruits. 
 
 Whilst in the works contributed by the various nations of Europe, there was everywhere to be 
 observed an entire absence of any common principle in the application of Art to manufactures, — whilst 
 from one end to the other of the vast structure there could he found but a fruitless struggle after 
 novelty, irrespective of fitness, that all design was based upon a system of copying and misapplying 
 
 77 
 
 X 
 
INDIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 the received forms of beauty of every bygone style of Art, without one single attempt to produce an 
 Art in harmony with our present wants and means of production — the carver in stone, the worker 
 in metal, the weaver and the painter, borrowing from each other, and alternately misapplying the 
 forms peculiarly appropriate to each— there were to be found in isolated collections at the four 
 corners of the transepts all the principles, all the unity, all the truth, for which we had looked elsewhere 
 in vain, and this because we were amongst a people practising an art which had grown up with their 
 civilisation, and strengthened with their growth. United by a common faith, their art had necessarily 
 a common expression, this expression varying in each according to the influence to which each nation 
 was subject. The Tunisian still retaining the art of the Moors, who created the Alhambra ; the Turk 
 exhibiting the same art, but modified by the character of the mixed population over which they rule ; 
 the Indian uniting the severe forms of Arabian art with the graces of Persian refinement. 
 
 All the laws of the distribution of form which we have already observed in the Arabian and 
 Moresque Ornament are equally to be found in the productions of India. From the highest work of 
 embroidery, or most elaborate work of the loom, to the constructing and decorating of a child’s toy 
 or earthen vessel, we find everywhere at work the same guiding principles, — there is always the same 
 care for the general form, the same absence of all excrescences or superfluous ornament ; we find 
 nothing that has been added without purpose, nor that could be removed without disadvantage. The 
 same division and subdivision of their general lines, which form the charms of Moresque ornament, 
 is equally to be found here ; the difference which creates the style is not one of principle, but of 
 individual expression. In the Indian style ornaments are somewhat more flowing and less convention- 
 alised, and have, doubtless, been more subjected to direct Persian influence. 
 
 The ornaments on Plate XLIX., are chiefly taken from Hookhas, of which there was an immense 
 variety exhibited in 1851, and all remarkable for great elegance of outline, and for such a judicious 
 treatment of the surface decoration that every ornament tended to further develope the general 
 form. 
 
 It will be seen that there are two kinds of ornament, — the one strictly architectural and conven- 
 tional: such as Nos, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, which are treated as diagrams ; and the other, such as Nos. 13, 14, 15, 
 in which a more direct imitation of nature is attempted : these latter are to us very valuable lessons, 
 showing how unnecessary it is for any work of decoration to more than indicate the general idea of 
 a flower. The ingenious way in which the full-blown flower is shown in No. 15, in three positions 
 in Nos. 14 and 15, the folding back of the leaf in No. 20, are very suggestive. The intention of 
 the artist is fully expressed by means as simple as elegant. The unity of the surface of the 
 object decorated is not destroyed, as it would be by the European method of making the flower 
 as near like a natural flower as possible, with its own light and shade and shadow, tempting you to 
 pluck it from the surface. On the Persian, Plate XLVII., will be seen a similar treatroent of 
 natural flowers ; the comparison shows how much of Persian influence there is in this floral style of 
 India. 
 
 In the apphcation of the various ornaments to the different portions of the objects the greatest 
 judgment is always shown. The ornament is invariably in perfect scale with the position it occupies ; 
 on the narrow necks of the Hookhas are the small pendent flowers, the swelling forms of the base 
 are occupied by the larger patterns ; at the lower edge, again, appear ornaments having an upward 
 tendency, and, at the same time, forming a continuous line round the form to prevent the eye running 
 out of it. Whenever narrow flowing borders are used, as in No. 24, they are contrasted by others 
 with lines flowing in an opposite direction ; the general repose of the decoration is never for a moment 
 lost sight of. 
 
 In the equal distribution of the surface ornament over the grounds, the Indians exhibit an instinct 
 78 
 
INDIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 and perfection of drawing perfectly marvellous. The ornament No. 1, on Plate L., from an embroidered 
 saddle-cloth, excited universal admiration in 1851. The exact balance obtained by the gold embroidery 
 on the green and red grounds, was so perfect that it was beyond the power of a European hand to 
 copy it with the same complete balance of form and colour. The way in which the colours are fused 
 in all their woven fabrics, so as to obtain what they always appear to seek, viz., that coloured objects 
 when viewed at a distance should present a neutralised bloom, is very remarkable, A due regard to 
 economy in the production of our Plates has necessarily limited the number of printings, and we have 
 not always therefore been able to obtain the proper balance of colour. The Indian collection at South 
 Kensington Museum should be visited and studied by all in any way connected with the production 
 of woven fabrics. In this collection will be found the most brilliant colours perfectly harmonised — 
 it is impossible to find there a discord. All the examples show the nicest adjustment of the massing 
 of the ornament to the colour of the ground ; every colour or tint from the palest and most delicate 
 to the deepest and richest shades, receiving just the amount of ornament that it is adapted to 
 bear. 
 
 The following general rules, which are applicable to all woven fabrics, may be observed : — 
 
 1. When gold ornaments are used on a coloured ground, where gold is used in large masses, there 
 the ground is darkest. Where the gold is used more thinly, there the ground is lighter and more 
 delicate. 
 
 2. When a gold ornament alone is used on a coloured ground, the colour of the ground is carried 
 into it by ornaments or hatchings worked in the ground-colours on the gold itself. 
 
 3. When ornaments in one colour are on a ground of a contrasting colour, the ornament is separated 
 from the ground by an edging of a lighter colour, to prevent all harshness of contrast. 
 
 4. When, on the contrary, ornaments in a colour are on a gold ground, the ornaments are separated 
 from the gold ground by an edging of a darker colour, to prevent the gold overpowering the ornament. — 
 See No. 10, Plate L. 
 
 5. In other cases, where varieties of colour are used on a coloured ground, a general outline of gold, 
 of silver, or of white or yellow silk, separates the ornament from the ground, giving a general tone 
 throughout. 
 
 The carpets and low-toned combinations of colour, a black general outline is used for this purpose. 
 
 The object always appears to be, in the woven fabrics especially, that each ornament should be softly, 
 not harshly, defined; that coloured objects viewed at a distance should present a neutralised bloom; 
 that each step nearer should exhibit fresh beauties ; and a close inspection, the means whereby these 
 effects are produced. 
 
 In this they do but carry out the same principles of surface decoration which we find in the 
 
 architecture of the Arabs and Moors. The spandrU of a Moorish arch, and an Indian shawl, are 
 
 constructed precisely on the same principles. 
 
 The ornament on Plate LIII., from a book-cover at the India House, is a very brilliant example 
 of painted decoration. The general proportions of the leading lines of the pattern, the skilful distribu- 
 tion of the flowers over the surface, and, notwithstanding the intricacy, the perfect continuity of the 
 Unes of the stalks, place it far before any European effort of this class. On the inside of the same 
 
 cover, Plate LIV., the ornaments are less conventional in their treatment ; but how charmingly is 
 
 observed the limit of the treatment of flowers on a flat surface ! This book-cover offers in itself a 
 specimen of two marked styles, the outside Plate LIII., being after the Arabian manner, and the 
 inside after the Persian. 
 
 79 
 


INDISCH 
 
 INDIAN N" I 
 
 INDIEN S 
 
 
 
 

INDISCH 
 
 INDIAN 4 
 
 INDIEN S . 
 
 PL U) 
 
INDIAN 5 
 
 INDISGH 
 
 N D I E N S 
 
 TA-FEL UII 
 

IKD.SCH 
 
 INDIAN N° 7 
 
 I N D I £ N S 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter XIII.— Plates 56, 57, 58. 
 
 HINDOO ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LVI. 
 
 Ornameuts from a Statue in Basalt at tbe House of the Eoyal Asiatic Society. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 1. Burmese, of Glass. — Crystal Palace. 
 
 2. Burmese Shrine. C. P. 
 
 3. Burmese Standard. C. P. 
 
 4-6. From Burmese Shrine. C. P. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 7-10, 12-17. Ornaments from the Copies of the 
 Paintings on the walls of the Caves at Ajunta. — 
 Crystal Palace. 
 
 11. Burmese, from a Monastery near Prome. — C. P. 
 
 1. Burmese. — East India House. 
 
 2, 3. Burmese Shrine. — Crystal Palace. 
 
 4. Burmese Gilt Chest. — C. P. 
 
 5. Hindoo. — United Service Museum 
 6-9. Hindoo Ornaments. — E. I. H. 
 
 10. Burmese. — C. P. 
 
 11. Hindoo. — U. S. M. 
 
 We have not been able, with the materials at command in this country, to procure sufficient 
 illustrations for a fair appreciation of the nature of Hindoo ornament. 
 
 In the works hitherto published on the ancient architecture of India, sufficient attention has not 
 been directed to the ornamental portions of the buildings to enable us to recognise the true character 
 of Hindoo ornament. 
 
 In early publications on the art of Egypt all the works of sculpture and ornament were so falsely 
 rendered, that it has taken considerable time for the European public to become persuaded that there 
 existed so much grace and ' refinement in the works of the Egyptians. 
 
 The Egyptian remains, however, which have been transported to this country, the casts of others 
 existing in Egypt, and the more trustworthy representations which have of late been published, have 
 placed this beyond doubt, and Egyptian art is taking its true place in the estimation of the public. 
 
 81 
 
 PLATE LVIIL 
 
 12. Burmese.— Britkh Museum. 
 
 13. Hindoo.— E. I. H. 
 
 14. Hindoo.— U.S.M. 
 
 15. Hindoo. — E. I. H. 
 
 16-19, 21. Burmese. — C. P. 
 
 20, 22-25. Burmese. — U. S. M. 
 26. Burmese. — 0. P. 
 
 Y 
 
HINDOO ORNAMENT. 
 
 When the same thing shall have been done for the ancient architecture of India, we shall be in a 
 better position than we are at present to form an opinion how far it is entitled to take rank as a 
 really fine art, or whether the Hindoos are only heapers of stones, one over the other, adorned with 
 grotesque and barbaric sculpture. 
 
 Had we possessed only picturesque views of the Parthenon and the Temples of Balbeck and Palmyra, 
 we should unhesitatingly have said that the Romans were far greater architects than the Grreeks. 
 But the contour of a single moulding from the Parthenon would at once reverse the judgment, and 
 proclaim loudly that we were viewing the works of a people who had reached the highest point in 
 civilisation and refinement. 
 
 Although ornament is most properly an accessory to architecture, and should never be allowed to 
 usurp the place of proper structural features, or to overload or to disguise them, it is in all cases the 
 very soul of an architectural monument; and by the ornament alone can we judge truly of the 
 amount of care and mind which has been devoted to the work. All else in any building may be the 
 result of rule and compass, but by the ornament of a building we can best discover how far the 
 architect was at the same time an artist. 
 
 No one can peruse the Essay on Hindoo Architecture by Ram Raz * without feeling that a 
 higher state of architectural perfection has been reached than the works published up to the present 
 time would lead us to believe. In this work not only are precise rules laid down for the general 
 arrangement of structures, but also minute directions are given for the divisions and subdivisions of 
 each ornament. 
 
 One of the precepts quoted by Ram Raz deserves to be cited, as showing how much the general 
 perfection was cared for : ” Woe to them who dwell in a house not built according to the proportions 
 of symmetry. In building an edifice, therefore, let aU its parts, from the basement to the roof, be 
 duly considered.” 
 
 Among the directions for the various proportions of columns, bases, and capitals, is a rule for finding 
 the proper diminution of the upper diameter of a column in proportion to the lower. 
 
 Ram Raz says, that the general rule adopted by the Hindoo architects was to divide the diameter 
 of the column at the base by as many parts as there were diameters in the whole height of the 
 column, and that one of these parts was invariably deducted to form the upper diameter. From 
 which it is apparent that the higher the column the less it will diminish; and that this was done 
 because the apparent diminution of the diameter in columns of the same proportion is always greater 
 according to the height. 
 
 The best specimens of Hindoo ornament we have been able to procure are represented in Plate 
 LVI., from a statue of Surga, or the Sun, in basalt, at the house of the Asiatic Society, and supposed 
 to belong to a period between the fifth and ninth century A.D. The ornaments are very beautifully 
 executed, and evidently betray Greek influence. The ornament No. 8 represents the lotus, seen as it 
 were in plan, with the buds in side elevation : it is held in the hand of the god. 
 
 In the sacred books quoted by Ram Raz are several directions to ornament the various archi- 
 tectural members with lotuses and jewels ; which seem to be the chief types of the decorations on 
 the mouldings. 
 
 The architectural features of Hindoo buildings consist chiefly of mouldings heaped up one over 
 the other. Definite instructions are quoted by Ram Raz for the varying proportions of each, and it 
 is evident that the whole value of the style will consist in the more or less perfection with which 
 these transitions are effected ; but, as we said before, we have no opportunity of judging how far this 
 is the case. 
 
 * “ Histoiy of the Architecture of the Hindoos.” By Ram Raz. London, 1834. 
 
 82 
 
HINDOO ORNAMENT. 
 
 On Plate LVII. we have gathered together all the examples of decorative ornament that we could 
 find on the copies of the paintings from the Caves of Ajunta, exhibited by the East India Company 
 at the Crystal Palace. As these copies, notwithstanding that they are said to be faithful, are yet by 
 a European hand, it is difficult to say how far they may be relied upon. In the subordinate portions, 
 such as the ornaments, at all events, there is so little marked character, that they might belong to 
 any style. It is very singular, that in these paintings there should be so little ornament ; a peculiarity 
 that we have observed in several ancient paintings in the possession of the Asiatic Society. There is 
 a remarkable absence of ornament even on the dresses of the figures. 
 
 83 
 
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 5 
 

Chapter XIY.— Plates 59, 60, 61, 62. 
 
 CHINESE ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LIX. 
 
 The Ornaments, Nos. 1, 8-17, 24-28, 33-36, 40, 42, are Painted on Porcelain. 
 Nos. 2-7, 18-23, 29-32, 36-39, 41, are from Paintings. 
 
 PLATE LX. 
 
 The Ornaments, Nos. 1-12, 16, 19—24, are Painted on Porcelain. 
 Nos, 17, 18, from Pictures. 
 
 Nos. 13, 22, 23, from Woven Fabrics. 
 
 Nos. 14, 15, Painted on Wooden Boxes. 
 
 PLATE LXI. 
 
 The Ornaments, Nos. 1-3, are Painted on Wood. 
 Nos. 4-6, 9, 10, 12-15, 17, 18, are Painted on Porcelain. 
 Nos. 7, 8, 11, Woven Fabrics. 
 
 No. 16, from a Picture. 
 
 PLATE LXII. 
 
 Conventional Eenderings of Flowers and Fruit, Painted on Porcelain. 
 
 Notwithstanding the high antiquity of the civilisation of the Chinese, and the perfection which 
 all their manufacturing processes reached ages before our time, they do not appear to have made 
 much advance in the Fine Arts. Mr. Fergusson, in his admirable ^‘Handbook of Architecture,” 
 observes that China possesses scarcely anything worthy of the name of Architecture,” and that all 
 their great engineering works, with which the land is covered, are wholly devoid of either 
 architectural design or ornament.” 
 
 z 
 
 85 
 

 CHINESE OENAMENT. 
 
 In their ornamentation, with which the world is so familiar through the numerous manufactured 
 articles of every kind which have been imported into this country, they do not appear to have gone 
 beyond that point which is reached by every people in an early stage of civilisation : their art, such 
 as it is, is fixed, and is subject neither to progression nor retrogression. In the conception of pure 
 form they are even behind the New Zealander ; but they possess, in common with all Eastern nations, 
 the happy instinct of harmonising colours. As this is more a faculty than an acquirement, it is just 
 what we should expect ; the arriving at an appreciation of pure form is a more subtle process, and is 
 the result of either more highly endowed natural instincts, or of the development of primitive ideas 
 by successive generations of artists improving on each other’s efforts. 
 
 The general forms of many of the Chinese porcelain vases are remarkable for the beauty of their 
 outline, but not more so than the rude water-bottles of porous clay which the untutored Arabian 
 potter fashions daily on the banks of the Nile, assisted only by the instincts of his gentle race ; and 
 the pure form of the Chinese vases is often destroyed by the addition of grotesque or other unmeaning 
 ornaments, built up upon the surface, not growing from it : from which we argue, that they can 
 possess an appreciation of form, but in a minor degree. 
 
 In their decoration, both painted and woven, the Chinese exhibit only just so much art as would 
 belong to a primitive people. Their most successful efforts are those in which geometrical 
 combinations form the basis; but even in these, whenever they depart from patterns formed by the 
 intersection of equal lines they appear to have a very imperfect idea of the distribution of spaces. 
 Their instinct of colour enables them, in some measure, to balance form, but when deprived of this 
 aid they do not appear to be equally successful. The diapers on Plate LXIX. will furnish us with 
 examples. Patterns 1, 8, 13, 18, 19, being generated by figures which ensure an equal distribution, 
 are more perfect than Nos. 2, 4-7, 41, where the arrangement depends more upon caprice; on the 
 other hand. Nos. 28, 33, 35, 49, and the other patterns of this class on the Plate, are examples in 
 which the instinct of the amount of balancing colour required would determine the mass. The 
 Chinese share with the Indian this happy power in their woven fabrics; and the tone of the ground 
 of any fabric is always in harmony with the quantity of ornament which it has to support. The 
 Chinese are certainly colourists, and are able to balance with equal success both the fullest tones of 
 colour and the most delicate shades. 
 
 They are not only successful in the use of the primaries, but also of the secondaries and tertiaries ; 
 
CHINESE ORNAMENT. 
 
 1, Plate LXI., is a continuous meander like the Greek; Nos. 2-9, 18, specimens of irregular frets; 
 No. 4, Plate LX., a curious instance of a fret with a curved termination. 
 
 On the whole, Chinese ornament is a very faithful expression of the nature of this peculiar people; 
 its characteristic feature is oddness, — we cannot call it capricious, for caprice is the playful wandering 
 of a lively imagination; hut the Chinese are totally unimaginative, and all their works are accordingly 
 wanting in the highest grace of art, — the ideal. 
 
 87 
 
5 
 
 emNESiscH 
 
 CHINESE 1 
 
 CHINO I S 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
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GHmESiSi:H, CHINESE N°2. chinois. 
 
 PL. LX 
 
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HINESE N° 3 
 
 CHINESISCH 
 
 CHIN0I3 
 
 PL LXI 
 
CHINESSISH 
 
 CHINESE N° 4 
 
 CHINOIS 
 
 TAFKI. Wl PLUll 
 
 20 
 
Chapter XV. — Plates 63, 64, 65 
 
 CELTIC OENAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXIII. 
 
 LAPIDARY OENAMENTATIOH. 
 
 1. The Aberlemno Cross, formed of a single Slab, 7 ft. high — 
 Chalmers, Stone Monuments of Angus. 
 
 % Circular Ornament on the Base of Stone ■ Cross in the 
 Churchyard of St. Yigean’s, Angusshire. — Chalmers. 
 
 3. Central portion of Stone Cross in the Cemetery in the 
 
 Island of Inchbrayoe, Scotland. 
 
 4. Ornament on the Cross in the Churchyard of Meigle, 
 
 Angusshire.— Chalmers. 
 
 5. Ornament of Base of Cross near the old Church of Eassie, Angusshire. — Chalmers. 
 
 Note. — In addition to the various ornaments observed on the stones here figured, a peculiar ornament occurs only in 
 many of the Scotch crosses, which has been called the Spectacle Pattern, consisting of two circles, connected by two curved 
 lines, which latter are crossed by the oblique stroke of a decorated Z. Its origin and meaning have long puzzled 
 antiquaries : the only other instance which we have ever met with of the occurrence of this ornament is upon a Gnostic 
 Gem engraved in Walsh’s Essay on Christian Coins. 
 
 On some of the Manx and Cumberland crosses — as well as on that at Penmon, Anglesea — a pattern occurs analogous 
 to the classical one represented in our Greek Plate VIII. Figs. 22 and 27. It was probably borrowed from the Roman 
 tessellated pavements, on which it is occasionally foxmd : it never occurs in MSS. or Metal-work. 
 
 PLATE LSiy. 
 
 INTEELACED STYLE. 
 
 1-5, 10-22, 26, 42-44, are Borders of Interlaced Ribbon 
 Patterns, copied from Anglo-Saxon and Irish MSS. 
 in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 
 and the Libraries of St. Gall and Trinity College, 
 Dublin. 
 
 6, 7. Interlaced Ribbon Patterns, from the Golden Gospels 
 in the Harleian Library in the British Museum. — 
 Humphries. 
 
 8. Terminal Ornament of Initial Letter, formed of inter- 
 
 laced and spiral lines, from the copy of the Gospels 
 in the Paris Library, No. 693. — Silvestre. 
 
 9. Interlaced Ornament, from Irish MS. at St. Gall. — 
 
 Keiler. 
 
 23. Terminal Ornament of Initial Letter, from the Corona- 
 
 tion Book of the Anglo-Saxon Kings, a production of 
 Franco-Saxon artists. — Humphries. 
 
 24. Terminal Interlaced Ornament, from the Tironian 
 
 Psalter in the Paris Libraiy. — Silvestre. 
 
 25. Terminal Ornament, with Foliage and naturally-drawn 
 
 Animals introduced, from the Golden Gospels. — 
 Humphries. 
 
 27. Angulated Ornament, with interlacement, from the 
 
 Bible of St. Denis. 9th century. 
 
 28. Pattern of Angulated Lines, from the Gospels of Lindis- 
 
 farne. End of 7th century. 
 
 Interlaced Pannel, from the Psalter of St. Augustine in 
 the British Museum. 6th or 7th century. 
 
 Ornament formed of four Triquetrse conjoined, from the 
 Franco-Saxon Sacramentarium of St. Gregory, in the 
 Library of Rheims. 9th or 10th century.— Silvestre. 
 
 31. Part of Gigantic Initial Letter, from the Franco-Saxon 
 
 Bible of St. Denis. 9th century. — S ilvestre. 
 
 32. Quatrefoil Interlaced Ornament, from the Rheims Sacra- 
 
 mentarium. — S ilvestre. 
 
 33. Angularly Interlaced Ornament, from the Golden Gospels. 
 
 (Magnified.) 
 
 34 and 37. Interlaced Ornaments, formed of red dots, from 
 the Gospels of Lindisfarne. 
 
 35. Interlaced Triquetral Pattern, from the Coronation 
 
 Gospels of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. 
 
 36. Circular Ornament of four conjoined Tilqueti-se, from the 
 
 Sacramentarium of Rheims. (Magnified ) 
 
 38 and 40. Initial Letters from the Gospels of Lindisfarne, 
 with interlaced Patterns, Animals, and Angulated lines. 
 End of 7th century. (Magnified.) 
 
 39. Terminal Ornament, with Dogs’ -heads, from the Franco- 
 Saxon Sacramentarium of Rheims. — Silvestre. 
 
 41 and 45. Quadrangular Interlaced Ornaments, from the 
 Missal of Leofric in the Bodleian Library. 
 
 29. 
 
 30. 
 
 A A 
 
 89 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXY. 
 
 SPIRAL, DIAGONAL, ZOOMOEPHIC, AND LATER ANGLO-SAXON ORNAMENTS. 
 
 1. Initial Letter, from the Gospels of Lindisfarne. End of 
 
 7tli century. British, Museum. (Magnified.) 
 
 2. Ornament of Angulated Lines, from the Gregorian 
 
 Gospels, British Museum. (Magnified.) 
 
 3. Interlaced Animals, from the Book of Kells, in the 
 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin. (Magnified.) 
 
 4. Diagonal Pattern. Gospels of Mac Durnan, in the 
 
 Library of Lambeth Palace. 9th century. (Magnified.) 
 5 and 12. Spiral Patterns, from Gospels of Lindisfarne. 
 (Magnified.) 
 
 6. Diagonal Patterns, from Irish MS. at St. Gall. 9th 
 
 century. (M agnified.) 
 
 7. Interlaced Ornament, from ditto. 
 
 8. Interlaced Animals. Gospels of Mac Durnan. (Mag- 
 
 nified.) 
 
 9. 10, 13. Diagonal Patterns. Gospels of Mao Durnan. 
 
 (Magnified.) 
 
 11. Diagonal Patterns, from Gospels of Lindisfarne. (Mag- 
 nified.) 
 
 14. Terminal Border of Interlaced Animals, from Gospels of 
 Lindisfarne. (Magnified.) 
 
 15 and 17, Panels of interlaced Beasts and Birds, from Irish 
 Gospels at St. Gall. 8th or 9th century. 
 
 16. Initial Q, formed of an elongated Angulated Animal, from 
 Psalter of Ricemarchus, Trinity College, Dublin. End 
 of 11th century, 
 
 18. One Quarter of Fi‘ame,or Border, of an illuminated Page 
 
 of the Benedictional of .^thelgar at Rouen. 10th 
 century. — Silvestre. 
 
 19. Ditto, from the Arundel Psalter, No. 155, British Museum. 
 
 — Humphries. 
 
 20. Ditto, from the Gospels of Canute, in British Museum. 
 
 End of 10th century. 
 
 21. Ditto, from the Benedictional of iEthelgar. 
 
 22. Terminal Ornament of spiral Pattern, with Birds. Part 
 
 of large Initial Letter in the Gospels of Lindisfarne. 
 (Real size.) — Humphries. 
 
 I I ) » I3 8 C »| ( 
 
 CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 The genius of the inhabitants of the British Islands has, in all ages, been indicated by productions 
 of a class or style singularly at variance with those of the rest of the world. Peculiar as are our 
 characteristics at the present time, those of our forefathers, from the remotest ages, have been equally 
 so. In the Fine Arts, our immense Druidical temples are still the wonder of the beholder; and in 
 succeeding ages gigantic stone crosses, sometimes thirty feet high, most elaborately carved and ornamented 
 with devices of a style unlike those of other nations, exhibited the old genius for lapidary erections 
 under a modified form inspired by a new faith. 
 
 The earliest monuments and relics of ornamental art which we possess (and they are far more 
 numerous than the generality of persons would conceive, ) are so intimately connected with the early 
 introduction of Christianity into these islands,* that we are compelled to refer to the latter in our 
 endeavours to unravel the history and peculiarities of Celtic Art; a task which has hitherto been 
 scarcely attempted to be performed, although possessing, from its extreme nationality, a degree of 
 interest equal, one would have thought, to that connected with the history of ornamental art in other 
 countries. 
 
 1. Historical Evidence. — Without attempting to reconcile the various statements which have 
 been made by historians as to the precise manner of the introduction of religion into Britain, we 
 have the most ample evidence, not only that it had been long established previous to the arrival of 
 
 » The Pagan Celtic remains at Gavr' Innis, in Brittany, New Grange, in Ireland, and I believe one Druidical monument near Har- 
 lech, in Wales, exhibit a very rude attempt at ornamentation, chiefly consisting of incised spiral or circular and angulated lines. 
 
 90 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 St. Augustine in A.d. 596, but that in several important points of doctrine the old British religionists 
 differed from the missionary sent by St. Gregory the Great. This statement is most completely borne 
 out by still existing artistic evidences. St. Gregory sent into England various copies of the Holy 
 Scriptures, and two of these are still preserved ; one in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and the other 
 in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. They are copies of the Holy Gospels, written in 
 Italy, in the large uncial or rounded characters common in that country, and destitute of ornament; the 
 initial letter of each Gospel scarcely differing from the ordinary writing of the text, the first line or 
 two being merely written in red ink, each Gospel preceded by a portrait of the Evangelist (one only 
 still remains, namely, that of St. Luke), seated under a round-headed arch, supported upon marble 
 columns, and ornamented with foliage arranged in a classical manner. All the most ancient Italian 
 manuscripts are entirely destitute of ornamental elaboration. 
 
 The case is totally different with the most ancient manuscripts known to have been written in 
 these islands; and as these are the chief supports of our theory of the independent origin of Celtic 
 ornament, and as, moreover, we are constantly opposed by doubts as to the great age which has been 
 assigned to these precious documents, we must enter into a little palseographical detail in proof of 
 their venerable antiquity. It is true, indeed, that none of them are dated ; but in some the scribe 
 has inserted his name, which the early annals have enabled us to identify, and thus to fix the period 
 of the execution of the volume. In this manner the autograph Gospels of St. Columba ; the Leabhar 
 Dhimma, or Gospels of St. Dimma Mac Nathi; the Bodleian Gospels, written by Mac Begol; and 
 the Book of Armagh, have been satisfactorily assigned to periods not later than the ninth century. 
 Another equally satisfactory evidence exists, in proof of the early date of the volumes, in the unrivalled 
 collection of contemporary Anglo-Saxon Charters existing in the British Museum and other libraries, 
 from the latter half of the seventh century up to the Norman Conquest ; and although, as Astle 
 observes, “ these Charters are generally written in a more free and expeditious manner than the 
 books written in the same ages, yet a similarity of character is observable between Charters and books 
 written in the same century, and they authenticate each other.” Now it is quite impossible to 
 compare, for example, the Cottonian MS. Vespasian, A 1, generally known under the name of the 
 Psalter of St. Augustine, with the Charters of Sebbi King of the East Saxons, A.D. 670 (Casley’s 
 Catal. of MSS. p. xxiv.); of Lotharius King of Kent, dated at Eeculver, A.D. 679; or, again, the 
 Charter of ^thelbald, dated A.D. 769, with the Gospels of Mac Regol or St. Cbad; without being 
 perfectly convinced that the MSS. are coeval with the Charters. 
 
 A third species of evidence of the great antiquity of our very ancient national manuscripts is 
 afforded by the fact of many of them being still preserved in various places abroad, whither they 
 were carried by the Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries. The great number of monastic establishments 
 founded by our countrymen in different parts of Europe is matter of historical record ; and we need 
 only cite the case of St. Gall, an Irishman, whose name has not only been given to the monastic 
 establishment which he founded, but even to the Canton of Switzerland in which it is situated. The 
 monastic books of this establishment, now transferred to the public library, comprise many of the 
 oldest manuscripts in Europe, and include a number of fragments of elaborately-ornamented volumes 
 executed in these islands, and long venerated as relics of the founder. In like manner, the Book 
 of the Gospels of St. Boniface is still preserved at Fulda with religious care ; and that of St. Kilian 
 (an Irishman), the Apostle of Franconia, was discovered in his tomb, stained with his blood, and is 
 still preserved at Wurtzburgh, where it is annually exhibited on the altar of the cathedral on the 
 anniversary of his martyrdom. 
 
 Now all these manuscripts, thus proved to have been written in these islands at a period prior 
 to the end of the ninth century, exhibit peculiarities of ornamentation totally at variance with those 
 
 91 
 
CELTIC OENAMENT. 
 
 of all other countries, save only in places where the Irish or Anglo-Saxon missionaries may have 
 introduced their own, or have modified the already existing styles. And here we may observe that, 
 although our arguments are chiefly derived from the early manuscripts, tlie results are equally applicable 
 to the contemporary ornamental metal or stone-work; the designs of which are in many cases so 
 entirely the counterparts of those of the manuscripts, as to lead to the conclusion that the designers 
 of the one class of ornaments supplied also the designs for the other. So completely, indeed, is this 
 the case in some of the great stone crosses, that we might almost fancy we were examining one of 
 tlie pages of an illuminated volume with a magnifying glass. 
 
 2. Peculiarities of Celtic Ornament. — The chief peculiarities of the Celtic ornamentation consist, 
 first, in the entire absence of foliage or other phyllomorphic or vegetable ornament, the classical 
 acanthus being entirely ignored ; and secondly, in the extreme intricacy, and excessive minuteness 
 and elaboration, of the various patterns, mostly geometrical, consisting of interlaced ribbon-work, 
 diagonal or spiral lines, and strange, monstrous animals and birds, with long top-knots, tongues, and 
 tails, intertwining in almost endless knots. 
 
 The most sumptuous of the manuscripts, such for instance as the Book of Kells, the G-ospels of 
 Lindisfarne and St, Chad, and some of the manuscripts at St. Gall, have entire pages covered with 
 the most elaborate patterns in compartments, the whole forming beautiful cruciform designs, one 
 of these facing the commencement of each of the four Gospels. The labour employed in such a 
 mass of work* must have been very great; the care infinite, since the most scrutinizing examination 
 with a magnifying glass will not detect an error in the truth of the lines, or the regularity of the 
 interlacing ; and yet, with all this minuteness, the most harmonious effect of colouring has been 
 produced. 
 
 Contrary to the older plan of commencing a manuscript with a letter in noways or scarcely differing 
 from the remainder of the text, the commencement of each Gospel opposite to these grand tessellated 
 pages was ornamented in an equally elaborate manner. The initial letter was often of gigantic 
 size, occupying the greater part of the page, which was completed by a few of the following letters 
 or words, each letter generally averaging about an inch in height. In these initial pages, as in 
 those of the cruciform designs, we find all the various styles of ornament employed in more or less 
 detail. 
 
 The most universal and singularly-diversified ornament employed by artificers in metal, stone, or 
 manuscripts, consists of one or more narrow ribbons interlaced and knotted, often excessively intricate 
 in their convolutions, and often symmetrical and geometrical. Plates LXIII. and LXIV. exhibit 
 numerous examples of this ornament in varied styles. By colouring the ribbons with different tints, 
 either upon a coloured or black ground, many charming effects are produced. Of the curious intricacy 
 of some of these designs, an idea may easily be obtained by following the ribbon in some of these 
 patterns; as, for instance, in the upper compartment in Fig. 5 of Plate LXIII. Sometimes two 
 ribbons run parallel to each other, but are interlaced alternately, as in Fig. 12 of Plate LXIV. 
 When allowable the ribbon is dilated and angulated to fill up particular spaces in the design, as in 
 Plate LXIV., Fig. 11. The simplest modification of this pattern of course is the double oval, seen 
 in the angles of Fig. 27, Plate LXIV. This occurs in Greek and Syriac MSS., in Eoman tessellated 
 pavements, but rarely in our early MSS. Another simple form is that known as the triquetra, 
 which is extremely common in MSS. and metal-work ; an instance in which four of these triquetree 
 are introduced occurs in Plate LXIV., Fig. 36. Figures 30 and 35 in the same Plate are modifications 
 of this pattern. 
 
 * In one of these pages in the Gospels of St. Chad, which we have taken the trouble to copy, there are not fewer than one hundred 
 and twenty of the most fantastic animals. 
 
 92 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 Another very distinguishing ornament profusely introduced into early work of all kind consists of 
 monstrous animals, birds, lizards, and snakes of various kinds, generally extravagantly elongated, with 
 tails, top-knots, and tongues, extended into long interlacing ribbons, intertwining together in the 
 most fantastic manner ; often symmetrical, but often irregular, being drawn so as to till up a required 
 space. Occasionally, but of rare occurrence, the human figure is also thus introduced ; as on one 
 of the panels of the Monasterboice Cross in the Crystal Palace, where are four figures thus singularly 
 intertwined, and on one of the bosses of the Duke of Devonshire’s Lismore crozier are several such 
 fantastic groups. In Plate LXIII. are groups of animals thus intertwined. The most intricate 
 examples are the groups of eight dogs (Plate LXV., Fig. 17) and eight birds (Plate LXV., Fig. 15) 
 from one of the St. G-all MSS., and the most elegant is the marginal ornament (Plate LXV., Fig. 8) 
 from the G-ospels of Mac Durnan, at Lambeth Palace. In the later Irish and Welsh MSS. the edges 
 of the interlaced ribbons touch each other, and tlie designs are far less geometrical and much more 
 confused. The strange design (Plate LXV., Fig. 16) is no other than the initial Q of the Psalm, 
 Quid G-loriaris, from the Psalter of Ricemarchus, Bishop 'of St. David’s, A.D. 1088. It will be seen 
 that it is intended for a monstrous animal, with one top-knot extended in front over its nose, and a 
 second forming an extraordinary whorl above the head, the neck with a row of pearls, the body long 
 and angulated, terminated by two contorted legs and grim claws, and a knotted tail, which it would 
 be difficult, indeed, for the animal to unravel. Very often, also, the heads alone of birds or beasts 
 form the terminal ornament of a pattern, of which various examples occur in Plate LXIV., the gaping 
 mouth and long tongue forming a not uijgraceful finish. 
 
 The most characteristic, however, of all the Celtic patterns, is that produced by two or three 
 spiral lines starting from a fixed point, their opposite extremities going off to the centres of coils 
 formed by other spiral lines. Plate LXV., Figs. 1, 5, and 12, are instances of this ornament, all 
 more or less magnified ; and Fig. 22, which is of the real size. Plate LXIII., Fig. 3, shows how 
 ingeniously this pattern may be converted into the diagonal pattern. In the MSS., and all the finer 
 and more ancient metal and stone-work, these spiral lines always take the direction of a C, and never 
 that of a S. It is, therefore, evident, not only from the circumstance, but also from the irregularity 
 of the design itself, that the central ornament in Plate LXIII., Fig. 1, was not drawn by an artist 
 skilled in the genuine Celtic patterns, but indicates a certain amount either of carelessness or of 
 extraneous influence. This pattern has also been called the trumpet pattern, from the spaces between 
 any two of the lines forming a long, curved design, like an ancient Irish trumpet, the mouth of which 
 is represented by the small pointed oval placed transversely at the broad end. Instances in metal- 
 work of this pattern occur in several circular objects of bronze of unknown use, about a foot in 
 diameter, occasionally found in Ireland ; also in small, circular, enamelled plates of early Anglo-Saxon 
 work, found in different parts of England. It is more rarely found in stone-work, the only instance 
 of its occurrence in England, as far as we are aware, being on the font of Deerhui'st Church. Bearing 
 in mind that this ornament does not appear in MSS. executed in England after the ninth century, 
 we may conclude that this is the oldest ornamented font in this country. 
 
 Another equally characteristic pattern is composed of diagonal lines, never interlacing, but generally 
 arranged at equal intervals apart, forming a series of Chinese-like patterns,* and which, as the letter 
 Z, or Z reversed, seems to be the primary element, may be termed the Z pattern. It is capable of 
 great modification, as may be seen in Plate LXV., Figs. 6, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 13. In the more 
 elaborate MSS. it is purely geometrical and regular, but in rude work it degenerates into an irregular 
 design, as in Plate LXIII., Figs. 1 and 3. 
 
 * Several of the patterns given in the upper part of the Chinese Plate LIX, occur with scarcely any moclificatiou in our stone 
 and metal-work, as well as in our MSS. 
 
 B B 
 
 93 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 Another very simple ornament occasionally used in our MSS. consists of a series of angulated lines, 
 placed at equal distances apart, forming a series of steps. See Plate LXIV., Figs. 28 and 36 ; and 
 Plate LXV., Fig. 2. This is, however, hy no means characteristic of Celtic ornament, occurring elsewhere 
 from the earliest period. 
 
 The last ornament we shall notice is, indeed, the simplest of all, consisting merely of red dots or 
 points. These were in great use as marginal ornaments of the great initial letters, as well as of the 
 more ornamental details, and are, indeed, one of the chief characteristics distinguishing Anglo-Saxon 
 and Irish MSS. Sometimes, also, they were even formed into patterns, as in Plate LXIV., Figs. 34 
 and 37. 
 
 3. Origin of Celtic Ornament. — The various styles of ornament described above were practised 
 throughout Great Britain and Ireland from the fourth or fifth to the tenth or eleventh centuries ; and 
 as they appear in their purest and most elaborate forms in those parts where the old Celtic races longest 
 prevailed, we have not hesitated to give the Celtic as their generic name. 
 
 We purposely, indeed, avoid entering into the question, whether the Irish in the first instance 
 received their letters and styles of ornament from the early British Christians, or whether it was in 
 Ireland that the latter were originated, and thence dispersed over England. A careful examination 
 of the local origin of the early Anglo-Saxon MSS., and of the Eoman, Eomano-British, and early 
 Christian , inscribed and sculptured stones of the western parts of England and Wales, would, we think, 
 materially assist in determining this question. It is sufficient for our argument that Venerable Bede 
 informs us, that the British and Irish Churches were identical in their peculiarities, and the like 
 identity occurs in their monuments. It is true, indeed, that the Anglo-Saxons, as well as the Irish, 
 employed all these styles of ornamentation. The famous Gospels of Lindisfarne, or Book of St. Cuthbert, 
 preserved in the Cottonian Library in the British Museum, is an unquestionable proof of such employ- 
 ment ; and it is satisfactorily known that this volume was executed by Anglo-Saxon artists at Lindisfarne 
 at the end of the seventh century. But it is equally true that Lindisfarne was an establishment founded 
 by the monks of Iona, who were the disciples of the Irish St. Columba, so that it is not at all surprising 
 that their Anglo-Saxon scholars should have adopted the styles of ornamentation used by their Irish 
 predecessors. The Saxons, pagans as they were when they arrived in England, had certainly no 
 peculiarities of ornamental design of their own; and no such remains exist in the north of Germany 
 as would give the least support to the idea that the ornamentation of Anglo-Saxon MSS., &c., was of 
 a Teutonic origin. 
 
 Various have been the conjectures whence all these peculiarities of ornament were derived by the 
 early Christians of these islands. One class of writers, anxious to overthrow the independence of the 
 ancient British and Irish Churches, has referred them to a Eoman origin, and has even gone so far as 
 to suppose that some of the grand stand crosses of Ireland were executed in Italy. As, however, not 
 a single Italian MS. older than the ninth century, nor a single piece of Italian stone sculpture having 
 the slightest resemblance to those of this country, can be produced, we at once deny the assertion. 
 An examination of the magnificent work upon the Catacombs of Eome, lately published by the French 
 Government, in which all the inscriptions and mural drawings executed by the early Christians are 
 elaborately represented, will fully prove that the early Christian art and ornamentation of Eome had 
 no share in developing that of these islands. It is true that the grand tessellated pages of the MSS. 
 above described bear a certain general resemblance to the tessellated pavement of the Eomans, and had 
 they been found only in Anglo-Saxon MSS., we might have conjectured that such pavements existing 
 in various parts of England, and which in the seventh and eighth centuries must still have remained 
 uncovered, were the originals from which the illuminator of the MSS. had taken his idea ; but it is in 
 the Irish MSS., and in the MSS. which are clearly traceable to Irish influence, that we find these pages 
 94 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 most elaborately ornamented, and we need hardly say that there are no Roman tessellated pavements 
 in Ireland, the Romans never having visited that island. 
 
 It may, again, be said that the interlaced ribbon patterns, so common in the MSS., &c., were derived 
 from the Roman tessellated and mosaic work ; but in the latter the interlacing was of the simplest and 
 most inartificial character, bearing no resemblance to such elaborate, interlaced knotwork as is to be 
 seen, for instance, in Plate LXIII. In fact, in the Roman remains the ribbons are simply alternately 
 laid over each other, whilst in the Celtic designs they are knotted. 
 
 Another class of writers insist upon the Scandinavian origin of these ornaments, which we are still 
 perpetually accustomed to hear called Runic knots, and connected with Scandinavian superstitions. 
 It is certainly true that in the Isle of Man, as well as at Lancaster and Bewcastle, we find Runic 
 inscriptions upon crosses, ornamented with many of the peculiar ornaments above described. As, 
 however, the Scandinavian nations were Christianised by missionaries from these islands, and as our 
 crosses are quite unlike those still existing in Denmark and Norway ; as, moreover, they are several cen- 
 turies more recent than the oldest and finest of our MSS. there can be no grounds for asserting that the 
 ornaments of the MSS. are Scandinavian, A comparison of our plates with those contained in the 
 very excellent series of illustrations of the ancient Scandinavian relics in the Copenhagen Museum, 
 lately published,* is sufficient to disprove such an assertion. Only one figure (No. 398) in the whole 
 of the 460 representations given in that work exhibits the patterns of our MSS., and we have no 
 hesitation in asserting it to be a reliquary of Irish work. That the Scandinavian artists adopted Celtic 
 ornamentation, especially such as was practised about the end of the tenth or eleventh centuries, is 
 evident from the similarity between their carved wooden churches (illustrated in detail by M. Dahl) 
 and Irish metal-work of the same period, such as the Cross of Cong in the Museum of the Royal 
 Irish Academy in Dublin. 
 
 Not only the Scandinavian, but also the earlier and more polished artists of the school of Charle- 
 magne and his successors, together with those of Lombardy, adopted many of the peculiar Celtic 
 ornaments in their magnificently illuminated MSS. They, however, interspersed with them classical 
 ornaments, introducing the acanthus and foliage, giving a gracefulness to their pages which we look 
 for in vain in the elaborate, but often absolutely painfully intricate, work of our artists. Our Fig. 25, 
 in Plate LXIV., is copied from the Golden Gospels in the British Museum, a magnificent production 
 of Frankish art of the ninth century, in which we perceive such a combination of ornament. The 
 Anglo-Saxon and Irish patterns were, however, so closely copied (always, however, of a much larger 
 size) in some of the grand Frankish MSS. that the term Franco-Saxon has been applied to them. 
 Such is the case with the Bible of St. Denis in the Biblioth^que Nationale, Paris, of which forty pages 
 are preserved in the Library of the British Museum. Plate LXIV., fig. 31, is copied from this MS. 
 of the real size. 
 
 It remains to inquire, whether Byzantium and the East may not have afforded the ideas which 
 the early Celtic Christian artists developed in the retirement of their monasteries into the elaborate 
 patterns which we have been examining. The fact that this style of ornament was fully developed 
 before the end of the seventh century, taken in connexion with that of Byzantium having been the 
 seat of Art from the middle of the fourth century, will suggest the possibility that the British or 
 Irish missionaries (who were constantly travelling to the Holy Land and Egypt) might have there 
 obtained the ideas or principles of some of these ornaments. To prove this assertion will, indeed, be 
 
 * In the division of this Danish work devoted to the Bronze age we find various examples of spiral ornaments on metaUwork, hut 
 always arranged in the CO manner, and with but very few inartificial combinations. In the second division of the Iron period, we also 
 find various examples of fantastical-intertwined animals also represented on metal-work. Nowhere, however, do the interlaced ribbon 
 patterns, or the diagonal Z-like patterns, or the trumpet-like spiral patterns, occur. 
 
 95 
 
CELTIC OKNAMENT. 
 
 difficult, Lecause so little is known of real Byzantine Art previous to the seventh or eighth century. 
 Certain, however, it is that the ornamentation of St. Sophia, so elaborately illustrated by H. Salzenberg, 
 exhibits no analogy with our Celtic patterns; a much greater resemblance exists, however, between 
 the latter and the early monuments of Mount Athos, representations of some of which are given by 
 M. Didron, in his Iconographie de Dieu. In our Egyptian Plate X., Figs, 10, 13—16, 18—23, and 
 Plate Xi., Figs. 1, 4, 6, and 7, will be perceived patterns formed of spiral lines or ropes, which may 
 have suggested the spiral pattern of our Celtic ornaments; but it will be perceived that in the 
 majority of these Egyptian examples the spiral line is arranged like a S. In Plate X., Fig. 11, 
 however, it is arranged C-wise, and thus to a greater degree agrees with our patterns, although wide 
 enough in detail for them. The elaborate interlacements, so common in Moresque ornamentation, 
 agree to a certain extent with the ornaments of Sclavonic, Ethiopic, and Syriac MSS., numerous examples 
 of which are given by Silvestre, and in our Palceographia Sacra Pictoria ; and as all these, probably, 
 had their origin in Byzantium or Mount Athos, we might be led to infer a similar origin in the idea, — 
 worked out, however, in a different manner by the Irish and Anglo-Saxon artists. 
 
 We have thus endeavoured to prove that, even supposing the early artists of these islands might 
 have obtained the germ of their peculiar styles of ornament from some other source than their own 
 national genius, they had, between the period of the introduction of Christianity and the beginning 
 of the eighth century, formed several very distinct systems of ornamentation, perfectly unlike in their 
 developed state to those of any other country; and this, too, at a period when the whole of Europe, 
 owing to the breaking up of the great Roman Empire, was involved in almost complete darkness as 
 regards artistic productions. 
 
 4. Later Anglo-Saxon Ornament. — About the middle of the tenth century another and equally 
 striking style of ornament was employed by some of the Anglo-Saxon artists, for the decoration of 
 their finest MSS., and equally unlike that of any other country. It consisted of a ffiame-like design, 
 composed of gold bars entirely surrounding the page, the miniatures or titles being introduced into 
 the open space in the centre. These frames were ornamented with foliage and buds ; but true to the 
 interlaced ideas, the leaves and stems were interwoven together, as well as with the gold bars — the 
 angles being, moreover, decorated with elegant circles, squares, lozenges, or quatrefoils. It would 
 appear that it was in the south of England that this style of ornament was most fully elaborated, 
 the grandest examples having been executed at Winchester, in the Monastery of St. ^thelwold, in 
 the latter half of the tenth century. Of these the Benedictional belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, 
 fully illustrated in the Archceologiat is the most magnificent ; two others, however, now in the public 
 library of Rouen, are close rivals of it ; as is also a copy of the Gospels in the library of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. The Gospels of King Canute in the British Museum is another example which has afforded 
 us the Figure 20 in Plate LXV. 
 
 There can be little doubt that the grand MSS. of the Frankish schools of Charlemagne, in which 
 foliage was introduced, were the originals whence our later Anglo-Saxon artists adopted the idea of 
 the introduction of foliage among their ornaments. 
 
 J. 0. WESTWOOD. 
 
 96 
 
CELTIC ORNAMENT. 
 
 BIBLIOG-KAPHICAL EEFERENCES. 
 
 Ledwick, Antiquities of Ireland. 4to. 
 
 O’Conor. Biblioth. Stowcnsis. 2 vols. 4to. 1818. Also, Rerum 
 Hibernicarum Scriptores veteres. 4 vols. 4to. 
 
 Petrie. Essay on tlie Round Totvers of Ireland. Large 8vo. 
 Betham. Irish Antiquarian Researches. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 O’NEUi. Illustrations of the Crosses of Ireland. Folio, in Parts. 
 Keller, Ferdinand, Dr. Bilder vnd Schriflzuge in den Irischen 
 Manuscripten ; in the Mittheilunffeji der Antiq.Gesellsch.in Zurich. 
 Bd. 7, 1851. 
 
 Westwood, J. 0. Paleographia Sacra Pictoria. 4to. 1843-1845. 
 
 „ In Journal of the Archaoloyical Institute, vols. vii. 
 
 and X. Also numerous articles in the Ar- 
 chcEologia Cambrensis. 
 
 Gumming. Illustrations of the Crosses of the Isle of Man. 4to. 
 Chalmers. Stone Monuments of Angusshire. Imp. fol. 
 
 Spaij)ING Club. Sculptured Stones of Scotland. Fol. 1856. 
 
 Gage, J. Dissertation on St. .Mlhelwold’s Benedictional, in Archao- 
 logia, vol. xxiv. 
 
 Ellis, H. Sir. Account of Cadmon's Paraphrase of Scripture History, 
 in ArchcBologia, vol. xxiv. 
 
 Goodwin, James, B.D. Evangelia Augustmi Qregoriana ; in Trans. 
 Cambridge Antiq. Soc, No. 13, 4to. 1847, with eleven plates. 
 
 Bastard, Le Comte de. Ornemcnts et Miniatures des Manuscrits 
 Franfaises. Imp. fol. Paris. 
 
 WoRSAAE, J. J. A. Afbildninger fra det Kong. Museum i Kjobenhavn. 
 8vo. 1854. 
 
 And the general works of WrLLEMiN, Strutt, Du Sommerard, 
 Langlois, Shaw, Silvestre and Champollion, Astle {on 
 Writing), Humphreys, La Croix, and Lysons {Magna Britan- 
 nia). 
 
 97 
 
i£ I 
 
Chapter XVI.— Plates 66, 67, 67*, 68, 69, 69*, 70, 71, 72, 73, 
 
 MEDIEVAL OKNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXVI. 
 
 Conventional Leaves and Flowers, from MSS. of different periods. 
 
 PLATES LXVIL, LXVIP. 
 
 Collection op Borders, from Illuminated MSS., from the 9th to the 14th century. 
 
 PLATE LXVIII. 
 
 Diapers on "Walls, from Miniatures in Illuminated MSS. from the 12th to the 16th century. 
 
 PLATE LXIX. 
 
 Stained Glass op different Periods and Styles. 
 
 1, 5, 6, 8. Church of Attenberg, near Cologue. I 9, 11. Cathedral of Soisson. 
 
 3. Southwell Church, Nottinghamshire. i 10. St. Thomas at Strasburg. 
 
 2,4. Chaptei'-house, York Cathedral. 13. Cathedral of Troyes. 
 
 7. North Transept, York Cathedral. ' 14. Canterbury Cathedral. 
 
 PLATE LXIX*. 
 
 Stained Glass of different Periods and Styles. 
 
 12, 17. St. Cunibert, Cologne 
 16. Canterbury Cathedral 
 16, 26. Abbey of St. Denis. 
 
 18-24, 25, 27, 29. Cathedral of Bourges. 
 28. Cathedral of Angers. 
 
 99 
 
MEDMVAL OENAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXX. 
 
 Encaustic Tiles. 13th and 14th centuries. 
 
 PLATE LXXL 
 
 Illuminated MSS., No. 1. 
 
 1-12 are of the 12th century ; 13 is of the 13th century, 12 and 13 are from the Illuminated Boohs of the Middle Ages . — 
 
 Humphreys. 
 
 The remainder of the Ornaments on this Plate from the British Museum. 
 
 PLATE LXXII. 
 
 Illuminated MSS,, No. 2, 
 
 13, 14, of the 13th century. 1, 3-6, 8-11, 14th century. 2, 7, 12, 15, of the 15th century. 
 
 2, 3, 7, 8, and 15, are from the Illuminated Boohs of the Middle Ages ; 16, from a MS. in the possession of the Author, 
 The remainder from the British Museum. 
 
 PLATE LXXIII. 
 
 Illuminated MSS., No. 3. 
 
 MSS. from the Beginning to the End of the 15th century. 11-15, from the Eluminated Boohs of the Middle Ages. 
 The remainder from the British Museum. 
 
 MEDIEVAL OENAMENT. 
 
 The transition from the round arch, characteristic of the Eomanesque style, to the pointed style 
 of the thirteenth century, is readily traced in the buildings in which the two styles are intermingled ; 
 but the passage from Eomanesque Ornament to that which prevailed so universally in the thirteenth 
 century is not so clear. All traces of the acanthus leaf have disappeared, and we find a purely con- 
 ventional style of ornament universally prevalent in all the buildings of the time. The nearest approach 
 to this style is found in the illuminated MSS. of the twelfth century, which appear to have been 
 derived in some of their features from the Greek MSS. The ornaments are formed of a continuous 
 100 
 
MEDT/EVAL ORNAMENT. 
 
 Early English. Wells. Collins. 
 
 Warmington Church, Northamptonshire. W. Twopkn v. 
 
 Warmington Church, Northamptonshire. W. Twopeky. 
 
 Decorated. Wells. Collins. 
 
 stem, throwing off leaves on the outer side, and terminating in a flower. The general disposition 
 and arrangement of the lines in any given space is exactly similar to the arrangement of Early English 
 sculptured ornament. 
 
 Early English Ornament is the most perfect, both in principle and in execution, of the Grothic 
 period. There is as much elegance and refinement in modulations of form as there is in the ornament 
 of the Greeks. It is always in perfect harmony with the structural features, and always grows naturally 
 from them. It fulfils’ every one of the conditions which we desire to find in a perfect style of Art. 
 But it remained perfect only so long as the style remained conventional. As this style became less 
 idealised and more direct in imitation, its peculiar beauties disappeared, and it ceased to be an orna- 
 mentation of structural features, but became ornament applied. 
 
 D D 
 
 101 
 
MEDIEVAL ORNAMENT. 
 
 In the capitals of the colnmns in the Early English architecture the ornament arises directly from 
 the shaft, which above the necking splits up into a series of stems, each stem terminating in a 
 flower. This is analogous to the mode of decorating the Egyptian capital. In the Decorated style, 
 on the contrary, where a much nearer approach to Nature was attempted, it was no longer possible 
 to treat a natural leaf as part of the shaft ; and, therefore, the shaft is terminated by a bell-shape. 
 
 Stoije Church, Kent. Published by the Topographical Society. 
 
 round which the leaves are twined. The more and more natural these were made, the less artistic 
 became the arrangement. 
 
 The same thing occurs in the bosses which cover the intersection of the ribs. On the vaulting ; 
 in the Early English bosses the stems of the flowers forming the bosses are continuations of the 
 mouldings of the ribs, whilst in subsequent periods the intersections of the ribs were concealed ‘by 
 the overlaying of the boss, which was here as much an application as was the acanthhs leaf to the 
 bell of the Corinthian capital. 
 
 In the spandrils of the arches, so long as the conventional style was retained, one vigorous main 
 stem was distributed over the spandril, from which sprang the leaves and flowers ; but when the 
 natural was attempted, the stem ceased to be the guiding form of the ornament, and lost all grace 
 in the endeavour to represent in stone the softness of nature. The main stem as a leading feature 
 gradually disappears, and the spandrils are often filled with three immense leaves springing from a 
 twisted stem in the centre. 
 
 From the few remains which still exist of the decorations of the interior of buildings, we are 
 unable to form a very complete idea of this class of ornament of the thirteenth century. The ornaments 
 from illuminated MSS. are not a safe guide, as, after the twelfth century, the style is rarely very 
 architectural, and there were so many schools of illumination, and they borrowed so much one from 
 the other, that there is often great mixture in the same illumination. It is unlikely, that while the 
 sculptured ornament was so universally conventional, that the decorated portion of the same building 
 could have departed from the style. » 
 
 I 
 
MEDIEVAL ORNAMENT. 
 
 On Plates LXVII. and LXVII we give a selection of borders found on illuminated MSS., 
 ranging from the ninth to the fourteenth century; and on Plate LXVIII. diapers from walls, chiefly 
 taken from the back-grounds of illuminations, from the twelfth to the sixteenth. There are very few 
 of either class that could be worthy accompaniments to the pure conventional ornament of the Early 
 English style. 
 
 In the thirteenth century, beyond all others, architecture was in its zenith. The mosques of Cairo, 
 the Alhambra, Salisbury, Lincoln, Westminster, all possess the same secret of producing the broadest 
 
 Wells Cathedral. Collins. 
 
 general effects combined with the most elaborate decoration. In all these buildings there is a family 
 likeness; although the forms widely differ, the principles on which they are based are the same. 
 They exhibit the same care for the leading masses of the composition, the same appreciation of the 
 undulations of form, the same correct observation of natural principles in the ornamentation, the 
 same elegance and refinement in all the decoration. 
 
 The attempt to reproduce in our time a building of the thirteenth century must be vain indeed. 
 Whitewashed walls, with stained glass and encaustic tiles, cannot alone sustain the effect which was 
 arrived at when every moulding had its colour best adapted to develope its form, and when, from 
 the floor to the roof, not an inch of space but had its appropriate ornament, an effect which must 
 have been glorious beyond conception. So glorious a point, indeed, had the style reached that it was 
 exhausted by the effort, — the light burnt out ; not only architecture, but all the decorative arts 
 which accompanied it, immediately began to decline, — a decline which never stops till the style dies 
 out. 
 
 In the examples of encaustic tiles on Plate LXX. it will be seen that the broadest in effect, 
 and the best adapted to their purpose, are the earliest, such as Nos. 17, 27. Although there was 
 never so much decline as to attempt an appearance of relief, yet a near approach to a representation 
 of the natural forms of leaves may be seen in No. 16; and a very marked decline is observed 
 in patterns such as No. 23, where tracery and the structural features of buildings were represented. 
 
 103 
 
MEDIEVAL OENAMENT. 
 
 On Plate LXVI. are arranged a great variety of conventional leaves and flowers from illuminated 
 MSS. Although many of them are in the originals highly illuminated, we have printed them here 
 in two colours only, to show how possible it is to represent in diagram the general character of 
 leaves. By adapting these leaves or flowers to a volute stem, almost as many styles in appearance 
 could be produced as there are separate ornaments on the page. By a combination of different varieties, 
 they might be still further increased, and by adding to the stock by conventionalising the form of 
 any natural leaf or flower on the same principle, there need be no limit to an artist’s invention. 
 
 In Plates LXXI., LXXII., LXXIII., we have endeavoured to gather together types of the various styles 
 of ornamental illumination from the twelfth to the end of the fifteenth century. There is here, also, 
 evidence of decline from the very earliest point. On Plate LXXI. the letter N is not surpassed by 
 any example in the subsequent styles we have reproduced. Here the true purpose of illumination 
 is fulfilled ; in every way, it is pure decorative writing. The letter itself forms the chief ornament ; 
 from this springs a main stem, sweeping boldly from the base, swelling out into a grand volute 
 exactly at the point best adapted to contrast with the angular line of the letter; this is beautifully 
 sustained again by the green volute, which embraces the upper part of the N, and prevents it falling 
 over, and is so nicely proportioned that it is able to sustain the red volute which flows from it. The 
 colours, also, are most beautifully balanced and contrasted ; and the way in which the rotundity of 
 the stems is expressed, without attempting positive relief, is a fruitful lesson. There are an immense 
 number of MSS. in this style, and we consider it the finest kind of illumination. The general 
 character of the style is certainly Eastern, and was probably a development of the illumination 
 of the Byzantines. We believe that, from its universal prevalence, it led to the adoption of the same 
 principle so universally in the ornamentation of the Early English which follows exactly the same 
 laws in the general distribution of form. 
 
 This style, from constant repetition, gradually lost the peculiar beauty and fitness which it had 
 derived from first inspiration, and died out by the scroll-work becoming too minute and elaborate, 
 as we see in No. 13 of the same plate. We have no longer the same balance of form, but the four 
 series of scrolls repeating each other most monotonously. 
 
 From this period we no longer find the initial letters forming the chief ornament on the page, 
 but the general text becomes enclosed either in borders round the page, as at No. 1, Plate LXXII., 
 or with tails on one side of the page, such as 9, 10, 11, 12. The border gradually comes to be of 
 more importance, and from the vignette form which was at first general, we gradually arrive through 
 the manner of No. 15 to that of Nos. 7 and 2, where the border is bounded on the outer edge by 
 a red line, and the border is filled up by intermediate stems and flowers, so as to produce an even 
 tint. No. 8 is a specimen of a style very prevalent in the fourteenth century, and which is very 
 architectural in character. It is generally to be found on small missals, and surrounding very beautiful 
 miniatures. 
 
 The gradual progress from the flat conventional ornament. Nos. 13 and 14, to the attempt at 
 rendering the relief of natural forms in Nos, 15, 7, 2, will readily be traced through Nos. 9, 10, 11. 
 There is also to be remarked a gradual decline in the idea of continuity of the main stems,, and 
 although each flower or group of leaves in Nos. 15, 7, 2, may still be traced to their roots, the arrange- 
 ment is fragmentary. 
 
 Up to this period the ornaments are still within the province of the scribe, and are all first 
 outlined with a black line and then coloured, but on Plate LXXIII. we shall find that the painter 
 began to usurp the office of the scribe; and the farther we proceed the more does the legitimate object 
 of illumination seem to be departed from. 
 
 We have the first stage in No. 5, where a geometrical arrangement is obtained with conventional 
 104 
 
MEDIAEVAL ORNAMENT. 
 
 ornament enclosing gold panels, on wMoh are painted groups of flowers slightly conventionalised. In 
 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, we find conventional ornament intermingled with natural flowers arranged in a 
 fragmentary way. All continuity of design being abandoned, we arrive through this to No. 11, when 
 a natural flower and a conventional ornament appear on the same stem, to Nos. 12, 13, where the 
 painter has full sway, and represents flowers and insects casting their shadow on the page. AVhen 
 the art of illumination had arrived at this stage it could go no farther, — all ideality had fled — and 
 it ends in the desire to copy an insect so faithfully that it should appear to be alighting on the page. 
 
 Nos. 1, 2, are specimens of a peculiar style of Italian MSS., which was a revival in the fifteenth 
 century of the system of ornament so prevalent in the twelfth. It led to the style No. 3, where the 
 interlaced pattern became highly coloured on the gold ground. This style also died out in the same 
 way, the interlacings, from being purely geometrical forms, became imitations of natural branches, 
 and, of course, when it arrived thus far there could be no further progress. 
 
 • The character of the ornament on stained glass appears to follow much more closely that of the 
 illuminated MSS. than it does the sculptured ornament of the monuments of the same period, and, 
 like the ornament, of the illuminated MSS., it appears to us to be always in advance of structural 
 ornament. For instance, — the stained glass of the twelfth century possesses the same breadth of 
 effect, and is constructed in the same way as the sculptured ornament of the thirteenth, whilst the 
 stained glass of the thirteenth century is, according to our view, already in a state of decline. The 
 same change has taken place which we have already observed on comparing No. 13 with No. 12, 
 Plate LXXI. 
 
 The constant repetition of the same forms has gradually led to an over-elaboration of detail, from 
 which the general effect considerably suffers. The ornaments are out of scale with the general 
 masses. Now as it is one of the most beautiful features of the Early English style, that the ornament 
 is in such perfect relation in point of scale and effect to the members which it decorates, this seems 
 a very curious fact, if fact it is. On Plates LXIX. and LXIX*., all the ornaments from No. 12 to 28 
 are of the twelfth century. Nos. 3 and 7 are of the thirteenth. Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, are 
 of the fourteenth, and we think a mere glance at the general effect of the plates will establish what 
 we have here advanced. 
 
 In the stained glass of the twelfth century we shall always find all the principles which we have 
 shown to belong to a true style of art. We need only call attention here to the very ingenious way 
 in which the straight, the inclined, and the curved, are balanced and contrasted in all the diapers. 
 
 In Nos. 2 and 4 we have an example of a very common principle, which is thoroughly Eastern in 
 character, viz., a continuous ground pattern forms a tint interlacing with a more general surface pattern. 
 
 In Nos. 1, 5, 6, 8, of the fourteenth century we see the commencement of the direct natural style, 
 which ended in the total neglect of the true principles of stained glass, when both ornaments and 
 figures through which life was to be transmitted, in the attempt to render them over-true, had their 
 own shades and shadows. 
 
 E E 
 
 105 
 



MITTELALTEK 
 
 F’AftL LXVIU. 
 
 » ♦ ♦ 0 
 
 * * 
 
 
 
 
•...L.A>jMALEriEL STAINED GLASS^ yitraux pei-nts 
 
 24 
 
lUUMINIRTE MANUSCRIFTE. I LLU M I NATED M.S.S. N° E MANUSCRIPTS ENLUMINE 
 
 TAPEL IXXll 
 
 PU LXXIl 
 
 
 
 
umHINIRTE MAHnSCHIPTE ILLUMINATED ML.S N°S. MANUSCRIPTS ENLIIMINES 
 
 TAFEl, WXIU. o- 
 
Chapter 
 
 XVII.— Plates 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 
 
 EENAISSANCE OKNAMENT. 
 
 81, 82. 
 
 PLATE LXXIV. 
 
 1, 8, 9. Bas-reliefs from the Church of Sta. Maria dei Mira- 
 coli, Venice. 
 
 2. Bas-relief from the Scuola di Sau Marco, Venice. 
 
 3. Bas-relief forming the continuation upwards of Fig. 2. 
 
 4, 6. Bas-reliefs from the Church of San Michele in Murano 
 
 Venice. 
 
 5, 7. Bas-reliefs from the Scala dei Giganti, Venice. 
 
 PLATE LXXV. 
 
 1, 2. From a Collection of Casta taken under the super- 
 intendence of Professor Varny, from the principal 
 Cinque-cento Monuments of Genoa. 
 
 3. From the first Ghiberti Gate of the Baptistery, Florence. 
 
 4, 5, 8, 9, 11. From Genoa. 
 
 6. From Venice. 
 
 7. From the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. 
 10. From the H6tel Bourgtheroulde, Eouen. 
 
 PLATE LXXVI. 
 
 Bas-relief by Andrea Sansovino, from the Church of Sta. 
 Maria del Popolo, Eome. 
 
 Bas-relief from the Church of Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, 
 Venice. 
 
 Bas-relief from the H6tel Bourgtheroulde, Rouen. 
 Bas-relief from a Collection of Casts of the best Cinque- 
 
 cento Ornaments of Genoa, taken under the superin- 
 tendence of Professor Varny, 
 
 5, 7, 8, 10. Bas-reliefs from Genoa. 
 
 6. Bas-relief from the Martinengo Tomb, Brescia. 
 
 9. Bas-relief from the Base of the “ Trois Graces of Germain 
 Pilon, in the Louvre. 
 
 PLATE LXXVII. 
 
 1-3. Ornaments enamelled on Copper in the early Li- 
 moges Champlev6 style, from the HOtel Cluny 
 Museum, Paris. 
 
 4-8. Ditto, of a later period. 
 
 9. Ornaments from the background of a Picture, in the 
 Hotel Cluny. 
 
 10, 11. Enamels on Gold Ground, from the Louvre. 
 
 12. Silver Inlay in Ivory, of the Sixteenth Century, from 
 
 the Hotel Cluny. 
 
 13. From a Casket in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 14. From a Powder-horn in Iron of the Sixteenth Cen- 
 
 tury, in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 15-17. Similar objects in Boxwood, from the same Museum. 
 18-20. From Sixteenth Century Limoges Enamels, in the 
 same Museum. 
 
 21. From ditto, in the Louvre. 
 
 22-24. Enamels on Gold Ground, Sixteenth Century, Louvre. 
 
 25. Portion of an Ebony Cabinet of the Sixteenth Cen- 
 
 tury, in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 26. Inlaid Ornament on a Dagger Sheath of the Sixteenth 
 
 Century, in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 27, 28. From Pottery of the Sixteenth Century, in the 
 Louvre. 
 
 29. Limoges ChamplevO Enamel on Copper, from the 
 
 Hotel Cluny. 
 
 30. Painted Ornaments, HOtel Cluny. 
 
 31. From the Armour of Henri III., in the Louvre. 
 
 32. A Metal Plate in the same Museum. 
 
 33-35. From Metal Work, in the Louvre. 
 
 36. From the Armour of Fran§ois II., in the Louvre. 
 37-39. Repousse Ornaments in Copper, from the HOtel 
 Cluny. 
 
 40, 41. Limoges ChamplevO Enamel, from the same Museum. 
 42-44. From Goldsmiths’ Work of the Sixteenth Century, in 
 the Louvre. 
 
 45, 46. From a Picture in Limoges Painted Enamel, Six- 
 teenth Century, in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 47. Ornament in Copper, from the above. 
 
 48- Ivory Inlay in Ebony, from the above. 
 
 49. Painted Ornament, from the above. 
 
 50-63. Limoges ChamplevO Enamel, from the above. 
 
 54-56. From Accessories to Pictures, from the above. 
 
 57-61. Limoges Champleve Enamel. 
 
 107 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXXYIIL 
 
 1-36. Ornaments taken from Specimens of Hispano-Arabic, French, and Italian Earthenware, preserved in the South 
 Kensington Museum, and principally from the Majolican Wares of Pesaro, Gubbio, Urbino, Castel Durante, and 
 other Italian towns of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries. 
 
 PLATE LXXIX. 
 
 1-3. Ornaments selected from the faience, or enamelled 
 Earthenware, of Bernard de Palissy, in the Hotel 
 Cluny. 
 
 4-10. From Specimens of Majolica, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 11-13. From faience of the Fifteenth Century, in the H6tel 
 Cluny. 
 
 14-18, 21. From faience of the Sixteenth Century, in the 
 Louvre. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 1, 2. Ornaments ivom faience. 
 
 3-6. Ornaments from faience of the Sixteenth Century. 
 7-10. Ornaments from faience of the Seventeenth Cen- 
 tury. 
 
 11, 12. From faience with Metallic Lustre. 
 
 13. From a Vase in Venetian Glass of the Sixteenth 
 Century. 
 
 14-21. 'Svo'ca. faience of the Sixteenth Century. 
 
 22, 23. From faience of an Earlier Date. 
 
 19, 20. From Porcelain of the Seventeenth Century, in the 
 Louvre. 
 
 22, 23. From the German Pottery, m grhs, with Painted 
 Glaze of the Sixteenth Century, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 24-33. From Earthenware, French, Spanish, and Italian, in 
 the Hotel Cluny. 
 
 34. From the Louvre. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 24-27. From Qrh Flamand, or Earthenware. 
 
 28-32, From faience of the Sixteenth Century. 
 
 33. From a Carved Wood Panel of the Seventeenth 
 Century. 
 
 34-38. From Enamelled Earthenware. 
 
 39—42. From Silk Embroidery on Velvet. 
 
 N.B. — The whole of the Specimens on this Plate have 
 been derived from the H6tel Cluny, Paris. 
 
 1. From a Sideboard carved in wood, dated 1554, in the 
 
 H6tel Cluny. 
 
 2. Wood Panels of the Sixteenth Century, in the H6tel 
 
 Cluny. 
 
 3. From an Oak Chair-back, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 4-6. From Carved Wood-stalls of the Fifteenth Century, 
 in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 7-10, 25, 26, 35, 36. From Furniture, in the HOtel Cluny. 
 
 11. End of a Beam of the end of the Fifteenth Century, 
 in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 12, 13, 20, 21, 39, 40. From Furniture of the Sixteenth Cen- 
 tury, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 14, 15. From Furniture of the Fifteenth Century, in the 
 Hotel Cluny. 
 
 16. From a Sideboard, in the HOtel Cluny, 
 
 Shutter Panels of the end of the Fifteenth Century, 
 in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 18. Carved Ornament, from the Louvre. 
 
 19. From a Boxwood Comb, in the Hotel Cluny. 
 
 22. Stone Balustrading, from the Chateau d’Anet, 
 
 23. Stone Carving, from the Louvre. 
 
 24. From a Chimney-piece, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 27-30. Carving in Marble from the celebrated Basin of the 
 Fountain of the Chateau Gaillon, now in the Louvre. 
 31, 32. Stone carving. Seventeenth Century, in the Louvre. 
 
 33. Wood-carving from the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 34, 38. From the Fountain of the Chateau Gaillon, Louvre. 
 37. From the Stock of an Arquebuss of the Sixteenth 
 Century, in the Hdtel Climy. 
 
 PLATE LXXXL 
 
 17. 
 
 PLATE LXXXII. 
 
 1-9. Carved Ornament, from Oak Furniture of the Six- 
 teenth Century, in the Hotel Cluny. 
 
 10, 11, 19, 34. From the Bed of Franqois I., in the Hotel 
 Cluny. 
 
 12 , 13, 14, 32, 33. From Oak Furniture of the Sixteenth 
 Century, in the H6tel Cluny. 
 
 108 
 
 15-17. From a Sideboard of the Fifteenth Century. 
 
 18. From an Oak Sideboard, dated 1524, in the H6tel 
 Cluny. 
 
 20-29. From Furniture of the Sixteenth Century, in the 
 Hotel Cluny. 
 
 30, 31. Panels of Shutters of the end of the Fifteenth Cen- 
 tury, in the Hotel Cluny. 
 
EENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 If two intelligent students of Italian Art and Literature diligently set themselves to trace, the 
 one the latest date at which the direct, though lingering, light of Roman greatness waned to its feeblest 
 glimmer in the land over which it had once shed its dazzling rays, and the other the earliest effort made 
 to excite a veneration for what most historians declare to have almost utterly died out in the lapse of 
 ages — classical beauty — there is little doubt that they would not only meet, but cross one another, 
 in the progress of their researches. The truth is, that the material monuments of the ancient Romans, 
 scattered thickly over the soil of Italy, were so substantial and majestic, that it was impossible to 
 live under their shadow and to forget them. Fragments of exquisite beauty, in stone, bronze, and 
 marble, were to be had for the trouble of turning up the soil that scarcely covered them; and thus 
 they were, from time to time, pressed into service for tombs, and as accessories in buildings, in the 
 construction of which the principles of Art to which those fragments owed their beauty had been 
 entirely lost sight of. Hence, the G-othic style was at once slow to take root in Italy, and destined 
 to bloom brilliantly, but for a short season. Almost concurrently with the introduction of the pointed 
 arch into Northern Italy by an Englishman, in the construction of St. Andrea, at Vercelli, early in 
 the thirteenth century, and with the German works of Magister Jacobus, at Assisi, a protest was 
 commenced in favour of the ancients and their arts, by that great reviver of antique sculpture, Nicola 
 Pisano. The close of the thirteenth century was further marked by a complete revolution in the 
 world of letters. Dante, in his time, was scarcely less known as a Christian poet than as an emulator 
 of the great Mantuan, and a profound student in classical learning. In the fourteenth century, 
 Petrarch and Boccaccio, intimate friends, spent long and laborious lives, not in writing Italian poetry 
 or prose, as is often fancied, but in labouring incessantly in the preservation and restoration to the 
 world of the long-lost texts of the Roman and G-recian authors. Cino da Pistoia and other learned 
 commentators and jurists, brought into fashion the study of the great “ Corpus ” of ancient law and 
 maintained academies in which it was adopted as a text. Boccaccio it was who first gave to Italy a 
 lucid account of Heathen Mythology, and who first instituted a chair for the study of the Grecian 
 language at Florence, bringing over Leontius Pilatus, a learned Greek, from Constantinople, to be 
 the first professor. These efforts at a revival of classical learning were seconded by a numerous band 
 of notables, among whom the names of John of Ravenna (Petrarch’s pupil), Lionardo Aretino, Poggio 
 Bracciolini, iEneas Sylvius (ultimately Pope Pius II., 1458-1464), and Cosmo, the father of the 
 Medici, are most popularly and familiarly known. It was at a moment when the labours of such 
 men as these had accumulated in public and private libraries all that could be recovered of classical 
 learning, that about the middle of the fifteenth century the art of printing was introduced into Italy. 
 Under the auspices of the Benedictines of Subiaco, the Germans Sweynheim and Pannartz set up their 
 press in the celebrated Monastery of Santa Scholastica, from which issued, in the year 1465, their 
 edition of Lactantius. Removing to Rome in 1467, the first-fruits of their labour was ‘^Cicero de 
 Oratore.” Thus, while in Germany and France biblical and ecclesiastical literature, and in England 
 popular, first gave employment to the printer; in Italy, classical, for a time, almost exclusively 
 
 F F 109 
 
EENAISSA2^CE OENAMENT. 
 
 engaged his attention. Nicholas Jenson, the Frenchman, who was sent by Louis XL to the ateliers 
 of Fust and Scheffer, to learn “ le nouvel art par lequel on faisait des livres,” carried his acquired 
 knowledge from Mayence to Venice, where he invented the Italic character, subsequently adopted by 
 the learned Aldus Manutius. This remarkable man, who was a no less learned editor than he was 
 zealous printer, from about the year 1490, gave to the world in rapid succession editions of the 
 G-reek and Latin Classics. Among his earliest works is one ever memorable in the history of Art, 
 the Hypnerotomachia,” or dream of Poliphilus, written by the learned ecclesiastic Fra Colonna. 
 It is profusely illustrated with engravings on wood, the design of which has been frequently ascribed 
 to no less great an artist than Andrea Mantegna. Through those illustrations, which display a 
 profound study of ancient ornament, types of form diametrically opposed to those of the middle 
 ages were disseminated over the Continent of Europe. The publication of Vitruvius at Rome, about 
 1486, at Florence in 1496, and at Venice, with illustrations, in 1511, as well as of Alberti’s great 
 work, ‘'^De Re vEdificatoria,” at Florence, in 1485, set the seal upon the classical tendency of the 
 age in matters of Art, and afforded the means of speedily transmitting to other countries the details 
 of ancient design, so warmly taken up throughout Italy. The successors of the first Aldus at Venice, 
 the G-ioliti in the same city, and the Giunti at Florence, rapidly multiplied the standard classics; 
 and thus the art of printing speedily caused a movement of revival to become cosmopolitan, which, 
 had that noble art remained undiscovered, would very probably have been limited, to a great extent, 
 to the soil of Italy. 
 
 Long, however, as we have already asserted, before the aspirations of the first labourers in the 
 mine of antiquity had been thus brought to fruition, indications had been given in the world of Art 
 of an almost inherent antagonism on the part of the Italians to Gothic forms. In the ornaments 
 which surround the ceilings of the Church of Assisi, ascribed to Cimabue, the father of painting, the 
 acanthus had been drawn with considerable accuracy; while Nicola Pisano and other masters of the 
 trecento, or thirteenth century, had derived many important elements of design from a study of 
 antique remains. It was scarcely, however, until the beginning of the fifteenth century that the 
 movement can be said to have borne really valuable fruit. In its earliest stage the Renaissance of 
 Art in Italy was unquestionably a revival of principles, and it was scarcely until the middle of the 
 fifteenth century that it came to be in anywise a literal revival. Conscious as we may be, that in 
 some productions of this earlier stage, when Nature was recurred to for suggestion, and the actual 
 details of classic forms were comparatively unknown and unimitated, there may exist occasional 
 deficiencies, supplied at a later period, and under a more regular system of education; we are yet 
 free to confess a preference for the freshness and naiveU with which the pioneers worked, over the more 
 complete but more easily obtained graces of an almost direct reproduction of the antique. 
 
 The first great step in advance was taken by the celebrated Jacopo della Quercia, who having 
 been driven from his birth-place, Sienna, to Lucca, executed about the year 1413, in the Cathedral 
 of that city, a monument to Ilaria di Caretto, wife of Giunigi di Caretto, Lord of the City. In this 
 interesting work (of which a good cast may be seen in the Crystal Palace) Jacopo exhibited a careful 
 recourse to nature, both in the surrounding festoons of the upper part of the pedestal and the “puttini,” 
 or chubby boys supporting them; the simplicity of his imitation being revealed by the little bandy 
 legs of one of the “ puttini.” His great work, however, was the fountain in the Piazza del Mercato 
 Siena, which was completed at an expense of two thousand two hundred gold ducats, and even in its 
 present sad state of decay offers unmistakable evidence of his rare ability. After his execution of 
 this capo d’opera, he was known as Jacopo della Fonte; this work brought him much distinction, 
 and he was made Warden of the Cathedral in that city, where, after a life of much labour and 
 many vicissitudes, he died in the year 1424, aged sixty-four. Although one of the unsuccessful 
 110 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 candidates for the second bronze door of the Florence Baptistery, as we shall presently see, he was 
 much esteemed during his life, and exercised a great and salutary influence on sculpture after his 
 death. G-reat, however, as were his merits, he was far surpassed in the correct imitation of nature, 
 and in grace, dexterity, and facility in ornamental combination, by Lorenzo G-hiberti, who was one 
 of his immediate contemporaries. 
 
 In the year 1401, Florence, under an essentially democratic form of government, had risen to be 
 one of the most flourishing cities of Europe. In this civic democracy the trades were distinguished 
 as guilds, called ‘^Arti,” represented by deputies (consoli). The Consuls resolved in the above- 
 mentioned year to raise another gate of bronze to the Baptistery, as a pendant to that of Andrea 
 Pisano, which had been previously executed in a very noble, but still G-othic style. 
 
 The SignoHa, or executive government, made known this resolve to the best artists of Italy, and 
 a public competition was opened. Lorenzo Ghiberti, a native of Florence, at that time very young 
 (twenty-two), ventured on the trial, and with two others, Brunelleschi and Donatello, was pronounced 
 worthy. These two last-named artists appear to have voluntarily retired in his favour ; and in twenty- 
 three years from that date the gate was finished, and put up. The. beauty of its design and work- 
 manship induced the Signoria to order another of him, which was ultimately finished about the year 
 1444. It would be impossible to overrate the importance of this work, either as regards its historical 
 influence on art or its intrinsic merit, — standing, as it does, unrivalled by any similar specimen in 
 any age for excellence of design and workmanship. The ornament (for a portion of which see Plate 
 LXXV., Fig. 3), which encloses and surrounds the panels, is worthy of the most careful study. 
 Lorenzo Ghiberti belonged to no school, neither can it be said he founded one, he received his 
 education from his father-in-law, a goldsmith ; and his influence on Art is to be seen rather in the 
 homage and study his works received from men such as Buonarotti and Eaffaelle, than from his 
 formation of any school of pupils. He died in his native city at a good old age, in the year 1455. 
 One of his immediate followers, Donatello, imparted a life and masculine vigour to the art, which, in 
 spite of all their beauty, were often wanting in the compositions of Ghiberti ; and the qualities of both 
 these artists were happily united in the person of Luca della Kobbia, who, during his long life 
 (which extended from 1400 to 1480), executed an infinity of works, the ornamental details of which 
 were carried out in a style of the freest and most graceful analogy with the antique. In the person 
 of Filippo Brunelleschi the talents of the sculptor and the architect were combined. The former are 
 sufficiently evinced by the excellence of the trial-piece in which he competed with Ghiberti for the 
 execution of the celebrated gates of San Giovanni Battista ; and the latter, by his magnificent 
 Cathedral of Sta. Maria delle Fiore at Florence. This combination of architectural and sculptur- 
 esque ability was, indeed, a distinguishing feature of the period. Figures, foliage, and conventional 
 ornaments, were so happily blended with mouldings and other structural forms, as to convey the 
 idea that the whole sprang to life in one perfect form in the mind of the artist by whom the work 
 was executed. 
 
 A development of taste coincident with that noticeable in Tuscany took place at Naples, Rome, 
 Milan, and Venice. At Naples, the torch that was lit by Massuccio was handed on by Andrea Ciccione, 
 Bamboccio, Monaco, and Amillo Fiore. 
 
 At Rome, the opulence of the princes, and the great works undertaken by the successive pontiffs, 
 attracted to the Imperial city the highest procurable ability; and hence it is, that in the various 
 palaces and churches fragments of exquisite decorative sculpture are still to be met with. Bramante, 
 Baldassare Peruzzi, and Baccio Pintelli (of whose arabesques on the exterior of the Church of Sant’ 
 Agostino, one of the earliest buildings of the pure revival executed in the Imperial, our woodcuts 
 give some elegant examples), and even the great Raffaelle himself, did not disdain to design ornaments 
 
 111 
 
Arabesques designed by 
 Baccio Pintelli, for the 
 Church of Sant' Agostino, Rome. 
 112 
 
 RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 for carvers, of the purest taste and most exquisite 
 fancy. Of the perfection attained in this depart- 
 ment of art by the last-named artist, the celebrated 
 wooden stalls of the choir of San Pietro dei Casinensi, 
 at Perugia, will long remain unquestionable evidence. 
 The carrying out of these carvings by Stefano da 
 Bergamo does full justice to the admirable composi- 
 tions of Raffaelle. 
 
 At Milan, the important works of the Duomo, 
 and the Certosa at Pavia, created a truly remark- 
 able school of art; among the most celebrated mas- 
 
 Panel from the Piscina of the High Altar of the Certosa, Pavia. 
 
 ters of which may be noticed, Fusina, Solari, Agrati, 
 Amadeo, and Sacchi. The sculptor’s talent had long 
 been traditional in that locality, and there can be no 
 doubt that these artists embodied in the highest 
 forms the lingering traditions of the Maestri Goma- 
 schi, or Freemasons, of Como ; from whose genius 
 many of the most celebrated buildings of the middle 
 ages derived their highest graces of adornment. Of 
 
 Panels from the Piscina of 
 the High Altar of the 
 Certosa, Pavia. 
 
 Arabesques designed by 
 Baccio Pintelli, for the 
 Church of Sant’ Agostino, Rome 
 
HENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 all the Lombard Cinque-centists, however, the highest admiration m\ist he reserved for Agostino Buati, 
 better known as Bambaja, and his pupil Brambilla, whose exquisite works in arabesque at the Certosa 
 must ever remain marvels of execution. Our woodcuts, selected from the Piscina of the High Altar, 
 furnish some idea of the general style of the Pavian arabesques. 
 
 At Venice, the first great names which call for notice are those of the Lombardi (Pietro, Tullio, 
 Giulio, Sante, and Antonio), through whose talents that city was adorned with its most famous monu- 
 ments. They were followed by Eiccio, Bernardo, and Domenico di Mantua, and many other sculptors ; 
 but their lesser glories are altogether eclipsed by those of the great Jacopo Sansovino. At Lucca, 
 Matteo Civitale (born 1435, died 1501) fully maintained the reputation of the period. Eeturning to 
 Tuscany, we find, towards the close of the fifteenth century, the greatest perfection of ornamental sculp- 
 ture, the leading characteristic of which, however, we now no longer find to be the sedulous and simple 
 
 imitation of nature, but rather a conventional rendering of the antique. The names of Mino da Fiesole 
 
 the greatest of the celebrated school of the Fiesolani — Benedetto da Majano, and Bernardo Eossellini, 
 bring to our recollection many exquisite monuments which abound in the churches of Florence, and the 
 other principal towns of the Grand Duchy. These artists excelled alike in wood, in stone, and in marble, 
 and their works have been surpassed in this style of art only by those of their predecessors we have 
 already named, and by some few others, their contemporaries. Of these, Andrea Contucci, better known 
 as the elder Sansovino, was pre-eminent in his art; and it would appear impossible to carry ornamental 
 modelling to greater perfection than he has exhibited in the wonderful monuments which form the pride 
 of the Church of Sta. Maria del Popolo, at Eome. His pupil, Jacopo Tatti, who subsequently took his 
 master’s name, may be regarded as his only rival. Of him, however, more hereafter. 
 
 Ornameate the Pis- Portions of Pilasters from the Church of Sta. Maria doi Mii-acoli, Venice, 
 
 cina of the High Altar 
 of the Certosa, Pavia. 
 
 G G 
 
 113 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Having thus succinctly traced the historical succession of the great sculptors of Italy, all of whom, 
 it must constantly be borne in mind, were ornamentists also, we proceed io point out some few of those 
 lessons which may, as we conceive, be derived from a study of their works by the artist and art- 
 workman. One of the most peculiar and most fascinating qualities of the best Cinque-cento ornament 
 in relief is the skill with which those by whom it was wrought availed themselves of the play of light 
 and shade produced by infinite variations of plane, not only in surfaces parallel to the grounds 
 from which the ornament was raised, but brought to a tangent with it at ever-varying angles of impact. 
 
 The difference in effect between a scroll of the volute form, in which the relief gradually diminishes 
 from the starting of the volute to its eye, and one in which the relief is uniform throughout, is very 
 great; and it is to their undeviating preference for the former over the latter, that the Cinque-cento 
 artists are indebted for the infallibly pleasing results they attained alike, in their simplest and most 
 complicated combinations of spiral forms. 
 
 This refined appreciation of delicate shades of relief in sculpture was carried to its greatest per- 
 fection by Donatello, whose authority in matters of taste was held in the highest possible esteem by the 
 contemporary Florentines, and whose example was followed with respect and devotion by all classes 
 of artists. Not only was he the first to practise the hassissimo relievo^ in which the effect of pro- 
 jection and of rounded modelling is obtained within apparently impracticable limits of relief, but he 
 was the first to combine that style of work with mezzo and alto relievo ; thus maintaining an almost 
 pictorial division of his subject into several planes. Too good a master 
 of his craft to ever overstep the special conventions of sculpture, 
 
 Donatello enriched the Florentine practice of the Cinque-centisti with 
 many elements derived from the sister art of Painting. These inven- 
 tions — for they are almost worthy of the name, though arrived at 
 only through a sedulous study of the Antique — were adopted and imi- 
 tated with the greatest avidity by the ornamentists of the period ; and 
 hence we may trace some of the most peculiar and striking technical 
 excellence of the best Kenaissance carving and modelling. 
 
 Ultimately, and at its acme of perfection, this system of regular 
 arrangement of ornament in planes was so ingeniously managed in rela- 
 tion to light and shade, that, viewed from a distance, the relievo pre- 
 sented only certain points symmetrically disposed with reference to 
 some dominant geometrical figures. An approach of a few paces served 
 to bring to the sense of vision the lines and figures connecting the 
 points of greatest salience. A yet nearer approach revealed the leafage 
 and delicate tendrils necessary to convey a tangible idea of the type 
 of nature selected for convention, while no inspection could be too 
 close to test the artist’s perfect appreciation of the refinements of sur- 
 face texture. The “ cisellatura,” or ‘‘ chasing,” of the best Italian Cinque- 
 cento ornament, such as may be seen in the Church of the Miracoli, 
 
 Venice (Figs. 1, 8, 9, Plate LXXIV.), by the Lombardi ; in the Church 
 of Sta. Maria del Popolo (Fig. 1, Plate LXXVI.), Rome, by Sansovino; 
 in the gates of the Baptistery, Florence (Fig. 3, Plate LXXV.), by 
 G-hiberti ; in the carvings of San Michele di Murano (Figs. 4, 6, 
 
 Plate LXXIV.) ; the Scuola di San Marco (Fig. 2, Plate LXXIV.) ; 
 
 Small PilasteraofMar- del Miracoli, Venice, 
 
 ble Staircase in the Tullio Lombardo, a.d. 
 
 Church of Sta. Maria 1485, about. 
 
 114 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 the Scala dei Giganti (Figs. 5, 7, Plate LXXIV.) ; and other buildings at Venice, is beyond al) praise. 
 The fibres of a leaf or tendril are never misdirected, nor is Nature’s tendency to grace in growth per- 
 verted or misapprehended. Smoothness and detail are never added excepting where they have some 
 specific function to perform ; and while labour is so prodigally bestowed as to show that every additional 
 touch was a labour of love, it is never thrown away, as is too often the case in the present day, in 
 converting those portions of a design which should l)e secondaries or tertiaries in point of interest into 
 primaries. 
 
 In the hands of artists less profoundly impressed than was Donatello with a sense of the just limit 
 of convention in sculpture, the importation of pictorial elements into bas-relief soon degenerated into 
 confusion. Even the great Ghiberti marred the effect of many of his most graceful compositions by 
 the introduction of perspective, and accessories copied too directly from nature. In many of the orna- 
 mental sculptures of the Certosa the fault is exaggerated until monuments, which should impress the 
 spectator with grave admiration at their beauty and dignity, serve only to amuse him — resembling 
 dolls’ houses peopled by fairies, decked with garlands, hung with tablets, and fancifully overgrown with 
 foliage, rather than serious works of Art commemorating the dead, or dedicated to sacred uses. 
 Another reproach which may with justice be addressed to many 
 such monuments is the incongruity of the association of ideas con- 
 nected with their purport, and those suggested by the ornaments 
 displayed in their friezes, pilasters, panels, spandrils, and other en- 
 riched features. Tragic and comic masques, musical instruments, 
 semi-Priapic terminals, antique altars, tripods, and vessels of libation, 
 dancing amorini, and hybrid marine monsters, and chimeras, har- 
 monise but ill with monuments reared in consecrated edifices or dedi- 
 cated to religious rites. This fault, of the confusion of things sacred 
 and profane, may not, however, be altogether justly laid upon the 
 shoulders of the artists of the Renaissance, whose works served but 
 to reflect the dominant spirit of an age in which the revival of mytho- 
 logic symbolism was but a protest against the hampering trammels 
 of ascetic tradition erected into dogmatism under the rulers of the 
 East, and endorsed by the Church during those centuries when its as- 
 cendancy over an ignorant and turbulent population was at its greatest 
 height. The minds of even the most religious men were imbued 
 with such incongruous associations in the fourteenth century ; and it 
 is not necessary to go farther than the “ Commedia” of Dante, which 
 all the world of literature has designated as the Divine Epic, to re- 
 cognise the tangled skeins of Gothic and classical inspiration with 
 which the whole texture of contemporary literature was interwoven. 
 
 To the architect, the study of Italian Cinque-cento ornament in 
 relief is of no less utility than it can possibly be to the sculptor, 
 since in no style has ornament ever been better spaced out, or 
 Small Pilaster of arranged to contrast more agreeably with the direction of the ad- 
 
 
 Jviarble Staircase 
 
 Small Pilaster of the Giant's 
 
 ... the Church of laceut architectural lines by which it is bounded and kept in subor- staircase. Ducai Palace, 
 
 Sta. Maria, dei ^ Venice, _hy Bcndetto and 
 
 Miracoh, Venice. d.ination. Rarely, if ever, is an ornament suitable for a horizontal Domemco da Mantua, 
 position placed in a vertical one, or vice versa; and rarely, if ever, are the proportions of the orna- 
 ments and the mouldings, or the styles and rails, by which regularity and symmetry are given to the 
 whole, at variance with one another. In Plates LXXIV., LXXV., and LXXVL, are collected a series 
 
 115 
 
EENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 of specimens, in the majority of which gracefulness of line, and a highly artificial, though apparently 
 natural, distribution of the ornament upon its field, are the prevailing characteristics. The Lombardi, 
 in their works at the Church of Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, Venice (Plate LXXIV., Figs. 1, 8, 9 ; Plate 
 LXXVI., Fig. 2); Andrea Sansovino at Eome (Plate LXXVI., Fig. 1); and Domenico and Bernardino 
 di Mantua, at Venice (Plate LXXIV., Figs. 5 and 7), attained the highest perfection in these respects. 
 At a subsequent period to that in which they flourished, the ornaments were generally wrought in more 
 uniformly high relief, and the stems and tendrils were thickened, and not so uniformly tapered, the 
 accidental growth and play of nature were less sedulously imitated, the field of the panel was more 
 fully covered with enrichments, and its whole aspect made 
 more bustling and less refined. The sculptor’s work as- 
 serted itself in competition with the architect’s ; the latter 
 in self-defence, and to keep the sculpture down, soon be- 
 gan to make his mouldings heavy : 
 and a more ponderous style altogether 
 crept into fashion. Of this tendency 
 to 'plethora in ornament we already 
 perceive indications in much of the 
 G-enoese work represented in Plate 
 LXXV,, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 11 ; 
 and in Plate LXXVI., Figs. 4, 5, 7, 8, 
 and 10. Fig. 6 in the last-mentioned 
 plate, from the celebrated Martinengo 
 Tomb, at Brescia, also clearly exhibits 
 this tendency to filling up. 
 
 In the art of painting, a move- 
 ment took place concurrent with that 
 we have thus briefly noticed in sculp- 
 ture. Giotto, the pupil of Cimabue, 
 threw off the shackles of Greek tra- 
 dition, and gave his whole heart to 
 nature. His ornament, like that of 
 his master, consisted of a combination 
 painted mosaic work, interlacing 
 
 Maria dei Miracoli, Venice. , , . p , . „ 
 
 bends, and tree rendering of the acan- 
 thus. In his work at Assisi, Naples, Florence, and Padua, he has invariably shown a graceful appre- 
 hension of the balance essential to be maintained between mural pictures and mural ornaments, both 
 in quantity, distribution, and relative colour. These right principles of balance were very generally 
 understood and adopted during the fourteenth century; and Simone Memmi, Taddeo Bartolo, the 
 Orcagnas, Pietro di Lorenzo, Spinello Aretino, and many others, were admitted masters of mural em- 
 bellishmeut. That rare student of nature in the succeeding century, Benozzo Gozzoli, was a no less 
 diligent student of antiquity, as may be recognised in the architectural backgrounds to his pictures in 
 the Campo Santo, and in the noble arabesques which divide his pictures at San Gimignano. Andrea 
 Mantegna, however, it was who moved painting as Donatello had moved sculpture, and that not in 
 figures alone, hut in every variety of ornament borrowed from the antique. The magnificent cartoons 
 we are so fortunate as to possess of his at Hampton Court, even to their minutest decorative details 
 might have been drawn by an ancient Roman. Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the style 
 ' 116 
 
 Portion of a Doorway in ono of the Palaces of the Dorias near the 
 Church of San Mattoo, Genoa. 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 of polychromy took a fresk and marked turn, the peculiarities of which, in connexion with arabesque 
 and grotesque ornament, we reserve for a subsequent notice. 
 
 Turning from Italy to France, which was the first of the European nations to light its torch at 
 the fire of Renaissance Art, which had been kindled in Italy, we find that the warlike expeditions 
 of Charles VIIT, and Louis XII. infected the nobility of France with an admiration for the splendours 
 of Art met with by them at Florence, Rome, and Milan. The first clear indication of the coming 
 change might have been seen (for it was unfortunately destroyed in 1793) in the monument erected 
 in 1499 to the memory of the first-named monarch, around which female figures, in gilt bronze, of 
 the Virtues, were grouped completely in the Italian manner. In the same year, the latter sovereign 
 invited the celebrated Fra Griocondo, architect, of Verona, friend and fellow - student of the elder 
 Aldus, and first good editor of Vitruvius, to visit France. He remained there from 1499 to 1506, 
 and designed for his royal master two bridges over the Seine, and probably many minor works which 
 have now perished. The magnificent Chateau de Graillon, begun by Cardinal d’Amboise in the year 
 1502, has been frequently ascribed to him, but, according to Emeric David and other French archgeo- 
 logists, upon insufficient grounds. The internal evidence is entirely in favour of a French origin, 
 and against Griocondo, who was more of an engineer and student than an ornamental artist. Moreover, 
 intermingled with much that is very fairly classical, is so much Burgundian work, that it would be 
 almost as unjust to Giocondo to ascribe it to him, as to France to deprive her of the credit of having 
 produced, by a French artist, her first great Renaissance monument. The whole of the accounts 
 which were published by M. Deville in 1850, set the question almost entirely at rest; for from them 
 we learn that Guillaume Senault was architect and master mason. It is, however, just possible that 
 Giocondo may have been consulted by the Cardinal upon the general plan, and that Senault and 
 his companions, for the most part French, may have carried out the details. The principal Italian 
 by whom, if we may judge from the style some of the most classical of the arabesques were wrought, 
 was Bertrand de Meynal, who had been commissioned to carry from Genoa the beautiful Venetian 
 fountain, so well known as the Vasque du Chateau de Gaillon, now in the Louvre, and from which 
 (Plate LXXXI., Figs. 27, 30, 34, 38) we have engraved some elegant ornaments. Colin Castille, who 
 especially figures in the list of art-workmen as “ tailleur a 1’ antique,” may very possibly have been 
 a Spaniard who had studied in Rome. In all essential particulars, the portions of Renaissance work 
 not Burgundian in style are very pure, and differ scarcely at all from good Italian examples. 
 
 It was, however, in the monument of Louis XIL, now at St. Denis, near Paris, and one of the 
 richest of the sixteenth century, that symmetry of architectural disposition was for the first time 
 united to masterly execution of detail in France. This beautiful work of Art was executed between 
 1518 and 1530, under the orders of Francis I., by Jean Juste of Tours. Twelve semicirculaj arches 
 inclose the bodies of the royal pair, represented naked ; under every arch is placed an apostle ; and 
 at the four corners are four large statues of Justice, Strength, Prudence, and Wisdom ; the whole 
 being surmounted by statues of the King and Queen on their knees. The bas-reliefs represent the 
 triumphal entry of Louis into Genoa, and the battle of Aguadel, where he signalised himself by 
 his personal valour. 
 
 The monument of Louis XII. has been often ascribed to Trebatti (Paul Ponee), but it was finished 
 before he came to France, as the following extract from the royal records proves. Francis I. addresses 
 the Cardinal Duprat : — “ H est deu a Jehan Juste mon sculteur ordinaire, porteur de ceste la 
 somme de 400 escus, restans des 1200 que je lui avoie pardevant or donnez pour la menage et conduite 
 de la ville de Tours au lieu de St. Denis en France, de la sculpture de marbre de feuz Roy Loys et 
 Royne Anne, &c. Novembre 1531.” 
 
 Not less worthy of study than the tomb of Louis XIL, and executed at the same period, are the 
 
 H H 
 
 117 
 
Portions of the Tomb of Francis II., Duke of Brittany, and his wife, Mai-guerite de Foix, erected by Anne of Brittany in the Carmelite Church, at Nantes, 
 
 by Michel Colombe, a.d. 1607. 
 
 and beauty, the figures animated and natural, the drapery free and graceful, and the heads full of 
 life; but the arabesque ornaments, which almost entirely cover the projecting parts of the pilasters, 
 friezes, and mouldings of the base, are, perhaps, the most beautiful portions ; they are very diminutive 
 118 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 in size ; the largest of the groups, which are those which cover the pilasters, being only eight or nine 
 inches in breadth. Though so minute, the spirit of the carving, and variety of devices in these orna- 
 ments, are marvellous. Masses of foliage, branches of trees, birds, fountains, bundles of arms, satyrs, 
 
 military ensigns, and tools belonging to various arts, are arranged with much taste. The F. crowned 
 
 the monogram of Francis I. — is conspicuous in these arabesques, and the dates of the years 1525, 1527, 
 and 1529, are traced upon the draperies. 
 
 The tomb which Anne of Brittany caused to be erected to the memory of her father and mother 
 was. finished and placed in the choir of the Carmelite Church at Nantes on the 1st of January, 1507. 
 It is the master-piece of an artist of great ability and riaivete — Michel Colombe. The ornamental 
 details are peculiarly elegant. The monument to Cardinal d’Amboise, in the Cathedral at Kouen, 
 was begun in the year 1515, under Eoulant le Boux, master mason of the Cathedral. No Italian 
 appears to have assisted in its execution, and we may, therefore, fairly regard it as an expression 
 of the vigour with which the Benaissance virus had indoctrinated the native artists. 
 
 It was in 1530 and 1531 that F’rancis I. invited Bosso and Primaticcio into France, and those 
 distinguished artists were speedily followed by Nicolo del’ Abbate, Luca, Penni, Cellini, Trebatti, and 
 Girolamo della Bobbia. With their advent, and the foundation of the school at Fontainebleau, new 
 elements were introduced into the French Benaissance, to which we shall subsequently advert. 
 
 It would exceed the limits of our present sketch to enter fully into the historical details con- 
 nected with the art of wood-carving. It may suffice to point out that every ornamental feature 
 available for stone, marble, or bronze, was rapidly transferred also to wood -work, and that at no 
 period of the history of Industrial Art has the talent of the sculptor been more gracefully brought 
 to bear upon the enrichment of sumptuous furniture. Our Plates, Nos. LXXXI. and LXXXII., 
 furnish brilliant evidence of the justice of our remarks on this head. The attentive student, how- 
 ever, as he goes over them, will be unable to avoid perceiving a gradual withdrawing from the 
 original foliated ornament which formed the stock in trade of the early Benaissance artists. He will 
 next notice a heaping up of various objects and “ capricci,” derived from the antique, accompanied 
 by a fulness of projection and slight tendency to heaviness; and then, finally, he will recognise 
 the general adoption of a particular set of forms differing from the Italian, and altogether national, 
 such as the conventional volute incised with small square or oblong indentations (Plate LXXXI. Figs. 17 
 and 20), and the medallion heads (Plate LXXXI. Figs. 1 and 17). 
 
 The dawning rays of the coming revival of Art in France can scarcely be traced in the 
 painted glass of the fifteenth century. The ornaments, canopies, foliage, and inscriptions, are 
 generally flamboyant and angular in character, although freely and crisply made out, and the figures 
 are influenced by the prevailing style of drawing. The glass, although producing a pleasing effect, 
 is much thinner — especially the blue — than that of the thirteenth century. An immense number 
 of windows were executed during this epoch, and specimens are to be found more or less perfect 
 in almost every large church in France. St. Ouen, at Bouen, has some fine figures upon a white quarry 
 ground in the clerstory windows ; and good examples of the glass of the century will be found in 
 St. Gervais at Paris, and Notre Dame at Chalons-sur-Mame. 
 
 Many improvements were introduced into the art at the epoch of the Benaissance. The first 
 masters were employed to make cartoons ; enamel was used to give depth to the colours without 
 losing the richness, and much more white was employed. Many of the windows are very little more 
 than grisailles, as those designed by Jean Cousin for the Sainte Chapelle at Vincennes ; one of those 
 representing the angel sounding the fourth trumpet is admirable both in composition and drawing. 
 The Cathedral of Auch also contains some exceedingly fine examples of the work of Arneaud Demole ; 
 Beauvais also possesses a great deal of the glass of this period, especially a very fine Jesse window, 
 
 119 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 the work of Enguerand le Prince ; the heads are grand, and the foses of the figures call to mind 
 the works of Albert Purer. 
 
 The grisailles, which ornamented the windows in the houses of the nobility, and even of the 
 bourgeoisie, although small, were executed with an admirable delicacy, and in drawing and grouping 
 leave little to be desired. 
 
 Toward the end of the sixteenth century the art began to decline, the numerous glass-painters 
 found themselves without employment, and the celebrated Bernard de Palissy, who had been brought 
 up to the trade, left it to engage in another presenting greater difficulties, but which eventually 
 secured him the highest reputation. To him, however, we are indebted for the charming grisailles 
 epresenting the story of Cupid and Psyche, from the designs of Raffaelle, which formerly decorated 
 the Chateau of Ecouen, the residence of his great patron the Constable Montmorency. 
 
 Renaissance ornament penetrated into Germany at an early period, but was absorbed into the 
 hearts of the people but slowly, until the spread of books and engravings quickened its general 
 acceptation. From an early period there had been a steady current of artists leaving Germany and 
 Flanders to study in the great Italian ateliers. Among them, men like Roger of Bruges, who spent 
 much of his life in Italy, and died in 1464, — Hemskerk, and Albert Purer, more especially influenced 
 their countrymen. The latter, who in many of his engravings showed a perfect apprehension of the 
 conditions of Italian design, leaning now to the Gothic manner of his master Wohlgemuth, and now 
 to the Eaflaellesque simplicity of Marc’ Antonio. The spread of the engravings of the latter, however, 
 in Germany, unquestionably conduced to the formation of the taste of men who like Peter Vischer 
 first brought Italian plastic art into fashion in Germany. Even at its best the Renaissance of 
 Germany is impure — her industrious affection for difficulties of the hand, rather than of the head, 
 soon led her into crinkum-crankums ; and strap- work, jewelled forms, and complicated monsters, rather 
 animated than graceful, took the place of the refined elegance of the early Italian and French 
 arabesques. 
 
 Araboaqyc by Theodor de Bry, one of the “Pe:ita Maltros” of Germany (160SX in imitation of Italian work, but 
 introducing strap-work, caricature, and iewelled forms. 
 
 It may be well now to turn from the Fine to the Industrial Arts, and to trace the manifestation 
 of the revival in the designs of contemporary manufactures. From the unchanging and unchangeable 
 nature of vitreous and ceramic products, no historical evidence of style can be more complete and 
 120 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 satisfactory than that which they afford, and hence we have devoted three entire Plates (Nos. 
 LXXVIII., LXXIX., and LXXX.) to their illustration. The majority of the specimens thereon 
 represented have been selected from the ‘‘Majolica” of Italy, on which interesting ware and its 
 ornamentation we proceed to offer a few remarks. 
 
 The art of glazing pottery appears to have been introduced into Spain and the Balearic Isles by 
 the Moors, by whom it had long been known and used in the form of coloured tiles for the decoration 
 of their buildings. The earthenware called “majolica” is believed to derive its name from the Island 
 of Majorca, whence the manufacture of glazed pottery is supposed to have found its way into Central 
 Italy; and this belief is strengthened by the fact of the earliest Italian ware being ornamented with 
 geometrical patterns and trefoil-shaped “foliations” of Saracenic character (Plates LXXIX. and 
 LXXX., Figs. 31 and 13). It was first used by introducing coloured concave tiles among brickwork, 
 and later in the form of encaustic flooring. The manufacture of this ware was extensively carried on 
 between 1450 and 1700, in the towns of Nocera, Arezzo, Citta de Castillo, Forli, Faenza (whence 
 comes fayence), Florence, Spello, Perugia, Deruta, Bologna, Eimini, Ferrara, Pesaro, Fermignano, 
 Castel Durante, Gubbio, Urbino, and Kavenna, and also at many places in the Abruzzi ; but Pesaro 
 is admitted to be the first town in which it attained any celebrity. It was at first called 
 or “half” majolica, and was usually made in the form of thick clumsy plates, many of large size. 
 They are of a dingy grey colour, and often have a dull yellow varnish at the back. The texture is 
 coarse and gritty, but the golden and prismatic lustre is now and then seen, though they are more 
 frequently of a pearly hue. This “half” majolica is believed by Passeri and others to have been 
 made in the fifteenth century; and it was not until after that time that the manufacture of “fine” 
 majolica almost entirely superseded it. 
 
 A mode of glazing pottery was also discovered by Lucca della Robbia, who was born at Florence 
 in 1399. It is said that he used for this purpose a mixture of antimony, tin, and other mineral 
 substances, applied as a varnish to the surface of the beautiful terra-cotta statues and bas-reliefs 
 modelled by him. The secret of this varnish remained in the inventor’s family till about 1550, when 
 it was lost at the death of the last member of it. «Attempts have been made at Florence to revive 
 the manufacture of the Robbian ware, but with small success, owing to the great difliculties attending 
 it. The subjects of the bas-reliefs of Della Robbia are chiefly religious, to which the pure glistening 
 white of the figures is well adapted; the eyes are blackened to heighten the expression, and the white 
 figures well relieved by the deep blue ground. Wreaths of flowers and fruits in their natural tints 
 were introduced by the followers of Della Robbia, by some of whom the costumes were coloured, 
 whilst the flesh parts were allowed to remain unglazed. Passeri claims the discovery of this coloured 
 glaze at a still earlier date for Pesaro, where the manufacture of earthenware was carried on in the 
 fourteenth century ; but though the art of combining it with colour may have been known at that 
 early time, it had not attained much celebrity until 1462, -when Matteo di Raniere of Gagli and 
 Ventura di Maestro Simone dei Piccolomini of Siena established themselves at Pesaro, for the purpose 
 of carrying on the manufacture of earthenware already existing there; and it is not improbable that 
 their attention was attracted by the works of Della Robbia, who had been employed by Sigismond 
 Pandolfo Malatesta at Rimini. Some confusion appears to have arisen with respect to the precise 
 process invented by Della Robbia, and looked upon by himself and his family as the really valuable 
 secret. We feel little doubt that it consisted rather in the tempering and firing of the clay to enable 
 it to burn large masses truly and thoroughly than in the protecting glaze, about which there appears 
 to have been very little novelty or necessity for concealment. 
 
 Prismatic lustre and a brilliant and transparent white glaze were the qualities chiefly sought for 
 in the “fine’ majolica and Gubbian ware; the metallic lustre was given by preparations of lead, 
 
 1 1 121 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 silver, copper, and gold, and in this the Guhbian ware surpassed all others. The dazzling white glaze 
 was obtained by a varnish made from tin, into which, when half-baked, the pottery was plunged ; the 
 designs were painted before this was dry, and, as it immediately absorbed the colours, it is not to be 
 wondered at that we so frequently find inaccuracies in the drawings. 
 
 A plate of the early Pesaro ware in the Museum at the Hague bears a cipher, the letters of 
 which appear to be C. H. 0. N.” Another, mentioned by Pungileoni, has “ G. A. T.” interlaced, 
 forming a mark. These instances are rare, as the artists of these plates seldom signed their works. 
 
 The subjects generally chosen were saints and historical events from Scripture; but the former 
 were preferred, and continued in favour till the sixteenth century, when they were displaced by scenes 
 from Ovid and Virgil, though designs from Scripture were still in use. The subject was generally 
 briefly described with a reference to the text in blue letters at the back of the plate. The fashion 
 of ornamenting the ware with the portraits of historical, classical, and living persons, with the 
 names attached to each, was of rather later date than the sacred themes. All these subjects are 
 painted in a flat, tame manner, with little attempt at shading, and are surrounded by a kind of rude 
 Saracenic ornament, differing completely from the Rafifaellesque arabesques, which, in the latter years 
 of Guidobaldo’s reign, were so much in fashion. The plates full of coloured fruits in relief were 
 probably taken from the Robbian ware. 
 
 The decline of this manufacture caused by the Duke’s impaired income and the want of interest 
 in the manufacture felt by his successor, was hastened by the introduction of Oriental china and 
 the increased use of plate in the higher and more wealthy classes; still, though historical subjects 
 were laid aside, the majolica was ornamented with well-executed designs of birds, trophies, flowers, 
 musical instruments, sea monsters, &c., but these became gradually more and more feeble in 
 colouring and execution till, at last, their place was taken by engravings from Sadeler and other 
 Flemings. From all these causes the manufacture fell rapidly to decay in spite of the endeavours 
 made to revive it by Cardinal Legate Stoppani. 
 
 The “fine” majolica of Pesaro attained its greatest perfection during the reign of Guidobaldo 
 II., who held his court in that city, and g»eatly patronised its potteries. From that time, the 
 majolica of Pesaro so closely resembled that of Urbino, that it is not possible to distinguish the 
 manufacture of the two places from each other, the texture of the ware being alike, and the same 
 artists being often employed in both potteries. As early as 1486 the Pesaro ware was considered 
 so superior to all other Italian ware, that a protection was granted to it by the lord of Pesaro 
 of that date, not only forbidding, under penalty of fine and confiscation, the importation of any 
 kind of foreign pottery, but ordering that all foreign vases should be sent out of the state 
 within eight days. This protection was confirmed, in 1532, by Francesco Maria I. In 1569, a 
 patent for twenty-five years, with a penalty of 500 scudi for infringing it, was granted by 
 Guidobaldo II, to Giacomo Lanfranco of Pesaro, for his inventions in the construction of vases 
 wrought in relief, of great size and antique forms, and his application of gold to them. In 
 addition to this, his father and himself were freed from all taxes and imposts. 
 
 From its variety and novelty, majolica was generally chosen by the lords of the Duchy for their 
 presents to foreign princes. In 1478, Costanza Sforza sent to Sixtus IV. certain “vasa fictilia;” and 
 in a letter from Lorenzo the Magnificent to Robert Malatista, he returns thanks for a present of a 
 similar kind. A service painted by Orazio Fontana from designs by Taddeo Zuccaro, was presented 
 by Guidobaldo to Philip II. of Spain. A double service was also given by him to Charles V. The 
 set of jars presented to the Treasury of Loreto by Francesco Maria II., were made by the order of 
 Guidobaldo II., for the use of his own laboratory ; some of them are ornamented with a portrait, or 
 subject of some other description, and all are labelled with the name of a drug or mixture. The 
 122 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 colours of these jars are blue, green, and yeUow; about 380 of them still remain in the Treasury of 
 Loreto. Passeri gives an interesting classification of ornamental pottery, with the terms made use of 
 by the workmen to distinguish the various kinds of paintings used in ornamenting the plates, and 
 also the sums paid to the artists by whom they were painted. He gives a curious extract from a 
 manuscript in the handwriting of Piccolpasso, a “majolicaro” of the middle of the sixteenth century, 
 who wrote upon his art; to understand which it is necessary to remember that the holognino was 
 equivalent to the ninth part, and the gros to 
 the third part, of a paul (5J pence); the livre 
 was a third, and the florin two-thirds of a petit 
 ecu ; and the petit ecu, or ecu ducal, two-thirds 
 of a Roman crown (now value four shi llin gs and 
 threepence one farthing). 
 
 Trophies. — This style of ornament consisted 
 of ancient and modern arms, musical and ma- 
 thematical instruments, and open books ; they 
 are generally painted in yellow cameo on a blue 
 ground. These plates were chiefly sold in the 
 province (Castel Durante) in which they were 
 manufactured, one ducal crown a hundred being 
 the sum paid to the painters of them. This 
 style was much affected by the Cinque-centisti 
 in marble and stone : witness the monument to 
 Gian Galeazzo Visconti, in the Certosa, Pavia, 
 and portions of the Genoese doorway, we en- 
 grave. 
 
 Arabesques were ornaments consisting of a 
 sort of cipher, loosely tied and interlacing knots 
 and bouquets. Work thus ornamented was sent 
 to Venice and Genoa, and obtained one ducal 
 florin the hundred. 
 
 Cerquate was a name given to the interlacing 
 of oak-branches, painted in a deep yellow upon 
 a blue ground ; it was called the “ Urbino painting,” from the oak being one of the bearings of the 
 ducal arms. This kind of decoration received fifteen gros the hundred; and when, in addition, the 
 bottom of the plate was ornamented, by having some little story painted upon it, the artist received 
 one petit ecu. 
 
 Grotesques were the interlacing of winged male and female monsters, with their bodies terminated 
 by foliations or branches. These fanciful decorations were generally painted in white cameo upon a 
 
 Pedestal forming part of a Doorway of the Palace, presented by the Genoese 
 to Andrea Doria. 
 
 blue ground ; the payment for them being two ecus the hundred, unless they were painted on commission 
 from Venice, when the price was eight ducal livres. 
 
 Leaves. This ornament consisted of a few branches of leaves, small in size, and sprinkled over 
 the ground. Their price was three livres. 
 
 Flowers and Fruits — These very pleasing groups were sent to Venice, and the artists received 
 for them five livres the hundred. Another variety of the same style merely consisted in three or 
 four large leaves, painted in one colour upon a different-coloured ground. Their price -was half a 
 florin the hundred. 
 
 123 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Porcelain was the name of a style of work which consisted of the most delicate blue flowers, 
 with small leaves and buds painted upon a white ground. This kind of work obtained two or more 
 livres the hundred. It was, in all probability, an imitation of Portuguese importations. 
 
 Tratti were wide bands, knotted in different ways, with small branches issuing from them. Their 
 price was also two livres the hundred. 
 
 So'prahianco was a painting in white upon a white-lead ground, with green or blue borders round 
 the margin of the plate. These obtained a demi-ecu the hundred. 
 
 Quai'tieri . — In this pattern, the artist divided the bottom oi the plate into six or eight rays 
 diverging from the centre to the circumference ; each space was of a particular colour, upon which 
 were painted bouquets of different tints. The painters received for this kind of ornament two livres 
 the hundred. 
 
 Gh'uppi . — These were broad bands interwoven with small flowers. This pattern was larger than 
 the tratti,” and was sometimes embellished by a little picture in the centre of the plate, in that case 
 the price was a demi-ecu, but without it only two jules. 
 
 Portions of tbo Pilaster of a Doorway in the Palace at Genoa, presented by the Genoese to Andrea Doria. 
 
 
 Candelabri . — This ornament was an upright bouquet extending from one side of the plate to 
 the other, the space on each side being filled up with scattered leaves and flowers. The price of the 
 Candelabni was two florins the hundred. The adjoining woodcut shows how common, how early, 
 and how favourite a subject this was with the best artists of the Cinque-cento. 
 
 To dwell in detail upon the merits and particular works of artists, such as Maestro G-iorgio Andreoli, 
 Orazio Fontana, and Francesco Xanto of Eovigo, would be beyond the scope of this notice, and is the 
 less necessary as Mr. Robinson, in his Catalogue of the Soulages Collection, has so recently thrown 
 out some new and highly interesting speculations upon various difficult questions connected with the 
 subject. Neither will it be desirable here to do more than to point out the interesting modifications 
 of ceramic design and practice carried out in France through the indomitable perseverance of Bernard 
 de Palissy, master-potter to Francis I. In Plate LXXIX. Figs. 1, 3, we have engraved several 
 specimens of the decorations of his elegant ware, which occupy as to design, in reference to other 
 monuments of the French Renaissance, much the same position that the design of the early majolica 
 does to the monuments of the Italian revival. Although that style began to make its appearance in 
 124 
 
KENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 
 the -works of the French jewellers in the reign of Louis XII., when the extensive patronage of the 
 powerful Cardinal d’Amboise gave considerable impetus to the art, it was under Francis I. who invited 
 to his Court the great master of the Eenaissance — Cellini — that 
 the jeweller’s art reached its highest perfection. To rightly 
 appreciate, however, the precise condition and nature of the 
 precious metal-work, it is necessary to pass in rapid review the 
 leading characteristics of the admirable school of enamellers, 
 whose productions in the fifteenth century, and much more in 
 the sixteenth, served to disseminate far and wide some of the 
 most elegant ornaments which have ever been applied to metal- 
 work. 
 
 About the end of the fourteenth century, the artists of Li- 
 moges found not only that the old champleve enamels, — of which, 
 in Plate LXXVIL, Figs. 1, 3, 4, 8, 29, 40, 41, 50, 53, 57, 61, 
 we have given, for the sake of contrast, numerous examples, — 
 had entirely gone out of fashion, but that almost every gold- 
 smith either imported the translucid enamels from Italy, or ex- 
 ecuted them himself with more or less skill, according to his 
 talents. In this state of things, instead of attempting competi- 
 tion, they invented a new manufacture, the processes of which 
 belonged solely to the enameller, and enabled him to dispense 
 entirely with the burin of the goldsmith. The first attempts 
 were exceedingly rude, and very few of them now remain; but 
 that the art progressed slowly is evident from the fact, that 
 it is not until the middle of the fifteenth centuiy that specimens 
 are to be found in any quantity, or possessing any degree of 
 merit. The process was this : — The design was traced with 
 a sharp point upon an unpolished plate of copper, which was IlSil 
 
 then covered with a thin coat of transparent enamel. The 
 artist, after going over his tracing with a thick black line, 
 filled in the intervals with the various colours, which were, for 
 the most part, transparent, the black lines performing the office 
 
 of the gold strips of the cloissonne work. The carnations pre- ’-p'^ J j \ Y 
 
 sented the greatest difficulty, and were, first of all, covered over 
 with the black colour, and the high lights and half-tints were 
 then modelled upon that with opaque white, which occasionally 
 received a few touches of light transparent red. The last opera- 
 tion was to apply the gilding, and to affix the imitations of / 
 
 precious stones,— almost the last trace of the Byzantine school, Lowerportioushowingthesprinringofeuroll-workofasmall 
 
 , Pilaster, by the Lombardi, in the Church of Sta. 
 
 which had formerly exercised so much influence in Aquitaine. iiiracou, Venice. 
 
 The appearance of the finished works was very similar to that of a large and coarse translucid 
 enamel, — a resemblance not unlikely to have been intentional, more especially as specimens of the 
 latter were never made of any considerable size, and were therefore fit to supply the place of ivory 
 in the construction of those small triptyohs which were so necessary an appendage to the chambers 
 and oratories of the rich in the middle ages. Accordingly, we find nearly all the early painted enamels 
 are either in the form of triptychs or diptychs, or have originally formed parts of them ; ' and a great 
 
 KK 125 
 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 number preserve their original brass frames, and are supposed by antiquaries to have been produced 
 in the atelier of Monvearni, as tbe name or initials of that master are generally found upon them. 
 As to the other artists, they followed, unfortunately, the but too common practice of most of the 
 workmen of the middle ages, and, with the exceptions of Monvearni and P. E. Nicholat, or, as the 
 inscriptions have been more correctly read, Penicaud, their names are buried in oblivion. 
 
 At the commencement of the sixteenth century, the Penaissance had made great progress ; and 
 among other changes, a great taste for paintings in ^‘camaieu,” or ^‘grisaille,” had sprung up. The 
 ateliers of Limoges at once adopted the new fashion, and what may be called the second series of 
 painted enamels was the result. The process was very nearly the same as that employed with regard 
 to the carnations of the earlier specimens, and consisted in, firstly, covering the whole plate of copper 
 over with a black enamel, and then modelling the lights and half-tints with opaque white ; those parts 
 requiring to be coloured, such as the faces and the foliage, receiving glazes of their appropriate tints 
 touches of gold are almost always used to complete the picture ; and, occasionally, when more than 
 ordinary brilliancy was wanted, a thin gold or silver leaf, called a “ pallion,” was applied upon 
 the black ground, and the glaze afterwards superposed. All these processes are to be seen in the 
 two pictures of Francis I. and Henry II., executed by Leonard Limousin, for the decoration of the 
 Sainte Chapelle, but which have now been removed to the Museum of the Louvre. Limoges, indeed, 
 owed no small debt of gratitude to the former monarch, who not only established a manufactoiy in 
 the town, but made its director Leonard, peintre, emailleur, valet-de-chambre du Roi,” giving him, 
 at the same time, the appellation of le Limousin,” to distinguish him from the other and still more 
 famous Leonardo da Vinci. And, indeed, the Limousin was no mean artist, whether we regard his 
 copies of the early German and Italian masters, or the original portraits of the more celebrated of 
 his contemporaries, such as those of the Duke of Guise, the Constable Montmorency, Catherine de 
 Medicis, and many others — executed, we must remember, in the most difficult material which has 
 ever yet been employed for the purposes of art. The works of Leonardo extend from 1532 to 1574, 
 and contemporaneously with him flourished a large school of artist-enamellers, many of whose works 
 quite equalled, if they did not surpass, his own. Among them we may mention Pierre Raymond 
 and the families of the Penicauds, and the Courteys, Jean and Susanna Court, and M. D. Pape. The 
 eldest of the family of the Courteys, Pierre, was not only a good artist, but has the reputation of 
 having made the largest-sized enamels which have ever been executed (nine of these are preserved in 
 the Museum of the Hotel de Cluny — the other three, M. Labarte informs us, are in England) for 
 decorating the fapade of the Chateau de Madrid, upon which building large sums were lavished by 
 Francis I. and Henry 11, We should observe that this last phase of Limoges enamelling was not 
 confined, like its predecessor, to sacred subjects ; but, on the contrary, the most distinguished artists 
 did not disdain to design vases, caskets, basins, ewers, cups, salvers, and a variety of other articles 
 of every-day life, which were afterwards entirely covered with the black enamel, and then decorated 
 with medallions, &c., in the opaque white. At the commencement of the new manufacture, the 
 subjects of most of the enamels were furnished from the prints of the German artists, such as Martin 
 Schoen, Israel van Mecken, &c. These were afterwards supplanted by those of Marc’ Antonio Raimondi 
 and other Italians, which, in their turn, gave way about the middle of the sixteenth century to the 
 works of Virgilius Solis, Theodore de Bry, Etienne de I’Aulne, and others of the 'petits^aitres. 
 
 The production of the painted enamels was carried on with great activity at Limoges, during the 
 whole of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, and far into the eighteenth, when it 
 finally expired. The last artists were the families of the Nouaillers and Laudins, whose best works 
 are remarkable for the absence of the paillons, and a somewhat undecided style of drawing. 
 
 In conclusion, it remains for us only to invite the student to cultivate the beauties, as sedulously 
 126 
 
EENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 as he should eschew the extravagancies, of the Eenaissanoe style. Where great liberty is afforded 
 m Art no less than in Polity, great responsibility is incurred. In those styles in which the imagina- 
 tion of the designer can be checked only from within, he is especially bound to set a rein upon his fancy. 
 Ornament let him have in abundance ; but in its composition let him be modest and decorous, avoid- 
 ing over-finery as he would nakedness. If he has no story to tell, let him be content with floriated 
 forms and conventional elements in his enrichments, which please the eye without making any serious 
 call upon the intellect; then, where he really wishes to arrest observation by the comparatively direct 
 representation of material objects, he may be the more sure of attaining his purpose. In a style 
 which, like the Renaissance, allows of, and indeed demands, the association of the Sister Arts, let 
 the artist never lose sight of the unities and specialties of each. Keep them as a well-ordered family, 
 on the closest and most harmonious relations, but never permit one to assume the prerogatives of 
 another, or even to issue from its own, to invade its Sister’s province. So ordered and maintained, 
 those styles are noblest, richest, and best adapted to the complicated requirements of a highly artificial 
 social system, m which, as in that of the Renaissance, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, and the 
 highest technical excellence in Industry, must unite before its essential and indispensable conditions 
 of effect can be efiSciently realised. 
 
 M. DIGBY WYATT. 
 
 BOOKS EEFEERED TO FOE ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 LITERARY AND PICTORIAL. 
 
 Alciati (A.) Embiemata D. A. Alciati, denuo ab ipso Antore recog- 
 nita ; ac, qute desiderabnnitir, imaginibus locupletata. Accessmtnt 
 vo^la nJiquot ab Auiorc Emhlemata svis quoque eiconibus itisigniin. 
 Small 8vo., Lyons, 1551. 
 
 Antonelli (G.) Collezione dti migliori Ornnmenti antichi, sparsi 
 nelln citta di Venezia, coll' agginnta di ulcuni frammenti di Goticu 
 archilettura e di varie invenzioni di un Giovnrie Alunno di questa 
 I. R. Accadcmia. Oblong 4to., Venezia, 18J11. 
 
 Baltard. Paris, ei ses Alonumens, mesvres, dessines, et graves, avec 
 des Descnptions Historiques, par le Ciioyen Amaury Duval; 
 Louvre, St. Cloud, Fontainbleau, Ghdleau d'Ecouen, Ac, S vols. 
 lai-ge folio. Paris, 1808-5. 
 
 C. Becker and J. von Hefner. Kunslxverhe und Ger'dthschaften 
 des Mittelalters und der Renaissance. 3 vols. 4to. Frankfurt 
 1853. ’ 
 
 Bergamo Stefano Da. Wood-Carvings from the Choir of the Mon- 
 aslery of San Pietro at Perugia, IbZb. {Cinque-cento.) Said to 
 be from Designs by Raffaelle. 
 
 Bernard (A.) Reciieil d’Ornements de la Renaissance. Dessines et 
 graves a I’eau-forte. 4to. Paris, n. d. 
 
 Ceaput. Le Moyen-Age Pilforesqtie. Manxmens ft Fx-agmens 
 d'Architectxire, Mexibles, Ax-mes, Armures, et Ohjeis de Cxxriosite 
 X° au XI IP Siecle. Dessine d'upres Nature, qxar Chapuy, Ac. 
 Avec un texte archdologique, descriptif et hisiorique, par M. 
 Maret, 5 vols. small folio. Paris, 1838-40. 
 
 Oleroet et George. Collection portative d’ Ornements de la Renais- 
 sance, recueillis ct choisis par Ch. Ernest Clergct. Graves siir 
 cuivre d’apr'es Ics originaux par C. E. Clerget ei Mme.E. George. 
 8vo. Paris, 1851. 
 
 D’Agincodrt, J. B. L. G. S. Histoire de VAx't par ses Monximens, 
 depuis .sa Decadence au IV^. siecle jusqu’a son Renouvellcment 
 XVP. Oxixrrage enrichi de ^2^ planches. 6 vols. folio, Paris, 
 1833. 
 
 Dennistoun (J.) Memoirs of the Dukes ofUrbinu, illxistrating the 
 Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy from 1440 to 1C30. 3 vols. 
 
 8vo. London, 1851. 
 
 Deatlle (A). Unedited Documents on the Histox'xy of France. 
 
 Oompies de Depexxses de la Construction du- Ch&ieau de Gaillon, 
 publics d'apres les Registres Manvseriis des Trdsoriexs du Car- 
 dinal AAmboise. With an Atlas of Philes. 4to. Paris, 1 850. 
 
 ' Tombeaux de la Calh^drale de Roxien ; avec doxize planches, 
 
 gravdes. 8vo. Eouen, 1837. 
 
 Durelli (G. & F.) La Cei-tosa di Pavia, descriiia ed illustx'ata con 
 tavole, incise daifratelli Gaetano e Francesco Durelli, 62 plates. 
 Folio, Milan, 1853. 
 
 Dussieux (L.) Essai sur VSistoire de la Pelniure sur Email. 8vo. 
 Paris, 1839. 
 
 Gailhabaud (J.) L' Architecture du F«. au XVP. Siecle et les Arts 
 qui en dependent, le Sculpture, la Peintxxre Murah, la Peintxxre sur 
 Verre, la Mosu'ique, la Ferronnexne, Ac., puhlies d'aprh les tra- 
 vuux inedits des PrincipauX Archilectes Frangais et Elrangers. 
 4to. Paris, 1851, et seq. 
 
 Ghiberti (Lorenzo). Le tre Porte del Battisterio di San Giovanni 
 di Firenze. 46 plates engraved in outline by Lasinio, with 
 description in French and Italian. Folio, half -morocco, 
 Firenze, 1821. 
 
 Hoffer. Collection of Ornaments in the Grotesque Style, by Hopfer. 
 
 127 
 
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT. 
 
 Iotbard. Tombean dc Louis XII. ft de Franfoi.^ I., dessinds et gravds 
 au trait, par E. F. Imbard, d'aprh des Marbres du Mnsdc des 
 Petits Augustins. Small folio, Paris, 1823. 
 
 Jt'BlNAL (A.) Edcherches svr I'Usage et I'Origine des Tapisseries a 
 Personnagcs, dites Histondes, depuis PAntiquite jusqu'au XVP. 
 Si^le iuclnsivement. 8vo. ph. Paris, 184(1. 
 
 De Laborde (Le Comte Alexandre). Lis Momtmens de la France, 
 classes chronologiqvement, et considdrds sous le Rappoi't des Fails 
 historiques ei de I'Etude des Arts. 2 vols. folio, Paris, 1818-36. 
 
 De Laborde. Eolice des Emaux exposes dans les Gaieties du Musee 
 du Louvre, Premiere partie, Histoire et Descriptions, 8vo. 
 Paris, 1852. 
 
 LaBARTE (J.) Description des Ohjeis d'Art qui composent la Collec- 
 tion Debruge-Dvmenil, precedes d’une Introduction Historique. 
 Svo. Paris, 1847. 
 
 Lacroix et Serb. Le Moycn Age et la Renaissance, Histoire et 
 Description des Meeurs et Zhoges, du Commerce et de I'Industrie, 
 des Sciences, des Arts, des Lilteratvres, ei des Beaux Arts en 
 Europe. Direction Lilteraire de M. Patil Lacroix. Direction 
 Artistique de M. Ferdinand Sere. Dessins facsimiles par M. 
 
 A, Rivatid. 5 vols. 4to. Paris, 1848-51. 
 
 Lenoir (Alex.) Atlas des Monumens des Arts liberaux, mdcaniques, 
 et industriels de la France, depuis les Gaulois jusqu'au rhgne de 
 Frangois I. Folio, Paris, 1823. 
 
 — Musee des Monumens Franpais: ou Description historique 
 
 et chronologiqiie des Statues en Marbre et en Bronze, Bas-reliefs 
 et Tombeaux des Hommes et des Femmes c^lebres, pour servir d 
 I'Histoire de France et a celle de II Art. Ornee de gravures et 
 augmentie d!iine DisserlaHon sur les Costumes de chaque siecle. 
 6 vols. 8vo., Paris, 1800-6. 
 
 Marryat (J.) Collections towards a History of Pottery and Porcelain 
 in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries, 
 with a Description of the Manufacture ; o Glossary, and a List of 
 Monograms. Illustrated with Colmircd Plates and Woodcuts. 
 8vo. London, 1850. 
 
 Morley (H.) Palissy the Potter. The Life of Bernard Paltssy, of 
 Saintes, his Labours and Discoveries in Art and Science, with an 
 outline of his Philosophical Doctrines, and a Translation of Illus- 
 trative Selections from his Works. 2 vols. 8vo., London, 1852. 
 
 Passeri (J. B.) Histoire des Peintures sur Majoliques failes a Pesari 
 el dans les lieux circonvoisins, decrite par Giambattista Passeri 
 {de Pesaro). Traduite de I’ltalien et suivie d'un Appendice par 
 Henri Delange. 8vo. Palis, 1853. 
 
 Queriere (E. de la). Essai sur les Girouettes, Epis, Crgtes, Ac., des 
 Anciens Combles et Pignons. Numerous plates of Ancient Vanes 
 and Terminations of Roofs, Paris, 1846. 
 
 Renaissance. La Fleur de la Science de Pourtraicture et Patrons de 
 Brodcrie. Fapon Arabicque et Ytalique. Cum PrivUegio Regis. 
 4to. Paris. 
 
 Reynard (0.) Ornemens des Anciens Mattres des XV., XVI., 
 XVII. et XVIII. Siecles. 30 plates comprising copies of some 
 of the most ancient and rare prints of Ornaments, Alphabets, 
 Silverwork. Folio, Paris, 1844. 
 
 Serb (F.) Les Arts Somptunires de V^. au XVIP Siecle. Histoire 
 du Costume et de V Ameuhlement en Europe, et des Arts que en de- 
 pendent. Small 4to. Paris, 1853. 
 
 Sommerard (A. Du.) Les Arts au Moyen Age. (Collection of the 
 HStel de Cluny.) Text, 5 vols. 8vo. ; Plates, 6 vols. folio. 
 Paris, 1838-46. 
 
 Verdier et Cattois. Architecture Civile et Domestique au Moyen 
 Age et a la Renaissance. 4to. Paris, 1852. 
 
 Waring and MacQuoed. Examples of Architectural Art in Italy and 
 Spain, chiefly of the 13fA and 16</i centuries. Folio, London, 
 
 1850. 
 
 Wellemin (N. X.) Monuments Frangais inedits, pour servir a I'His- 
 toire des Arts, depuis le VD. sikcle jusqu’au commencement du 
 XVIP. Choix de Costumes chiles et militaires, d'Armes, 
 Armures, Instruments de Musique, Meubles de tovle espkee, el de 
 Decorations inteneures et ext&ieures des Maisons, dessines, graves, 
 et calorics d'aprh les originaiix. Classes chronologiqvement, et 
 accompagnes d' iin texte historique et descriptif, par Andr4 Potiier. 
 6 vols. small folio, Paris, 1806-39. 
 
 Wyatt, M. Digby, and J. B. Waring. Hand-book to the Renaissance 
 Court in the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. London, 1854. 
 
 Wyatt, M. Digby. Metal Work and its Artislic Design. London, 
 
 1851. 
 
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 Chapter XVIII. — Plates 83, 84, 85, 
 
 ELIZABETHAN OKNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE LXXXIIL 
 
 1. The centre portion of the Ornament in a Stone Chim- 
 
 neypiece, formerly in the Royal Palace, Westminster, 
 new in the Robing Room of the Judges’ Court of 
 Queen’s Bench. 
 
 2. Stone Carving, from an old House, Bristol. James I. 
 
 3. Frieze, from Goodrich Court, Herefordshire. Time of 
 
 Henry VIII. or Elizabeth. Flemish Workmanship. 
 
 4. Ornament in a Church Pew, Wiltshire. Elizabeth. 
 
 5, 7. Wood Carving from Burton Agnes in Yorkshire. 
 James I. 
 
 6. Wood Carving over a Doorway to a house near Norwich. 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 8. Wood Carving, from a Pew, Pavenham Church, Bedford- 
 
 shire. James I. 
 
 9. Wood Carving, from a Chimneypiece, Old Palace, Brom- 
 
 ley, near Bow. James I. 
 
 10, 15. Carving in Stone from the Tomb at Westminster 
 Abbey. James I. 
 
 11 , 12 . 
 
 13. Wood Carving, from Montacute, in Somersetshire. 
 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 14. Stone Carving, Crewe Hall. James 1. 
 
 16. Wood Carving, from the Hall of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 PLATE LXXXIV. 
 
 1. Stone Oi’nament, Burton Agnes, Yorkshire. James I. 
 
 2. Painted Ornament, Staircase, Holland House, Kensing- 
 
 ton. James I. 
 
 3. Wood Carving, Holland House. 
 
 4. Ditto, ditto. 
 
 5. Wood Carving, Aston Hall, Warwickshire. Late James I. 
 
 6. From an Old Chair. Elizabeth. 
 
 7. Stone Ornament from one of the Tombs at West- 
 
 minster. Elizabeth. 
 
 8, 9. Ornaments from Burton Agnes, Yorkshire. James I. 
 
 10. Wood Diaper, Old Palace, Enfield. Elizabeth. 
 
 11. Wood Diaper, Aston Hall. James I. 
 
 12, 16. Wood Ornaments, from the Pewing, Pavenham 
 Church, Bedfordshire. James I. 
 
 L 
 
 13, 14. From Burton Agnes. The last of late date pub. 
 Charles II. 
 
 15, 24, 26. Stone Diapers, from Crewe Hall, Cheshire. 
 James I. 
 
 17, Ornament on a Bethesdan Marble Chimneypiece, Little 
 
 Charlton House, Kent. 
 
 18, 20. Wood Ornaments, in Peter Paul Pindar’s House, 
 
 Bishopsgate. James I. 
 
 19, 21. Wood Ornament, from Burton Agnes, Yorkshire. 
 
 James I. 
 
 22. From a Cabinet. James I. French Workmanship. 
 
 23. From a Tomb, Westminster Abbey. James I. 
 
 25. From a Tomb, Aston Church. James I. 
 
 27. Wood Carving, from the Staircase, Aston Hall, War- 
 
 wickshire. Late James 1. 
 
 28. Plaster Enrichment to a Panel Ceiling at Cromwell 
 
 Hall, Highgate. Charles II. 
 
 129 
 
ELIZABETHAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 1, 15, 18. Diapers from Burton Agnes, Yorkshire. 
 
 2. Wood Diaper, from the Hall of Trinity College, Cam- 
 
 bridge. 
 
 6, 8. Ditto, ditto. Late James I. 
 
 3. From Drapery in a Tomb at Westminster. Eliza- 
 
 beth. 
 
 4. Wood Diaper, from an old House at Enfield. James I. 
 
 5. Plaster Diaper, from an old House near Tottenham 
 
 Church. Elizabeth. 
 
 7. Needle-work Tapestry. Elizabeth. (| size.) From the 
 
 collection of Mr. Mackinlay. The ground, light green ; 
 the subject in light yellow, blue, or green ; the out- 
 line, yellow silk cord. 
 
 LXXXY. 
 
 9. Pattern fi-om Drapery in a Tomb at Westminster. 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 10. From a Damask Cover to a Chair at Knowle, in Kent. 
 
 James I. 
 
 11. Appliqu6 Needlework. James I. or Charles I. In the 
 
 collection of Mr. Mackinlay. The ground in dark red ; 
 the ornament in yellow silk ; outline, yellow silk 
 cord. 
 
 12,14,16,17. Patterns from Dresses, Old Portraits. Eliza- 
 beth or James 1. 
 
 13. Applique Needlework. James I. or Charles I. By an 
 Italian Artist. 
 
 ELIZABETHAN OENAMENT. 
 
 Pride to describing the characteristics of what is commonly termed the Elizabethan style, it will 
 be well to trace briefly the rise and progress of the revival of the Antique in England to its final 
 triumph over the late Grothic style in the sixteenth century. The first introduction of the Revival 
 into England dates from the year 1518, when Torrigiano was employed by Henry VIII. to design a 
 monument in memory of Henry VII., which still exists in Westminster Abbey, and which is almost a 
 pure example of the Italian school at that period. In the same style, and of about the same date, is 
 the monument of the Countess of Richmond at Westminster ; Torrigiano designed this also, and, very 
 shortly afterwards, went to Spain, leaving, however, behind him several Italians attached to the service 
 of Henry, by whom a taste for the same style could not be otherwise than propagated. Amongst the 
 names preserved to us at this time are Grirolamo da Trevigi, employed as an architect and engineer, 
 Bartolomeo Penni, and Antony Toto (del ’Nunziata), painters, and the well-known Florentine sculptor, 
 Benedetto da Rovezzano; to these may be added, though at a later period, John of Padua, who appears 
 to have been more extensively employed than any of the others, and, amongst other important works, 
 designed old Somerset House in 1549. But it was not a purely Italian influence which aided in the 
 development of the new style in this country ; and already we find the names of G-erard Hornebande, 
 or Horebout, of Ghent, Lucas Cornells, John Brown, and Andrew Wright, serjeant-painters to the 
 king. In the year 1524 the celebrated Holbein came to England, and to him .and John of Padua is 
 mainly due the naturalization of the new style in this country, modified by the individual genius and 
 German education of the one, and the local models and reminiscences of the other, by whom many 
 features of the earlier Venetian school of the Revival were reproduced, with great modifications, however, 
 in this country. Holbein died in 1554, but John of Padua survived him many years, and designed 
 the noble mansion of Longleat about the year 1570. On the occasion of the funeral of Edward VI. 
 A.D. 1553, we find in the rule for the procession {Archceol. vol. xii. 1796) the names of Antony Toto 
 (before mentioned), Nicholas Lyzarde, painters, and Nicholas Modena, carver ; all the other names 
 of master masons, &c. being English. Somewhat later, during the reign of Elizabeth, we find only 
 two Italian names, Federigo Zucchero (whose house at Florence, said to have been designed by himself, 
 would rather serve to show that the English style of architecture had influenced him, than vice versa), 
 and Pietro Ubaldini, painter of illuminated books. 
 
 It is from Holland that, at this period, when the Elizabethan style may be justly said to have 
 
 130 
 
ELIZABETHAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 been formed, -we must look for the greater number of artists: Lucas de Heere of Ghent, Cornelius 
 Ketel of Gouda, Marc Garrard of Bruges, H. C. Vroom of Haarlem, painters; Richard Stevens, a 
 Hollander, -who executed the Sussex monument in Boreham church, Suffolk: and Theodore Havens 
 of Cleves, who was architect of the four gates, Humilitatis, Virtutis, Honoris, et Sapientige, at Cains 
 College, Cambridge, and, moreover, designed and executed the monument of Dr. Caius about the year 
 1573. Besides these we approach now a goodly array of English names, the most remarkable being 
 the architects, — Robert and Bernard Adams, the Smithsons, Bradshaw, Harrison, Holte, Thorpe, and 
 Shute (the latter, author of the first scientific work on Architecture in English, A.D. 1563), Hilliard the 
 goldsmith and jeweller, and Isaac Oliver, the portrait-painter. Most of the above-named architects 
 were employed also during the early part of the seventeenth century, at which time the knowledge of 
 the new style was still more extended by Sir Henry Wooton’s “Elements of Architecture.”* Bernard 
 Jansen and Gerard Chrismas, both natives of Holland, were much in vogue during the reign of James 1. 
 and Charles I., and to them is due the fapade of Northumberland House, Strand. 
 
 Before the close of James L’s reign — i,e, in 1619 — the name of Inigo Jones brings us very 
 nearly to the complete downfall of the Elizabethan style, on the occasion of the rebuilding of Whitehall 
 Palace ; an example which could hardly fail of producing a complete revolution in Art. The Palladian 
 style of the sixteenth century had been, moreover, introduced even before this by Sir Horatio 
 Pallavicini, in his house (now destroyed) at Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire ; and although Nicholas 
 Stone and his son, architects and sculptors, appear to have continued the old style, especially in 
 sepulchral monuments, it was displaced speedily for the more pure, but less picturesque fashion of 
 the best Italian schools. 
 
 Thus, taking the date of Torrigiano’s work at Westminster 1519, and that of the commencement 
 of Whitehall by Inigo Jones in 1619, we may include most of the works of art during tiat century 
 as -within the so-called Elizabethan period. 
 
 In the foregoing list of artists, we perceive a fluctuating mixture of Italian, Dutch, and English 
 names. In the first period, or (during the reign of Henry Till., the Italian names are clearly dominant, 
 and amongst them we are justified in placing Holbein himself, since his ornamental works in metal, 
 
 — for example, the goblet designed by him for Jane Seymour, and a dagger and sword, probably 
 executed for the king — exhibit a purity and gracefulness of style worthy of Cellini himself. The 
 arabesques painted by him in the large picture of Henry VIII. and his family at Hampton Court, 
 though more grotesque and heavy, are still close imitations of cinque-cento models; and the ceiling 
 of the Royal Chapel at St. James’s Palace, designed by him in 1540, is quite in the style of many rich 
 examples at Venice and Mantua. 
 
 During the reign of Elizabeth we meet with a great preponderance of Dutch names, for this 
 country was bound both by political and religious sympathy with Holland; and although the greater 
 number are described as painters only, yet we must remember how closely all the Arts were connected 
 in those days, painters being frequently employed to design models for ornament, both painted and 
 carved, and even for architecture; and in the accessories of their own pictures was found frequent 
 scope for ornamental design, — as, for example, may be seen in the portrait of Queen Mary, painted 
 by Lucas de Heere, having panelled compartments of geometrical interlaced forms, filled up -with 
 jewelled foliage. During the early part of Queen Elizabeth’s reign we are, then, justified in concluding 
 that a very important influence must have been exercised on English Art through the medium of the 
 Protestant States of the Low Countries, and of Germany also.f It was during this period, also, that 
 
 * The works of Lomazzo and De Lorrne are said to have been translated into English dming the reign of Elizabeth, but I have 
 never met with copies of them. 
 
 t The remarkable monument of Sir Francis Vere (time, James I.) at Westminster, is almost identical in design 'with that of Engle- 
 bert of Nassau, in the cathedral of Breda (sixteenth century). 
 
 131 
 
ELIZABETHAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 Heidelberg Castle was principally built (1556— 1559); and it would not appear unlikely that it may 
 have had an effect on English Art when we remember that the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., 
 held court here as Queen of Bohemia, at the beginning of the seventeenth century. 
 
 At the latter part of Elizabeth’s reign, and during that of James I., English artists are numerous, 
 and appear, with the exception of Jansen and Chrismas, to have the field to themselves ; consequently 
 it is at this period that we expect to find a more decidedly native school. And, in fact, it is now 
 that we meet with the names of English designers connected with such buildings (and with their con-r 
 comitant decoration) as Audley End, Holland House, Wollaton, Knowle, and Burleigh. 
 
 Thus we may expect to meet with the purest Italian ornament in the works of the artists of Henry 
 VIII.’s reign; and this will be found to be the case, not only on the subjects we have already mentioned, 
 but in the examples given in Plate LXXXIII., Nos. 1 and 3. During Elizabeth’s reign, we perceive 
 but a slight imitation of Italian models, and a complete adoption of the style of ornament practised 
 by the decorative artists of G-ermany and the Netherlands. In the reign of James I. we find the same 
 style continued by English artists, but generally in a larger manner, as at Nos. 5 and 11, Plate LXXXIV., 
 from Aston Hall, built at the latter part of his reign. There is little then, that can be justly termed 
 original in the character of the ornament of this period, and it is simply a modification of foreign 
 models. Even at the close of the fifteenth century may be seen the germs of the open scroll-work 
 in many decorative works in Italy, such as stained glass and illuminated books. The beautifully 
 executed oruamental borders, &c. of G-iulio Clovio (1498-1578), pupil of Giulio Romano, present 
 in many parts all the character of Elizabethan scroll, band, nail-head, and festoon work : the same 
 may be remarked of the stained glass windows of the Laurentian Library, Florence, by G-iovanni da 
 Udine (1487-1561); and still more noticeable is it in the frontispieces of Serlio’s great work on 
 Architecture, published in Paris in 1515. As regards another main feature in Elizabethan ornament, 
 viz. the complicated and fanciful interlaced bands, we must seek its origin in the numerous and 
 excellent designs of the class of engravers known as the “ petits maitres ” of G-ermany and the Nether- 
 lands, and more particularly in those of Aldegrever, Virgilius Solis of Nuremberg, Daniel Hopfer of 
 Augsburg, and Theodore de Bry, who sent forth to the world a great number of engraved ornamental 
 designs during the sixteenth century. Nor should we forget to mention, at the close of this century, 
 the very fanciful and thoroughly Elizabethan compositions, architectural and ornamental, of W. 
 Dieterlin, which Vertue asserts were used by Chrismas in his designs for the fapade of Northumberland 
 House. These were the principal sources from which the so-called Elizabethan style of ornament 
 was mainly founded ; and we may here remark, that whilst it is evident that decoration ought, and 
 indeed in some cases must, vary in its character, according to the different subjects and materials 
 on which it is applied, and whilst the Italian masters, recognising this sesthetical fact, did in most 
 instances carefully abstain from carrying the pictorial style into sculptured and architectural works, 
 confining it to its just limits, such as illuminated books, engravings. Damascene metal-work, and 
 other purely ornamental subjects, — so, on the other hand, the artists employed in England during 
 the period of which we treat carried the pictorial style of ornament into every branch of Art, and 
 reproduced even on their buildings the unfettered fancies of the decorative artists as they received 
 them through the medium of the engraver. 
 
 As regards the characteristics of Elizabethan ornament, they may be described as consisting chiefly 
 of a grotesque and complicated variety of pierced scroll-work, with curled edges ; interlaced bands, 
 sometimes on a geometrical pattern, but generally flowing and capricious, as seen, for example, on 
 No. 12, Plate LXXXIII., and Nos, 26 and 27, Plate LXXXIV.; strap and nail-head bands; curved 
 and broken outlines ; festoons, fruit, and drapery, interspersed with roughly-executed figures of human 
 beings; grotesque monsters and animals, with here and there large and flowing designs of natural 
 132 
 
ELIZABETHAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 branch and leaf ornament, as shown in No. 7, Plate LXXXIIL, a noble example of which still exists 
 also on the great gallery ceiling at Burton Agnes, in Yorkshire ; rustications of ball and diamond work, 
 paneled compartments often filled with foliage or coats-of-arms ; grotesque arch stones and brackets 
 are freely used; and the carving, whether in stone or wood, is marked by great boldness and effect, 
 though roughly executed. Unlike the earliest examples of the Eevival on the Continent, especially 
 in France and Spain, these ornaments are not applied to Gothic forms; but the groundwork or 
 architectural mass is essentially Italian in its nature (except in the case of windows) : consisting of a 
 rough application of the orders of architecture one over another, external walls with cornice and 
 balustrade, and internal walls bounded with frieze and cornice, with flat or covered ceilings; even 
 the gable ends, with their convex and concave outlines, so common in the style, were founded on 
 models of the early Renaissance school at Venice. 
 
 The coloured patterns of diaper work — on wood, on the dresses of the monumental statues, and 
 on tapestries,— show in most cases more justness and purity of design than the carved work: the 
 colours, moreover, being rich and strongly marked. A great quantity of this kind of work, especially 
 the arras, with which walls and furniture were constantly decorated, no doubt came from the looms 
 of Flanders, and in some cases from Italy, since the first native factory of the kind was established 
 at Mortlake in the year 1619. 
 
 Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 13, Plate LXXXV., ai-e the most Italian in their character of the examples 
 given; No. 13 being stated, indeed, to be the design of an Italian artist. Nos. 12, 14, and 16, also 
 9f a good Italian character, being taken from portraits of the time of Elizabeth and James I., are 
 probably the work of Dutch or ItaUan artists. Nos. 1, 4, 5, 15, and 18, though in the Italian taste, 
 are marked by much originality ; whilst No. 6 and 8 are in the ordinary Elizabethan style. Fine 
 examples of coloured ornament are still preserved in the pall belonging to the Ironmongers’ Company, 
 date 1515, the ground of which is gold, with a rich and flowing purple pattern; similar in every 
 respect to the painted antependiums of several altars at Santo Spirito, Florence (fifteenth century), 
 and probably of Italian manufacture. 
 
 At St. Mary’s Church, Oxford, is preserved a rich pulpit hanging of gold ground with a blue pattern ; 
 and at Hardwicke Hall, Derbyshire, is a fine piece of tapestry of a yellow silk ground, with a crimson 
 and gold thread pattern. But, perhaps, the most beautiful specimen of this kind of work is in 
 the possession of the Saddlers’ Company, a gold pattern on a crimson velvet pall,* made in the early 
 ^part of the sixteenth century. Although in these we have referred to, and in the examples given in 
 'Plate LXXXV., two colours only are principally relied on for effect, yet in other subjects every variety 
 of colour is freely used; gilding, however, being generally predominant over colour — a taste probably 
 derived from Spain, where the discovery of gold in the New World led to an extravagant use of it 
 as a means of decoration in the reigns of Charles V. and Philip II. An example of this style may be 
 seen in the magnificent chimney-piece, with elaborate gilt carving combined with black marble, 
 now preserved in the Governor’s room at the Charter-house. 
 
 By the middle of the seventeenth century the more marked characteristics of the style had com- 
 pletely died out, and we lose sight, not without some regret, of that richness, variety, and picturesque- 
 ness ; which, although deficient in good guiding principles, and liable to fall into straggling confusion, 
 could not fail to impress the beholder with a certain impression of nobility and grandeur. 
 
 J. B. WARING. 
 
 October 1856. 
 
 * For these, see Shaw’s very beautiful work on the “ Arts of the Middle Ages." 
 
 M M 
 
 133 
 
ELIZABETHAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 BOOKS REFERRED TO. 
 
 H. Shaw. Dresses and Decoratio7is of the Middle Ages, 
 
 ,, The Decorative Arts of the Middle Ages. 
 
 „ Details of Elizabethan Architecture. 
 
 C. J. Eichaudson. Studies of Ornamental Design. 
 
 „ Architectural Remains of the Reigns of Elizabeth 
 
 and James I. 
 
 „ Studies from Old English Mansions, 
 
 Joseph Nash. The Mansions of England in the Olden Time, 
 
 S. C. Haxl. The Baronial Halh of England. 
 
 Joseph Gwilt. Encyclopedia of Architecture. 
 
 Horace Walpole. Anecdotes of Painting in England, 
 Archmologia, vol. xii. (1796), 
 
 'The Builder (several Articles by C. J. Eichardson), 1846. 
 Dallaway, Anecdotes of the Arts in England. 
 
 Clayton. The Ancient Timber Edifices of England. 
 Britton, Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain. 
 
 134 
 
ELIZABETHEISCH ELIZABETHAN N^I. ELISABETHEENS 
 
 PLATE LXXXIll. 
 
 14 - 
 
 16 
 
EUZABETHEISCH 
 
 ELIZABETHAN N°2. elisabetheens 
 
 TAFEL LXXXIV 
 
 PLATE LXXXIV 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 0 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 S. 
 


Chapter XIX Plates 86, 86*, 87, 88, 89, 90. 
 
 ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 PLATES LXXXVI., LXXXVI*. 
 
 A series of Arabesques, painted in Fresco by Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, Giulio Bomano, Polidoro da 
 Carravaggio, Francesco Penni, Vincenzio da San Gimignano, Pellegrino da Modena, Bartolomeo da Bagnacavallo, and 
 possibly other artists, from designs by Eaffaelle, selected from the decorations of the Loggie, or central open Ai’cade 
 of the Vatican, Rome. 
 
 PLATE LNXSYIL 
 
 A series of Arabesques painted in Fresco on a white ground, in the Palazzo Ducale at Mantua. 
 
 PLATE LXXXA^IIL 
 
 A series of Arabesques painted in Fresco on partially-coloured grounds, for the most part in the Palazzo Ducale at Mantua. 
 
 PLATE LXXXIX. 
 
 A series of Arabesques, painted in Fresco on fully- coloured grounds, in the Palazzo del Te, at Mantua, from Designs 
 
 by Giulio Romano. 
 
 PLATE XC. 
 
 A series of Specimens of Typographic Embellishment of the Sixteenth Century in Italy and France ; selected from works 
 published by the Aldines, the Giuntas, the Stephans, and other celebrated Planters. 
 
 Shortly after the commencement of the sixteenth century, that movement towards the restoration 
 of the antique which we have recognised in Italy as fragmentary and imperfect during the fifteenth, 
 became systematised, and consequently invigorated, mainly through the means of popularisation, afforded 
 by the arts of printing and engraving. Through them translations of Vitruvius and Alberti, copiously 
 illustrated and ably commented upon, were speedily in the possession of every designer of eminence 
 in the country, and without its limits also ; while, before the close of the century, the treatises of 
 
 135 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 SerliOj Palladioj Vignola, and Eusconi, presented permanent records of the zeal with which the 
 monuments of antiquity had been studied. But inasmuch as the requirements of the Italian Social 
 
 system of the sixteenth century differed from those of the 
 Imperial ages of Eome, so of a necessity the nature of the 
 monuments created to supply those wants materially differed. 
 In the Eenaissance styles of the fifteenth century the artist’s 
 attention had been mainly directed to the imitation of ancient 
 ornament; in the sixteenth, however, it was principally the 
 restoration of ancient proportions, both of the five orders and 
 of architectural symmetry generally, that engaged the designer’s 
 attention ; pure ornament having been to a great extent neg- 
 lected in its details, and considered only in its mass as a decor- 
 ative adjunct to architecture. Those arts which during the 
 fifteenth century had been so frequently united in the persons of 
 the maestri, under whom great monuments had been carried 
 into execution, in the sixteenth became individualised. The 
 genius of such intellectual giants as Eaffaelle and Michael An- 
 gelo could alone maintain the triple attributes of painters, archi- 
 tects, and sculptors, in due relative subordination; when, in 
 after times, men such as Bernini and Pietro da Cortona 
 attempted similar combinations, the result was little else than 
 general confusion and failure. As the rules of Art became 
 more complex, academies arose in which the division-of-labour 
 system was introduced. The consequences, with certain rare 
 and notable exceptions, were obvious : architects thought of 
 little else but plans, sections, and elevations, in which the 
 setting out of columns, arches, pilasters, entablatures, &c., was 
 all in all ; painters worked more in their studios, and less in the 
 buildings, their works were to adorn ; forgetting altogether 
 general decorative effect, and looking only to anatomical pre- 
 cision, powerful chiar’oscuro, masterly composition, and breadth 
 of tone and handling- Sculptors of a high class deserted orna- 
 mental carving and gave their attention, almost exclusively, to 
 isolated statues and groups, or monuments in which general 
 effects of beauty were made subservient to the development of 
 the plastic features alone. Ornament was left in a gi-eat degree 
 to accident or caprice in its design, and to second-rate artists 
 in its execution. Favourable specimens of such ornaments may 
 be seen in our woodcuts. The painted arabesques of the Italian 
 style, and the stucchi with which they were occasionally accom- 
 panied, form so remarkable an exception to the above, that it 
 will be well to reserve them for special notice. Although the 
 architecture which EaffaeUe has left to us in the Pandolfini 
 SofBte Panel, from one of the Genoese Palaces. Palace at Florence, and the Cafferelli, late Stoppani, at Eome, 
 
 is excellent; it is in his connexion with the subject of arabesque that his celebrity as an ornamentist 
 consists, and we shall not therefore further allude to him here. Neither shall we dwell upon the 
 136 
 
ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 works of Baldassare Peruzzi, interesting though they be, since, so far as ornament was concerned, they 
 approached so closely to the antique as to offer no striking individuality. Bramante, too, is to be 
 regarded rather as a Renaissance artist than iu any other light. It is to the great Florentine, whose 
 fervid genius, impatient of restraint, broke away from tradition, that we must look 
 for that germ of self-willed originality that infected all his contemporaries in every 
 department of art, and engendered a license which, it is vain to deny, ultimately, 
 and in feebler hands than his, resulted in a departure from taste and refinement in 
 every branch of art. 
 
 Michael Angelo was born in 1474 of the noble Florentine family of the 
 Buonarrotti, descendants of the Counts of Canossa; he was a pupil of Domenico 
 Ghirlandaio; and having early distinguished himself by his talent for sculpture, he 
 was invited to study in the school founded for its culture by Lorenzo de Medici. 
 
 On the banishment of the Medici family from Florence in 1494, Michael Angelo 
 retired to Bologna, where he worked at the tomb of St. Dominic; after some little 
 time he returned to Florence, and, before he was twenty-three years of age, he 
 had executed the celebrated “Cupid,” which was the cause of his being invited 
 to Rome, and also his “ Bacchus.” At Rome, amongst many other works by 
 him, is the Pieta ” sculptured by order of Cardinal d’Amboise, and now in St. 
 
 Peter s. The gigantic statue of “ David,” at Florence, was his next great 
 performance; and at twenty-nine years of age he returned to Rome, summoned by 
 Julius II. for the purpose of erecting his mausoleum ; for this building the “ Moses ” 
 at San Pietro in Vincoli, and the “ Slaves ” in the Louvre, were originally destined, 
 but it was completed on a smaller scale than was at first intended. The painting of 
 the Sistine Chapel was the next work undertaken by him, and one of his greatest, 
 whether we regard the sublimity of the performance, or the influence which it 
 exercised on contemporary art, as well as on that of after-times. In 1541 he 
 completed his vast fresco of the “ Last Judgment,” painted for Pope Paul III. The 
 remainder of his long life was chiefly devoted to the construction of St. Peter’s, on 
 which work he was employed at the time of his death, in 1564, and for which he ' 
 refused all remuneration. 
 
 In everything executed during the long life of Michael Angelo the desire for 
 novelty seems to have divided his attention from the study of excellence alone. His 
 daring innovations in ornament are no less striking than in other departments of 
 design. His large broken pediments and mouldings, his sweeping consoles and 
 scrolls, his direct imitation (saving an alloy of exaggeration) of Nature in some 
 of his enrichments, and the amount of plain face he uniformly preserved in his architectural compo- 
 sitions, brought new elements into the field, which were greedily snapped up by men of less inventive 
 power than he himself possessed. The style of the Roman School of Design was altogether changed 
 through Michael Angelo ; and Giacomo della Porta, Domenico Fontana, Bartolomeo Ammanati, Carlo 
 Maderno, and, last not least, Vignola himself, so far as ornament was concerned, adopted, with a few 
 of his beauties, many of his defects, the greatest being exaggeration of manner. At Florence, Baccio 
 Bandinelli and Benvenuto Cellini were among his ardent admirers and imitators. Happily Venice 
 escaped the contagion in a great degree,— or, at least, resisted its influence longer than almost any 
 other part of Italy. This immunity was due, in a great degree, to the counteracting influence of 
 a genius less hardy than that of Michael Angelo, but far more refined, and scarcely less universal. We 
 allude, of course, to the greatest of the two Sansovinos — &iacopo. 
 
 Vertical Ornament from 
 Genoa. 
 
 N N 
 
 137 
 
ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 This nohle artist was born at Florence, of an ancient family in the year 1477. Having at an 
 early age displayed a remarkable predisposition for Art, he was placed by his mother with Andrea 
 Contucci of Monte Sansovino (of whom we have briefly spoken in Chapter XVII.), then working at 
 Florence, who, says Vasari, “ soon perceived that the young man promised to become very eminent.” 
 Their attachment speedily assumed such a character that, being regarded almost as father and son, 
 Jacopo was no longer called “ de’ Tatti,” but di Sansovino ; ” and as he was then named so is he 
 called now, and ever will be. Having distinguished himself by his abilities at Florence, and being con- 
 sidered a young man of great genius and excellent character, he was taken to Home by Griuliano da 
 San G-allo, architect to Pope Julius II. At Eome he attracted the notice of Bramante, and made 
 a large copy in wax of the “ Laocoon ” (under Bramante’s direction), in competition with other artists, 
 among whom was Alonzo Berruguete, the celebrated Spanish architect. Sansovino’s was adjudged to 
 be the best, and a cast was taken of it in bronze, which finally coming into the possession of the 
 Cardinal de Lorraine, was taken by him into France in the year 1534. San G-allo falling ill was 
 obliged to leave Rome, and Bramante, therefore, found a dwelling for Jacopo in the same house with 
 Pietro Perugino, who was then painting a ceiling for Pope Julius in the Torre Borgia, and who was 
 so pleased ■with Jacopo’s ability, that he caused him to prepare many models in wax for his use. He 
 also became acquainted with Luca Signorelli, Bramantino di Milano, Pinturicchio, Cesare Cesariano, 
 famous for his commentaries on Vitruvius ; and was finally presented to and employed by the Pope 
 (Julius). He was in a fair way of advancement, when a serious illness caused him to return to his 
 native city. Here he recovered, and successfully competed with Bandinelli and others for a large 
 marble fig-ure. He was in continual employment at this time, and among other works he executed 
 for Giovanni Bartolini the beautiful "Bacchus” (now in the Gallery degli Uflizii at Florence). 
 
 In the year 1514, great preparations being made at Florence for the entry of Leo X., Jacopo was 
 employed in making various designs for triumphal arches and statues, with which the Pontiff was 
 so much pleased, that Jacopo Salviati took his friend Sansovino to kiss the feet of the Pope, by 
 whom he was received very kindly. His Holiness immediately gave him an order to make a design 
 for the fajade of San Lorenzo at Florence, which would seem to have given so much satisfaction, 
 that Michael Angelo, who was to compete with him for the control of its construction, would appear 
 to have outwitted Sansovino, and effectually prevented his success; for, says Vasari, "Michael Angelo 
 was determined to keep all for himself.” Not disheartened, however, he continued in Rome, and 
 was employed both in sculpture and architecture, and gained the great honour of being the successful 
 competitor for the Church of St. John of the Florentines, against Raffaelle, Antonio da Sangallo, 
 and Balthazar Peruzzi. Whilst superintending the commencement of the works he fell, and was 
 so severely hurt that he left the city. Various causes led to the suspension of the works until the 
 pontificate of Clement, when Jacopo returned and recommenced it. From that period he was engaged 
 in every work of importance at Rome, until, on the 6th of May, 1527, that city was taken and 
 sacked by the French. 
 
 Jacopo sought refuge in Venice, intending to visit France, where the King had offered him employ- 
 ment. The Doge, Andrea Gritti, however, persuaded him to remain, and to undertake the restoration 
 of the cupolas of St. Mark’s. This work he performed so satisfactorily, that he was appointed Proto- 
 Maestro to the Republic, assigned a house, and pro-dded with a stipend. The duties of this office he 
 performed -with such sagacity and diligence, that by various improvements and alterations of the city he 
 materially added to the income of the State. Among his finest works here — and, indeed, among the 
 finest examples of Italian Art anywhere — are to be noted, the Libreria Vecchia, the Zecca or Mint, the 
 Palaces Cornaro and Moro, the Loggia round the Campanile of St. Mark, the Church of San Georgio 
 dei Greci, the Statues of the Giant’s Staircase, the monument of Francesco Veniero, and the bronze 
 138 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 gates of the Sacristy. His character as depicted by Vasari (edit. Bohn, vol. v. p. 426) is eminently 
 agreeable, sagacious, amiable, courageous, and active. He appears to have been generally honoured, 
 and had a large school of pupils, amongst whom may be mentioned Tribolo and Solosmeo Danese, Cat- 
 taneo G-irolamo of Ferrara, Jacopo Colonna of Venice, Luco Lancia of Naples, Bartolommeo Ammanati, 
 Jacopo de Medici of Brescia, and Alessandro Vittoria of Trent. He died on the 2d of November, 1570, 
 aged ninety-three ; “ and (as Vasari tells us) notwithstanding that the years of his life had come to an 
 end in the pure course of nature, yet all Venice lamented his loss.” It is mainly to the happy influence 
 exerted by Sansovino that the School of Venice is indebted for its celebrity in ornamental bronze-work. 
 
 Turning from Italy to France, we resume the thread of national progress, interrupted by the 
 introduction into the service of Francis I. {circa A.D. 1530) of those Italian artists who formed what is 
 familiarly known as the “School of Fontainebleau.” The leading and most popular member of that 
 fraternity was Primaticcio, a master whose style of drawing was founded upon the Michael-Angelesque 
 system of proportion, somewhat attenuated in limb, and moulded into a somewhat more artificial and 
 serpentine Line of grace. The manner of arranging and defining drapery peculiar to the Fontainebleau 
 masters exerted a singular influence upon the native artists, and that not only in the corresponding 
 department of art, but in ornament generally. The peculiar crinkled folds of the garments, disposed, 
 not as they would obviously fall if left to themselves, but as they would best fill up voids in composition, 
 induced a general levity in the treatment of similar elements, and led to that ^%c.vM?ix\y fluttering style 
 which may be recognised in the works of all those artists who reflected and reproduced the prevalent 
 mode of the day. Among the most remarkable of these, and moreover a man of singular originality 
 of intellect, stands conspicuous the renowned Jean Goujon, who was born in France early in the sixteenth 
 century. His principal works are (for happily they have for the most part survived to our days) the 
 “Fontaine des Innocents,” at Paris (1550); the gallery of the “Salle des Cent Suisses,” now “des 
 Caryatides,” supported by four colossal female figures, which are considered among his best works. The 
 celebrated Diana of Poitiers, called “ Diane Chasseresse,” a small and very beautiful bas-relief of the 
 same subject, his wooden doors to the Church of St. Maclou at Rouen, his carvings of the Court of the 
 Louvre, and his “ Christ at the Tomb,” in the Museum of the Louvre. Goujon partook warmly of the 
 enthusiasm the recovery of the writings of Vitruvius excited universally, and contributed an essay in 
 respect to them in Martin’s translation. He was unfortunately shot during the massacre of St. Bar- 
 tholomew, whilst working on a scaffold at the Louvre, in 1572. An artist who had imbibed even more 
 of the Italian spirit of the School of Fontainebleau than did Jean Goujon, narrowly escaped sharing his 
 fate. Barthelemy Prieur was only saved from immolation by the protection of the Constable Mont- 
 morency, whose monumental effigy he was ultimately destined to place upon its pedestal. Contemporary 
 with Goujon and Prieur was Jean Cousin, the most ardent disciple of Michael-Angelesque form. He is 
 principally known as the sculptor of the noble statue of Admiral Chabot, and, as we have already 
 stated (Chapter XVII.), by his designs for stained glass. Prominent, however, among the artistic band 
 of the period, was Germain Pilon, who was born at Loue, near Mans. The statues at the Convent of 
 Soulesmes are among his earliest works. About the year 1550 his father sent him to Paris, and in 
 1557 his monument to Guillaume Langei du Bellay was placed in the Cathedral of Mans. About the 
 same time he executed the monument of Henry II. and Catherine de Medici, in the Church at St. 
 Denis, near Paris, from a design by Philibert de Lorme. One of his best works was the monument to 
 the Chancellor de Birague. 
 
 The beautiful and well-known group of the “Three Graces,” cut out of one solid block of marble, 
 was intended to support an um containing the hearts of Henry II. and Catherine de Medici; it is 
 now in the Louvre. In order to give an idea of the ornamental style of Pilon, we have engraved 
 the base of this monument, see Plate LXXVI., Fig. 9. The statues and bas-reliefs on the monument 
 
 139 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 of Francis L are by Pilon and Pierre Bontemps. After 1590 no works of his are known, and Kugler 
 gives it as the date of his death. 
 
 The length of limb and artificial grace peculiar to the school of Fontainebleau, was pushed to the 
 farthest point of extravagance by Francavilla, or Pierre Francheville, of Cambray (born 1548), who 
 introduced into France the even greater wiriness of the style of John of Bologna, whose pupil he had 
 been during many years. The general characteristics of the style of ornament prevalent during the 
 first half of the seventeenth century, and which served as an induction into what is generally known 
 as Louis XIV. work, cannot be better studied than in the apartments of Marie de Medici, executed 
 for her in the Palace of the Luxembourg, Paris, about 1620. 
 
 This manner was succeeded by that of Le Pautre, an artist of great cleverness and fertility. Our 
 woodcut gives an idea of his style. 
 
 Panel for a Ceiling, from a Design by Le Pautre. 
 
 Leaving for awhile the subject of sculptured Italian and French Ornament, it may be well to 
 advert to that of painted; the more especially as for a short time, during which a great degree of zeal 
 for the preservation of old Eoman vestiges of polychromatic decoration was exercised, a very high and 
 remarkable degree of perfection and beauty was attained. It is ever to be borne in mind that a 
 very wide difference existed between the painted and carved arabesques of the ancients. The latter 
 during the period of the Early Eenaissanoe were almost entirely neglected, whilst the former were 
 imitated with great success, as may be seen from the interesting pilaster panels, designed by Baccio 
 Pintelli for the Church of Sant’ Agostino at Eome, and which form the subject of our woodcuts 'on 
 the next page. 
 
 The study of ancient Eoman and Greek sculptures was naturally followed by that of the antique 
 decorations in marble and stone which throughout Italy abounded so profusely, and which every day’s 
 excavation brought to Ught, — such, for instance, as perfect remains or shattered fragments of 
 140 
 
ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 Arabesnuo designed by 
 Baccio Pintelli, for the 
 Church of Sant’ Agostino, Borne. 
 
 ornamented vases, altars, friezes, pilasters, &c., groups, 
 or single figures, busts, or beads, in medallions or on 
 architectural backgrounds ; fruit, flowers, foliage, and 
 animals, intermixed with tablets of various forms, bear- 
 ing allegorical inscriptions. An infinite variety of such 
 gems of beauty offered themselves to the notice of the 
 artists of that period who visited Eome for the express 
 purpose of making drawings of such remains; and in 
 transferring the subject so sketched to the modem ara- 
 besques, it was scarcely possible that the early artists 
 should avoid also transferring to their paintings some- 
 what of the formal character inseparable from the sculp- 
 tured and material character of the objects from which 
 their original drawings had been made. 
 
 Such circumstances may go far to explain the differ- 
 ence we cannot fail to recognise between the imitation 
 and the object imitated, in many of the first attempts 
 to reproduce the painted decorations of the Eomans of 
 Imperial times. Among such diligent students, none 
 was more conspicuous than was Pietro Peragino, during 
 his residence in Rome at the latter part of the fifteenth 
 century. How fully and to what good purpose he ac- 
 cumulated studies of ancient ornament was shown by 
 the immediate commission he received from his fellow- 
 townsmen to decorate the vaults of their Exchange, or 
 “Sala di Cambio,” with frescoes, in which the ancient 
 style and certain antique subjects should be vividly 
 reproduced. This beautiful work of art, for such it 
 proved to be, was executed soon after his return to 
 Perugia from Rome ; and manifests how deeply he must 
 have drunk at the classic fountain of antique Art. It is, 
 without doubt, the first complete reproduction of the 
 grotesques ” of the ancients, and is singularly interest- 
 ing, not only as establishing the claim of Pietro to be 
 regarded as the first great and accurate reviver of this 
 graceful style of decoration, but as having been the 
 “ trial -piece ” on which so many ’prentice hands ” were 
 exercised, whose efforts subsequently carried it to the 
 highest perfection. 
 
 The principal scholars of Perugino, whose labours 
 there is little doubt materially aided in the elaboration 
 of these graceful fancies, were Raffaelle, then aged six- 
 teen or seventeen ; Francesco Ubertini, better known as 
 Bacchiacca ; and Pinturicchio. And it is curious to 
 trace the influence of the success of this their first 
 attempt upon the after career of each of the three. It 
 0 0 
 
 Arabesque designed by 
 Baccio Pintelli for the 
 Church of Sant’ Agostino, Romo. 
 
 141 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 led immediately to the employment of Raflfaelle and Pinturicchio, in conjunctioBj in the decoration 
 of the celebrated Library at Sienna, and subsequently, to the cultivation of such studies on the part of 
 the former as induced his composition of the inimitable arabesques of the Loggie of the Vatican, 
 &c. &c. ; and on that of the latter artist to the execution of the ceilings of the choir of Sta. Maria del 
 Popolo, and those of the Apartamenti Borgia, &c. at Eome. Bacchiacca became so completely ena- 
 moured of the style, that his whole life was devoted to painting animals, flowers, &c. in grotesque ’ 
 decoration ; and he ultimately became famous throughout Italy as a perfect master of that variety 
 of design. 
 
 In freedom and cleverness of drawing, in harmony of colour, in brilliancy of touch, in nice balance 
 of the “ pieni ” and “vuoti,” and in close imitation of the paintings of the ancient Bomans, this speci- 
 men is one of the most successful that has ever been executed, although, in delicacy of finish and 
 refined study, it can scarcely be expected to equal the subsequent productions of G-iovanni da Udine and 
 Morto da Feltro. 
 
 During the stay of Eaffaelle in Eome, under the pontificate of Leo X., he was commissioned by 
 that pontiff to decorate an arcade, which had been constructed during the reign of his predecessor, 
 Julius II., by Bramante, whose daughter Eatfaelle married. 
 
 It was determined that while the theme of the necessary decorations should be sacred, their style 
 and manner of execution should rival the finest remains of ancient painting which had been discovered 
 at Eome up to that period. The general designs appear to have been made by Eaffaelle himself, and 
 the details to have been carried out by a chosen band of assistants, who unquestionably entered with 
 wonderful zeal into the realisation of the great work. It was by their hands, controlled by the exquisite 
 taste of the great Urbinese, that those celebrated loggie,” which have ever since their execution been 
 a theme of admiration for all artists, were created. We have given a careful selection, showing the 
 principal ornamental motives comprised in them in Plate LXXXVI. 
 
 These arabesques cannot fairly be compared with the ancient, as the former were executed by 
 the greatest masters of the age, and are applied to the decoration of an edifice of the highest 
 magnificence and importance, whilst the latter were the productions of a less distinguished period 
 of Alt;, and those now in existence ornament buildings of a class relatively far less important to 
 Imperial magnificence than the Vatican was to Papal. The comparison might be fairer if we could 
 but recall the faded glories of the Palace of the Csesars, or the “ Golden House ” of NTero. 
 
 “ The ancient arabesques have, in almost every instance, all their parts kept upon a reduced 
 scale, in order to favour the apparent extent of the locality they decorate ; in addition to which they 
 generally manifest a predominating general proportion between their several parts. ’They never present 
 such striking differences in scale between the principal subjects as we find in the arabesques of 
 Eaffaelle, the component parts of which are sometimes as unreasonably large as they sometimes are 
 unreasonably small. The greater is often placed beside and above the less, thereby emphaticising 
 the dissonances, and being the more offensive by a deficiency in symmetry, as well as in the very 
 choice of the motives for decoration. Thus, close to the richest arabesques, presenting, on a very 
 small scale, elegant and minute combinations of flowers, fruit, animals, human figures, and views of 
 temples, landscapes, &c., we find calices of flowers putting forth twisted stalks, leaves, and blossoms 
 — all which, with reference to the adjoining and first-described arabesques, are of colossal proportion; 
 thereby not only injuring the accompanying decorations, but also destroying the grandeur of the 
 whole architectural design. Lastly, on examining the choice of subjects with respect to the association 
 of ideas indicated thereby, and the decorations in the symbols and allegories employed to convey 
 them, we find that the works of the ancients, who reverted to no other source than their mythology, 
 appear to great advantage, in point of unity of idea, when compared with the prevailing intermixture 
 142 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 in tlie Loggie of that imaginary world with the symbols of Christianity.” Such are among the general 
 conclusions to which that profound student of ancient polychromy, M. Hittorflf, has arrived, and it is 
 impossible not to concur in their propriety; while condemning, however, such faults of ensemble, we 
 must not lose sight of the exquisite graces of detail wrought out in their execution by Raffaelle and 
 his scholars. “ Proceeding from the Vatican to the Villa Madama, we find, immediately on entering 
 its halls, that divisions create a less confusing general effect. In all the principal decorations there 
 is a better regulated proportion, and greater symmetry; and in the magnificent roofs, notwithstanding 
 the multiplicity of their ornaments, a more gratifying and calming influence is exerted upon us. 
 Here, where all the principal subjects represent scenes from the mythology of the ancients, we find a 
 pervading unity conceived more in the spirit of the ancients. If we adopt the general opinion, and 
 look upon this beautiful work as a second undertaking conceived by KaffaeUe in the spirit of the 
 Loggie, and executed entirely by G-iulio Romano and G-iovanni da Udine, we see how the favourite 
 pupils of the incomparable master succeeded in avoiding faults against good taste, which he and his 
 contemporaries cannot fail to have recognised in his former work, favourably as it was received by 
 the popular voice, not only of courtiers, but of artists.” Unlike the arabesques of the Vatican, which 
 are executed, for the most part, upon white grounds, those of this delicious suburban retreat are for 
 the most part, worked out upon variously coloured grounds — a habit to which Giulio Romano appears 
 to have been more partial than either Raffaelle or Giovanni da Udine. 
 
 The villa itself was built by Romano and his fellow-labourer for Pope Clement VII. when Cardinal 
 Gmlio de Medici, the first designs having been given by Raffaelle. The work was still incomplete 
 when it was partially destroyed by Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, to revenge himself upon Clement VII. 
 who had burnt fourteen of his castles in the Campagna of Rome. The villa is now rapidly going 
 
 to decay ; but the grandeur of the three arches still remaining is sufficient to show that the design 
 was worthy of Raffaelle ; and that it was his is proved beyond a doubt, by a letter to Francesco 
 Maria, Duke of Urbino, written by Castiglione, as well as by some drawings, which, together with 
 the letter, are still in existence. 
 
 The Villa Madama was purchased after the confiscation of the Medicis property, in 1537, by 
 
 143 
 
ITALIAN OBNAMENT. 
 
 Margaret, daughter of Charles V., and widow of Duke Alexander de Medici, and from her title of 
 Madama the viUa takes its name. The building was partially restored, though never completed, 
 and Margaret resided there on her marriage with Ottavio Farnese. The crown of Naples afterwards 
 became possessed of it, with the rest of the Farnese property, through a marriage with that family. 
 
 So large a number of arabesque decorations were executed by the pupils and followers of Raffaelle, 
 and so great was the skill acquired by them in this art, that it is now difficult to ascertain to whom 
 we owe the beautiful arabesques which still decorate many of the palaces and country-houses in the 
 neighbourhood of Eome. After the premature death of Raffaelle, the bond that had united the 
 brotherhood which had gathered around his person was snapped, and those who had so ably worked 
 with him spread themselves in various directions throughout Italy, carrying with them the experience 
 and knowledge they had acquired in the conduct of the great undertakings placed under his charge. 
 Thus sown broadcast over the land were the elements of painted arabesque decoration. In proportion, 
 however, as the artists, by whom subsequent works were undertaken, removed from the classic influences 
 of Rome, their styles became more pictorial, and less purely decorative ; and in the seventeenth century 
 the arabesque manner became almost entirely merged in such florid decorations as suited the extravagant 
 ideas of architectural magnificence nourished by the Jesuits. In the days of Bernini, and at a later 
 period in those of Borromini, the Stuccatore triumphed in every species of flourish, while in the scanty 
 openings left between the fluttering wings, and draperies of angels and saints suspended in vaults and 
 cupolas in mid-air, the decorative painter was allowed to place little else than the perspective tricks 
 of the Padre Pozzo and his school. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of arabesque altogether, it may be well to trace a few anomalies in 
 its varied local aspects. As may reasonably be inferred, the presence of ancient remains has almost 
 invariably affected the local style of ornament in those spots where they have most abounded. Thus 
 at Rome the school of arabesque ornament most nearly approached the antique, while in cities, such 
 as Mantua, Pavia, and Grenoa, other and distinct types and influences may be traced. The Mantuan 
 system of ornamentation, for instance, may be distinctly subdivided into the school of nature and 
 that of conventional vigour approaching caricature, imported by Griulio Romano, and a reflex of the 
 favourite Paganism of Rome. In the deserted chambers of the Palazzo Ducale are fast fading into 
 nothingness the graceful frescoes, of which we have presented numerous specimens in Plates LXXXVII. 
 and LXXXVIII. ; executed for the most part upon a white ground. Leaves, flowers, and tendrils, 
 frequently wind round a central reed, as at Figs. 7 and 9, Plate LXXXVII. ; and in such cases Nature 
 appears as the directly inspiring deity. In other instances, as in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, of the 
 same plate, a simple style of convention is followed, in which the hand of the artist sweeps out as 
 wayward fancy prompts, an ever-recurring, yet rarely monotonous, series of scrolls and curves; the 
 leading points of which are generally accentuated by calices, and the dominant lines of which are 
 adorned, and from time to time interrupted, by foliage of parasitic growth. 
 
 A marked difference of style in the decoration of the same building is inaugurated in the 
 specimens (Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5), we have collected in Plate LXXXVIII. In them the artist has 
 withdrawn himself farther from nature, retaining at the same time an even more pictorial mode of 
 representation than in the earlier and purer examples. Far be it from us to assert that beauty of 
 the highest and most architectonic character may not be obtained in ornament entirely conventional 
 in conception ; but certain it is that to be agreeable such ornament should be expressed in a simple 
 and flat style of treatment, both as regards light, shade, and colour. In direct proportion as the 
 elements of which an ornament is composed have been taken with more or less divergence from the 
 ordinary aspect of nature, so should the mode be varied in which that ornament should be portrayed. 
 Thus, in the more refined arabesques of Plate LXXXVII., in which the forms of growing plants 
 144 
 
liave been freely sketched from the garden and field, an amount of delicate modelling and indication 
 of accidental effect is admissible, which in the representation of the more absolutely conventional 
 elements of the specimens given in Plate LXXXVIIL, strikes us as somewhat officious and feeble. 
 Already in the bustle of line, the fluttering ribbons, and vague jewelled forms of No. 5, and in the 
 monotonous masques and foolscaps of No. 1 (Plate LXXX.), may be traced that tendency to caricature 
 which disfigured so much that the genius of Eomano threw off with masterly power, but unfortunately 
 with too great fecundity. So long, as at the Villa Madama, and in other of his Eoman works, his 
 exuberance was controlled by association with artists of purer taste than himself, there is little with 
 which to reproach him; but when he subsequently emerged into the “ Giran Signore” at Mantua, his 
 vanity fairly intoxicated him, and with much that was beautiful he blended not a little that was 
 ridiculous. 
 
 The specimens of his arabesques, which we have collected in Plate LXXXVIII., illustrate at 
 once his ability and his weakness as an ornamentist. Unable to divest himself of his recollections of 
 the antique, and at the same time too egotistic to be content with its careful reproduction, the 
 motives he borrowed from it assume an aspect of unquiet rarely to be recognised in the remains of 
 classic antiquity. The motives he derived from Nature are equally maltreated, since he gathered 
 flowers from her bosom only to crush them in his rude grasp. There are yet, however, a daring in 
 his fancy, and a rare sweep and certainty in his handling, which must secure for him an honourable 
 niche in the Temple of Art. Like ^*Van who wanted grace, yet never wanted wit,” it is on the score 
 of taste that he who in his time was one of its chief arbiters most frequently fails. This fallibility 
 is stamped upon several of the ornaments we have engraved in Plate LXXXIX., which are taken 
 principally from the Palazzo del Te, at Mantua. Thus, in No. 2, a scroll ornament freely dashed out 
 is entii’ely spoilt by the ludicrous object from which it springs. Again in No. 3, the ridiculous 
 masques seem sneering at the graceful forms which surround them; and in No. 4, nature and the 
 antique are alike maltreated. No. 6 in the same plate points a” severe ''moral.” Servile, where 
 an ornament should be most free in the disposition of its main lines; and free, where deference to 
 some received type of form ceases to be servile, in the accessory elements of which it is composed- 
 
 Typographic Omamout from one of the productions of the early Parisian Press. (Stephans' Greek Testament.) 
 
 Ms running scroll, wliicli is adapted from one of the commonest patterns of antiquity, betrays at 
 once G-iulio’s feebleness of imagination, and bis want of taste. 
 
 The peouUar influence of local association upon styles of ornament, which we have already noticed 
 in the case of arabesques, may be traced with equal facility in the best typographic and xylographic 
 illustrations of the early printers. Thus, in the ornaments. Figs. 4-7, 9-16, Plate XC., taken from 
 the celebrated “ Etymologion Magnum,” printed at Venice in the year 1499, the forms of the ornament, 
 and the almost even distribution of the “pieni” and “vuoti,” have been evidently based on the style 
 of those Oriental or Byzantine fragments, in which Venice was so pre-eminently rich. Many of tlie 
 Aldine initial letters in the last-named plate, appear as though they might have been engraved by 
 
 PP 145 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 the very same hands that ploughed out the damascene patterns in the metal-work of the period. The 
 Tuscan Bible of 1538 presents us with endless conventional renderings of the ordinary Cinque-oento 
 sculpture, which abounded in the churches of Florence. Nor are the specimens of the Parisian press 
 less worthy of the veneration of the virtuoso. 
 
 In the productions of the Stephans (Fig. 29, from the celebrated Greek Testament), of Colinseus, 
 his pupil (Fig. 3), of Mace Bonhomme, of Lyons, in 1558, Theodore Hihel of Frankfort, in 1574, 
 Jacques de Liesveldt of Antwerp, in 1544, Jean Palier and Eegnault Chauldi^re of Paris, may be 
 found many agreeable and interesting illustrations of local differences in ornamental detail of a 
 semi-antique character. 
 
 Eeturning to Italy, and to its purer style, before briefly proceeding to trace the “ first causes ” 
 of the general decline of revived Classical Art, we propose glancing at one or two branches of industry 
 it would be unfair to altogether pass over. The first and most interesting of them is that of Venetian 
 Glass — a commodity which helped to spread the fame of Venice far and wide over the habitable 
 globe. 
 
 The taking of Constantinople by the Turks, in 1453, drove the skilled Greek workmen thence 
 to Italy; and at that period the glass-manufacturers at Venice learned from the exiled Greeks their 
 modes of enriching their productions by colouring, gilding, and enamelling. In the early part of the 
 
 Oruanieuts Designed for llaiquetry by Fay, in the style of Louis Seiise. 
 
 Panels designed by Fay, in the style Louis Seize. 
 
 sixteenth century, the Venetians appear to have invented the art of introducing threads of coloured 
 and opaque white (latticinio') glass into the substance of the articles they manufactured, forming a 
 beautiful and enduring enrichment, suitable, from the lightness of its character, to the delicate forms 
 of the objects to which it was applied. The secret of this art was most jealously guarded by the State ; 
 and the severest penalties were enacted against any workmen who should divulge it, or exercise their 
 craft in any other country. On the other hand, the masters of the glass-houses at Murano received great 
 privileges, and even the workmen were not classed with ordinary artisans. In 1602, a gold coin was 
 struck at Murano, with the avowed object of handing down to posterity the names of those who 
 146 
 
ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 established the first glass-houses on the island; and from it we learn that they were the following: 
 Muro, Legiiso, Motta, Bigaglia, Miotti, Briati Gazzabin, Vistosi, and Ballarin. For about two 
 centuries the Venetians contrived to retain their valuable secret, and monopolised the glass trade of 
 Europe; but at the commencement of the eighteenth century, the taste for heavy cut glass began to 
 prevail, and the trade was dispersed to Bohemia, France, and England. 
 
 Many very splendid works in the precious metals were executed at this period. A very large 
 amount of these is supposed to have been melted down, in Italy, about the, date of the sack of Kome; 
 and in France to pay the ransom of Francis I.: and much more was, no doubt, re-fashioned in after 
 times ; but the Cabinet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany at Florence, and the Museum of the Louvre 
 at Paris, still contain fine collections of jewelled and enamelled cups and other objects, which 
 sufficiently attest the skill and taste of the goldsmiths and jewellers of the sixteenth century. One 
 of the richest jewels which the fashion of the period introduced, and which continued to be used for 
 a considerable time, was the “ enseigne,” a species of medal generally worn in the hats of the nobles, 
 and in the head-dress of the ladies. The custom of giving presents on all important occasions 
 furnished constant employment to the jewellers of both countries, and in the vicinity of the courts 
 even during the most troubled periods. The restoration of peace in Italy, by the conventions of 
 Chateau Cambresis, and in France at the accession of Henry IV., caused an increased demand for 
 the goldsmiths’ productions ; and subsequently the magnificence of the Cardinals Richelieu and 
 Mazarin paved the way for the age of “Louis le Grand” in France, for whom numerous fine works 
 of art were executed by the Parisian goldsmith, Claude Ballin, who, together with Labarre, Vincent 
 Petit, Julian Desfontaines, and others, worked in the Louvre. One of the objects which greatly 
 employed the ingenuity of the jeweller at this period was the “ aigrette,” which was generally worn 
 by the nobility. From this time the style of the French jewellery rapidly declined, perfection of 
 workmanship in metal-work having been transferred to bronze and brass, in which last alloy, the 
 chasings of the celebrated Gouthier, in the days of Louis XVI., were above all praise. Of designs 
 for such work we engrave two pleasing specimens of the Parisian burin. The wiriness and frivolity 
 of this class of ornament were redeemed by its faultless execution. 
 
 Arabesque by Theodore de Bry, one of ihe ‘‘Petits Maitres,’’ 
 
 The details of the art, and its popularity, were not \vithout their influence upon general design; 
 
 147 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 for since the delicate draughtsmen and engravers of the day were much employed by the goldsmiths 
 in working out their designs and patterns, it followed, as no unnatural consequence, that many of 
 the forms peculiar to jewellers’ work were introduced into decorations designed for altogether different 
 purposes. This was especially the case in Germany, and more particularly in Saxony, where a great 
 deal of a mixed style of Renaissance and bastard Italian, with strap and ribbon work, cartouches, and 
 intricate complications of architectural members, was executed for the Electors. The engraving we 
 present of a decoration composed by Theodore de Bry affords no bad illustration of the way in which 
 motives expressly adapted for enamelling in the style of Cellini were thrown together, to make up the 
 ordinary grotesque of the day. It is by no means in the works of Theodore de Bry alone that such 
 solecisms are to be found ; for in the French etchings of Etienne de Laulne, Gilles I’Egare, and others, 
 the same features are presented. 
 
 Engravers and designers of this class were also much employed, both in Germany and France, in 
 providing models for the damascene work, which was long popular in both those countries, as well as 
 in Italy. 
 
 It is remarkable, that although we find that the Crusaders bought Oriental arms at Damascus, 
 and sometimes brought the more elaborate articles to Europe, as in the case of the ‘^Yase de 
 Vincennes,” no attempts should have been made to imitate the manufacture until the middle of the 
 fifteenth century, when we find it in use in Italy for decorating the plate-armour, which was then 
 adopted in that country. It is most probable that the art was first introduced by the great trading 
 cities, such as Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, from the East, and was afterwards taken up as a more 
 permanent decoration for armour than parcel-gilding by the artists of Milan, which city was then to 
 Europe what Damascus had been to the East, viz., the great emporium for the best arms and armour. 
 So exclusively, indeed, was the art, in the first instance, employed upon weapons, that to the very 
 last the Italian writers designate it under the title of “lavoro all’ azzimina.” At the beginning of 
 the sixteenth century, the art began to be exercised out of Italy; and it is by no means improbable 
 that it was taught to the workmen of France and Spain by those travelling artists whom the good 
 taste, or possibly the vanity, of the kings of those countries attached to their courts. Probably the 
 finest existing specimen of damascening is the armour of Francis L, now in the Cabinet de Medailles, 
 at Pans. Both this and the shield in Her Majesty’s possession at Windsor have been attributed to 
 the famous Cellini; hut on comparing them with any of his known works, the drawing of the figures 
 indicates rather an Augsburg artist than the broad style which CelUni had acquired from his study 
 of the works of Michael Angelo. 
 
 From that time down to the middle of the seventeenth century a great number of arms were 
 decorated with damascening, of which the Louvre, the Cabinet de Medailles, and the Musee d’Artillerie, 
 contain numerous fine specimens; and the names of Michael Angelo, Negroli, the Picoinini, and 
 Cursmet, may be mentioned as excelling in damascene work, as well as in the art of the armourer 
 generally. 
 
 In our own country, the process does not appear to have been much exercised; parcel-gilding, 
 engraving, blacking, and russetting, being well received as substitutes; and the few specimens we possess 
 were probably imported, or captured in our foreign wars, as in the case of the splendid suits of 
 armour brought to England by the Earl of Pembroke after the battle of St. Quentin. 
 
 As it has been onr pleasant task to record how French Ornamental Art was regenerated by imitation 
 of Italian models in the sixteenth century, so it now becomes our less agreeable duty to note how 
 deleterious an influence was exercised in the seventeenth from the same procedure. There can be no 
 doubt that two highly-gifted, but overrated, Italian artists, set during their lives upon pinnacles which 
 made them the -‘observed of all observers,” effected an immense amount of mischief to French Art. 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 These artists were Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. The former was the son of a Florentine 
 sculptor, and was horn in 1589. He evinced an unusually precocious talent for sculpture ; and 
 whilst yet a youth, was fully employed, not only as a sculptor, but as an architect. He resided almost 
 entirely at Eome, where he designed the fountain of the Barcaccia in the Piazza di Spagna, the 
 celebrated Triton in the Piazza Barberini, and the large fountains of the Piazza Havona ; the College 
 de Propaganda Fide; the great hall and facade of the Barberini Palace, facing the Strada Felice; a 
 campanile to St. Peter’s (afterwards taken down); the Ludovico Palace, on the Monte Citorio ; the 
 celebrated Piazza of St. Peter’s ; and the great staircase from St. Peter’s to the Vatican, besides 
 numerous other works. Busts by Bernini were eagerly sought after by the sovereigns and nobles 
 of Europe; so much so, that when he was sixty-eight years of age, Louis XIV., who was unused to 
 be refused anything, and much less to be forced to beg, was actually obliged to write supplicatory 
 letters to the Pope, and to Bernini, requesting the sculptor’s presence at Paris. During his residence 
 there, though he did but little, he is said to have received five golden louis a-day, and at his departure 
 
 Ornamental Composition, from a dasiffo by Le Pautre. 
 
 fifty thousand crowns, with an annual pension of two thousand crowns, and one of five hundred for 
 his sons, who accompanied him. On his return to Home, he made an equestrian statue in honour of 
 Louis, which is now at Versailles. Besides his works in architecture, sculpture, and bronze, he appears 
 to have had a decided mechanical turn ; and, moreover, to have painted as many as five hundred 
 pictures in the Case Barberini and Chigi. He died in the year 1680. 
 
 Francesco Borromini was born near Como, in the year 1599. Apprenticed at an early age to 
 Carlo Maderno, he speedily became both a brilliant carver and architect. On Maderno’s death he 
 
 Q Q 149 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 succeeded to the charge of the works at St. Peter’s under Bernini, with whom he very shortly quarrelled. 
 From his fervid imagination and rare facility as a draughtsman and designer, he soon obtained ample _ 
 employment ; and in his capricious vagaries, every tendency to extravagance that Bernini’s style 
 possessed Borromini contrived to caricature. Until near his death, in 1667, he continued sedulously 
 occupied in subverting all known principles of order and symmetry, not only to his own enrichment, 
 but to the admiration of the leaders of fashion of the day. The anomalies he introduced into design, 
 the disproportionate mouldings, broken, contrasted, and re-entering curves, interrupted and crooked 
 lines and surfaces, became the Ttiode of the day, and all Europe was speedily busy in devising similar 
 enormities. In France the fever raged speedily, and the popular style, in place of the quaint but 
 picturesque forms to be seen in the engravings of Du Cerceau, 1576 substituted the more elaborate, 
 but less agreeable ones to be found in Marot, 1727— and Mariette 1726-7. Borromini’s works, which 
 were published in the year 1725 — and Bibiena’s, which were not much purer, and which were given 
 to the world in 1740 — had a large circulation, and tended to confirm the public taste in facility and 
 elaboration versus simplicity and beauty. Despite this debasing influence, many of the French artists 
 of the time, both of Louis XIV. and XV., in the midst of their extravagance, made many beautiful 
 ornamental designs, showing in them a sense of capricious beauty of line rarely surpassed. In some 
 of Le Pautre’s designs (reign of Louis XIV.), this quality may be recognised, as well as in many of 
 the interior decorations given in Blondel’s works published during the reign of Louis XV. 
 
 De Neufforge is, however, the master of the ceremonies in this latter court of revels, and does 
 sufficiently graceful fooling in the 900 plates comprised in his great body of Ornament. To dwell 
 upon individuals among the mass of clever ornamental designers, draughtsmen, and engravers, to 
 whom the Orand Monarque and the brilliant court of his successor gave good pay and plenty of work, 
 would be out of place here. There is one, however, Jean Berain, who cannot be passed over, seeing 
 that he held the special appointment of “ Dessinateur des Menus Plaisirs du Eoi ” (Louis XIV.), and 
 that to him we are indebted for the best designs which will render the name of Buhl famous so long 
 
 as a taste for beautiful furniture exists. He contributed materially to the decoration of the Galerie 
 d’Apollou of the Louvre, and of the State apartments in the Tuileries, as is elegantly testified in a 
 work published in the year 1710. Another large collection of his admirably sportive designs was 
 engraved by Daigremont, Scotin, and others. With the advent of Louis XV. to the throne in 1715- 
 the manner of designing grew far more “rococo” and “ baroeque ” than it had been during the 
 greatest part of his predecessor’s reign. In spite of the fine talents and good example set by the 
 architect Soufaot in his works, the twisted and foliated scrolls and shells of the former grew into 
 
 1 CIA ® 
 

 
 
 ITALIAN OENAMENT. 
 
 the “rocaille” and grotto-work of the latter; degenerating at last into all the eccentricities of 
 “ Chinoiserie.” From this style of approaching inanition, ornament revived under Louis XVI. to an 
 elegant though liny style, corresponding in some degree to that introduced into this country by 
 Robert Adams, principally in his buildings in the Adelphi, The genius of three very able men 
 
 exercised a beneficial influence over industrial design at a period shortly preceding the Revolution 
 
 Eeisner, the cabinet-maker, celebrated for his exquisite marquetry; Gouthier, brass-chaser to Marie 
 Antoinette; and Demontreuil, carver in wood to the royal family. During the Revolution Chaos 
 reigned, and out of it came order in the shape of an utter abjuration of the “colifichets” of the 
 Monarchy in favour of the Republican severity of a David. As the Republic, however, ripened into 
 
 Panel suitable for Eeisner Marquetry, designed by Fay. 
 
 the Empire, the “ mode ” from stern Republican grew magnificent Imperialist. The best artists were 
 liberally employed by Napoleon I., and the talent of Percier, Fontaine, Normand, Fragonard, Prudhon, 
 and Cavelier, developed in its highest perfection the graceful and learned, but stiff and cold, “style 
 de 1 Empire. With the Restoration, the antique went out of fashion, and confusion again ensued. 
 The native ability of the country, however, aided by judicious and liberally conducted educational 
 institutions, soon revived the public interest, and an enthusiasm for rivals of a somewhat archeeological 
 nature supervened. The monuments of the middle ages and of the Renaissance were cared for, 
 sought for, restored, and imitated on all hands ; and out of the manifold studies so made, styles of 
 eclectic character, but approaching originality, are rapidly forming themselves throughout the country. 
 
 France is, it must be confessed, at the present time, master of the field in the distribution and 
 execution of ornament of almost every class ; but so rapid and hopeful is the progress now taking 
 place in this country, that it is by no means impossible that an historian writing some few years hence 
 may, happily, be enabled to place the Allies, as they should be, upon a footing of equality. 
 
 M. DIGBY WYATT, 
 
 i I 
 
 4 
 
ITALIAN ORNAMENT. 
 
 BOOKS REFERRED TO FOR ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 LITERARY AND PICTORIAL. 
 
 Adams (E.) ThePolychromatic Ornamentof Italy. 4to. London, n. d. 
 
 Alberti (L. B.) De Re .^dificatoria Opus. Elorent. 1485, in folio. 
 
 Albertolli, Omamenli diversi mventaii, dc,, da, Milano. In folio. 
 
 D’Androuet Dtr Cerceau. Xiwe d' Architecture. Palis, 1559, in 
 folio. 
 
 B’Aviler, Cours d' Architecture, par. Paris, 1706, in 4to. 
 
 Bibiena, Arrhitettura di. Augustse, 1740, in folio. 
 
 Borromini (F.) Opus Architectonicum. Romas, 1725, in folio. 
 
 Clochar (P.), .(l/oHjmens et Tomheaux m^sures et dessines en Italie, 
 par. 40 Plans and Views of the most remarkable Monuments 
 in Italy. Paris, 1815. 
 
 Dedadx. Chambre de Marie de MHicis au Palais du Luxemburg ; 
 ou Recueil d’ Arabesques, Peintures, et Oi'nements qui la decorent. 
 Folio, Paris, 1838. 
 
 Disbo e Zanotto. Sepulchral Monuments of Venice. I AIouu- 
 menti cospicui di Venezia, illustrali dal Cav, Antonio Liedo e da 
 Francesco Zanotto. Folio, Milan, 1839. 
 
 Boppelmayr (J. G.) Mathematicians and Artists of Nurembiirg, dc. 
 Historishe Nachricht von den Nurnbergischen Mathematicis und 
 Kiinstlern, dc. Folio, Niirnberg, 1730. 
 
 Gozzini (V.) Mommens Sepula-aux de la Toscane, dessines par 
 Vincent Oozzini, et graves par Jerdme Scotto. Nouvelle Edition, 
 augmentee de vingt-neuf planches, avec lenr Descriptions. 4to. 
 Florence, 1821. 
 
 Gruner (L.) Description of the Plates of Fresco Decorations and 
 Stuccoes of Churches and Palaces in Italy duriny the Fifteenth 
 and Sixteenth Centuries. With an Essay by, J. J. Hitlorff, on 
 the Arabesques of the Ancients compared with those ofRaffaelle 
 and his School. New ediUon, largely augmented by numerous 
 plates, plain and coloured. 4to. London, 1854. 
 
 ■ Fresco Decorations and Stuccoes of Churches and 
 
 Palaces in Italy during the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, 
 with descriptions by Lewis Gruner, K.A. New edition, aug- 
 mented by numerous plates, plain and coloured. Folio, Loudon, 
 1854. 
 
 Specimens of Ornamental Art selected from the best 
 
 models of the Classical Epochs. Ilhistrnted by 80 plates, with 
 descriptive text, by Emil Braun. {By authority.) Folio, Lon- 
 don, 1850. 
 
 Magazzari (G.) The most select Ornaments of Bologna. RaccoUa 
 de' piu scelti Ornati sparsi per la Citta di Bologna, desegnnti 
 ed incisi da Giovanni Magazzari. Oblong 4to., Bologna 1827. 
 
 De Nedfeorge, Recueil ilcmeniaire d' Architecture, par. Paris 
 (1757). 8 vols. in folio. 
 
 Pain’s British Palladio. London, 1797, in folio. 
 
 Palladio, Architetlura di. Venet. 1570, in folio. 
 
 Passavant (J. D.) Rafael von Urhino und sein Vater Giovanni 
 Sanii, In zwnilheilen mit vierzehn abbildvngen. 2 fols. 8vo. 1 
 Tol. folio, Leipzig, 1839. 
 
 PeRCIERET Fontaine, Recueil de decorations intericures, par. Paris, 
 1812, in folio. 
 
 PerRAULT, Ordonnance des cinq speces de Colonnes, selon Ivs Anciens, 
 par. Paris, 1683, in folio. 
 
 Philibert de Loeme, CEuvres d' Architecture de. Paris, 1626, in 
 folio. 
 
 Piranesi (Fr.) Differentes Manieres dlorner les Cheminecs,iS:c,, par. 
 Rome, 1768, in folio, and other works. 
 
 Ponce (N.) Deso'iption des Bains de Tiic. 40 plates, folio. 
 
 Raphael. Life of Raphael, by Quairemere de Quincy. 8vo. Paris, 
 18.35. 
 
 Receuil d' Arabesques, contenant les Logos du Vatican d’apres Raphael, 
 et grand nombre dautres Compositions du mime genre dans le 
 Style Antique, d'apres Nomiand, Queverdo, Boucher, dc., 114 
 plates, imperial folio. Paris, 1802. 
 
 Rusooni (G. Ant.), Dell' Architettura, lib. X., da. Venez. 1593, 
 in folio. 
 
 ScAMOZZi, Idea del' Architettura da. Venez. 1615. 2 vols. in 
 
 folio. 
 
 Seelio (See.) Tutte le Operc d' Architettura di. Venet. 1584. In4to. 
 
 Libri cinque d' Architetlura di. Venet. 1551. In folio. 
 
 Terme de Tito. A series of 61 engravings of the paintings, ceil- 
 ings, arabesque decoi-ations, &c., of the batlis of Titus, en- 
 graved by Carloni. 2 vols. in 1, atlas. — Folio, oblong. Rome, 
 n. d. 
 
 Tosi AND Becchio. Altars, Tabernacles, and Sepulchral Monuments 
 of the Fozirteenih and Fifteenth Centuries, exisliny at Rome. 
 Published under the patronage of the celebrated Academy of 
 St. Luke, by MM. Tosi and Becchio. Descriptions in Italian, 
 English, and French, by Mrs. Spry Bartlett. Folio. Laguy, 
 1853. 
 
 \iGNOLA, Reyola dei cinque Ordini d’ Architetlura, da. In folio. 
 
 \oLPATO ED Ottaviano. Logyie del Raffaele nel Vaticano, dc. 
 Roma, 1782. 
 
 *Zahn (W.) Ornamente aller Klussischeji Kunst-Epochen nach den 
 oriyinalen in ihren eiyentkumlichen farben dargestellt. Oblong 
 folio. Berlin, 1849. 
 
 ZoBi (Ant.) Notizie Storiche sull’ Origine e Progressi dei Lavori 
 di Commesso hi Pietre Dure che si esequiscono nelt I. e R. 
 Stabilimento di Firenze. Second Edition, with additions and 
 con-ections by the author. 4to. Florence, 1583. 
 
 * Trom tills interesting work the materials for Plates LXXVII, IXXVIll., LXXIX., have been derived. 
 
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 153 
 
LEAVES AND FLOWEES FEOM NATUKE. 
 
 1. Isis. 
 
 2. mite Lily. 
 
 3. Daffodil. 
 
 4. Narcissus. 
 
 5. Onion. 
 
 6. Dog-Eose. 
 
 PLATE XCVIII. 
 
 Plans and Elevations of Flowers. 
 
 7. Mouse-ear. 
 
 8. Honeysuckle. 
 
 9. Mallow. 
 
 10. Ladies’smock. 
 
 11. Speedwell. 
 
 12. Harebell. 
 
 13. Glossocomia clematidca. 
 
 14. Convolvulus. 
 
 15. Primrose. 
 
 16. Periwinckle. 
 
 17. Clarkia. 
 
 IS. Leycesteria forraosa. 
 
 PLATE XCIX. 
 
 1. Honeysuckle. 2. Convolvulus. Full size. 
 
 PLATE C. 
 
 Passion Flowers. Full size. 
 
 LEAVES AND FLOWEES EKOM NATUEE. 
 
 We have endeayoured to show in the preceding chapters, that in the best periods of art, all ornament 
 was rather based upon an observation of the principles which regulate the arrangement of form in 
 nature, than on an attempt to imitate the absolute forms of those works; and that whenever this 
 limit was exceeded in any art, it was one of the strongest symptoms of decline : true art consisting in 
 idealizing, and not copying, the forms of nature. 
 
 We think it desirable to insist rather strongly on this point, as in the present uncertain state in 
 which we are, there seems a general disposition arising to reproduce, as faithfully as may be possible, 
 natural form as works of ornament. The world has become weary of the eternal repetition of the 
 same conventional forms which have been borrowed from styles which have passed away, and there- 
 fore can excite in us but little sympathy. There has risen, we say, a universal cry of “ Gro back to 
 nature, as the ancients did ; ” we should be amongst the first to echo that cry, but it will depend 
 much on what we go to seek, how far we may succeed. If we go to Nature as the Egyptians and 
 the Greeks went, we may hope; but if we go there like the Chinese, or even as the Gothic artists 
 of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, we should gain but little. We have already, in the floral 
 carpets, floral papers, and floral carvings of the present day, sufficient evidence to show that no art 
 can be produced by such means; and that the more closely nature is copied, the farther we are re- 
 moved- from producing a work of art. 
 
 Although ornament is most properly only an accessory to architecture, and should never be allowed 
 to usurp the place of structural features, or to overload or to disguise them, it is in all cases the 
 very soul of an architectural monument. 
 
 154 
 
LEAVES AND FLOWEES FROM NATURE. 
 
 By the ornament of a building, we can judge more truly of the creative power which the artist 
 has brought to bear upon the work. The general proportions of the building may be good, the 
 mouldings may be more or less accurately copied from the most approved models; but the very 
 instant that ornament is attempted, we see how far the architect is at the same time the artist. It 
 is the best measure of the care and refinement bestowed upon the work. To put ornament in the 
 right place is not easy; to render that ornament at the same time a superadded beauty and an expression 
 of the intention of the whole work, is still more difficult. 
 
 Unfortunately it has been too much the practice in our time to abandon to hands most unfitted 
 for the task the adornment of the structural features of buildings, and more especially their interior 
 decorations. 
 
 The fatal facility of manufacturing ornament which the revived use of the acanthus leaf has 
 given, has tended very much to this result, and deadened the creative instinct in artists’ minds. What 
 could so readily be done by another, they have left that other to do ; and so far have abdicated their 
 high position of the architect, the head and chief. 
 
 How, then, is this universal desire for progress to be satisfied — how is any new style of ornament 
 to be invented or developed ? Some will probably say, A new style of architecture must first be 
 found, and we should be beginning at the wrong end to commence with ornament. 
 
 We do not think so. We have already shown that the desire for works of ornament is co-existent 
 with the earliest attempts of civilisation of every people; and that architecture adopts ornament, 
 does not create it. 
 
 The Corinthian order of architecture is said to have been suggested by an acanthus leaf found 
 growing round an earthen pot ; but the acanthus leaf existed as an ornament long before, or, at all 
 events, the principle of its growth was observed in the conventional ornaments. It was the peculiar 
 application of this leaf to the formation of the capital of a column which was the sudden invention 
 that created the Corinthian order. 
 
 The principle of the foliation, and even the general form of the leaves, which predominate in the 
 architecture of the thirteenth century, existed long before in the illuminated MSS. ; and derived 
 as they were, most probably, from the East, have given an almost Eastern character to Early English 
 ornament. The architects of the thirteenth century were, therefore, very familiar with this system 
 of ornamentation ; and we cannot doubt, that one cause of the adoption so universally of this style 
 during the thirteenth century arose from the great familiarity with its leading forms which already 
 existed. 
 
 The floral style, in direct imitation of nature, which succeeded, was also preceded by the same style 
 in works of ornament. The facility of painting flowers in direct imitation of nature in the pages of a 
 missal, induced an attempt to rival them in stone in the buildings of the time. 
 
 The architectural ornament of the Elizabethan period is mostly a reproduction of the works of the 
 loom, the painter, and the engraver. In any borrowed style, more especially, this would be so. The 
 artists in the Elizabethan period were necessarily much more familiar with the paintings, hangings, 
 furniture, metal-work, and other articles of luxury, which England received from the Continent, than 
 they would be with the architectural monuments ; and it is this familiarity with the ornamentation 
 of the period, but imperfect knowledge of the architecture, which led to the development of those 
 peculiarities which distinguish Elizabethan architecture from the purer architecture of the Eevival. 
 
 We therefore think we are justified in the belief, that a new style of ornament may be produced 
 independently of a new style of architecture ; and, moreover, that it would be one of the readiest 
 means of arriving at a new style ; for instance, if we could only arrive at the invention of a new termi- 
 nation to a means of support, one of the most difficult points would be accomplished. 
 
 155 
 
LEAVES AND FLOWERS FROM NATURE. 
 
 The chief features of a building which form a style, are, first, the means of support ; secondly, 
 
 the means of spanning space between the supports ; and, thirdly, the formation of the roof. It is the 
 
 decoration of these structural features which gives the characteristics of style, and they all follow so 
 
 naturally one from the other, that the invention of one will command the rest. 
 
 It would appear, at first sight, that the means of varying these structural features had been ex- 
 hausted, and that we have nothing left but to use either one or the other of the systems which have 
 
 already run their course. 
 
 If we reject the use of the column and horizontal beam of the Greeks and Egyptians, the round 
 arch of the Eomans, the pointed arch and vault of the Middle Ages, and the domes of the Mohammedans, 
 it will be asked — WTiat is left? We shall perhaps be told that all the means of covering space have 
 already been exhausted, and that it were vain to look for other forms. But could not this have 
 been said in all time ? Could the Egyptian have ever imagined that any other mode of spanning 
 space would ever be found than his huge blocks of stone ? Could the Mediseval architect have ever 
 dreamed that his airy vaults could be surpassed, and that gulfs could be crossed by hollow tubes of 
 iron? Let us not despair; the world has not seen, most assuredly, the last of the architectural 
 systems. If we are now passing through an age of copying, and architecture with us exhibits a want 
 of vitality, the world has passed through similar periods before. From the present chaos there will 
 arise, undoubtedly (it may not be in our time), an architecture which shall be worthy of the high 
 advance which man has made in every other direction towards the possession of the tree of knowledge. 
 
 To return to our subject, how is any new style of art or new style of ornament to be formed, or 
 even attempted to be formed? In the first place, we have little hope that we are destined to see 
 
 more than the commencement of a change; the architectural profession is at the present time too 
 
 much under the influence of past education on the one hand, and too much influenced by an ill- 
 informed public on the other ; but the rising generation in both classes are born under happier auspices, 
 and it is to them we must look for hope in the future. It is for their use that we have gathered 
 together this collection of the works of the past; not that they should be slavishly copied, but that 
 artists should, by an attentive examination of the principles which pervade all the works of the past, 
 and which have excited universal admiration, be led to the creation of new forms equally beautiful. 
 VI e believe that if a student in the arts, earnest in liis search after knowledge, will only lay aside 
 all temptation to indolence, will examine for himself the works of the past, compare them with the 
 works of nature, bend his mind to a thorough appreciation of the principles which reign in each, he 
 cannot fail to be himself a creator, and to individualise new forms, instead of reproducing the forms 
 of the past. We think it impossible that a student fully impressed with the law of the universal fit- 
 ness of things in nature, with the wonderful variety of form, yet all arranged around some few fixed 
 laws, the proportionate distribution of areas, the tangential curvatures of lines, and the radiation 
 from a parent stem, whatever type he may borrow from Nature, if he will dismiss from his mind 
 the desire to imitate it, but will only seek to follow still the path which it so plainly shows him, we 
 doubt not that new forms of beauty will more readily arise under his hand, than can ever follow 
 from a continuation in the prevailing fashion of resting only on the works of the past for present 
 inspiration. It will require but a few minds to give the first impulse ; the way once pointed out, 
 others will follow, readily improving, refining upon each other’s efforts, till another culminating point 
 of Art shall be again reached to subside into decline and disorder. For the present, however, we 
 are far enough removed from either stage. 
 
 We have been desirous to aid this movement to the extent of our power; and in the ten plates 
 of leaves and flowers which accompany this chapter, we have gathered together many of those natural 
 types which we thought best calculated to awaken a recognition of the natural laws which prevail in 
 156 
 
LEAVES AND FLOWERS FROM NATURE. 
 
 the distribution of form. But, indeed, these laws will be found to be so universal, that they are as 
 well seen in one leaf as in a thousand. The single example of the chestnut leaf, Plate XCI., contains 
 the whole of the laws which are to be found in Nature : no art can rival the perfect grace of its form, 
 the perfect proportional distribution of the areas, the radiation from the parent stem, the tangential 
 curvatures of the lines, or the even distribution of the surface decoration. We may gather this from 
 a single leaf. But if we further study the law of their growth, we may see in an assemblage of leaves 
 of the vine or the ivy, that the same law which prevails in the formation of the single leaf prevails 
 also in the assemblage of leaves. As in the chestnut leaf, Plate XCI., the area of each lobe diminishes 
 in equal proportion as it approaches the stem, so in any combination of leaves each leaf is everywhere 
 in harmony with the group: as in one leaf the areas are so perfectly distributed that the repose of 
 the eye is maintained, it is equally so in the group: we never find a disproportionate leaf interfering 
 to destroy the repose of the group. This universal law of equilibrium is everywhere apparent in Plates 
 XCVIII., XCIX., C. The same laws prevail in the distribution of lines on the surface of flowers; 
 not a line upon the surfaces but tends more surely to develope the form, — not a line which could be 
 removed, and leave the form more perfect; and this why? Because the beauty arises naturally 
 
 from the law of the growth of each plant. The life-blood, — ^the sap, as it leaves the stem, takes the 
 
 readiest way of reaching the confines of the surface, however varied that surface may he; the greater 
 the distance it has to travel, or the weight it has to support, the thicker will be its substance. (See 
 Convolvulus, XCVIII., XCIX.) 
 
 On Plate XCVIII. we have shown several varieties of flowers, in plan and elevation, from which 
 it will be seen that the basis of all form is geometry, the impulse which forms the surface, starting 
 from the centre with equal force, necessarily stops at equal distances; the result is symmetry and 
 regularity. 
 
 Who then will dare say that there is nothing left for us but to copy the five or seven-lobed 
 flowers of the thirteenth century ; the Honeysuckle of the Greeks or the Acanthus of the Romans, — 
 that this alone can produce art, — is Nature so tied ? See how various the forms, and how unvarying 
 the principles. We. feel persuaded that there is yet a future open to us; we have but to arouse from 
 our slumbers. The Creator has not made all things beautiful, that we should thus set a limit to our 
 
 admiration; on the contrary, as all His works are offered for our enjoyment, so are they offered for 
 
 our study. They are there to awaken a natural instinct implanted in us,— a desire to emulate in 
 the works of our hands, the order, the symmetry, the grace, the fitness, which the Creator has sown 
 broadcast over the earth. 
 
 London Day and Son, Limited, Gate Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields. 
 
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