‘Princ§t6nuniveréi1y Lima ‘ ‘_H_“___fl1H{“\||Hr|9 ‘d‘p"",ii1“"i.‘ ‘ Y __ ifiihraml nf I» uh Ilunmm jflrincctnn 1K1dher§itg. firwenfeb lrg <@><..UlQ-OM. "l I1“!!! ‘ . _ ~._ . \ H _ _ _____m___ *- TEXT BOOKS OF ORNAMENTAL DESIGN BY LEWIS F DAY. - ' III. THE APPLICATION OF ORNAMENT TEXT BOOKS OF ORNAMENTAL DESIGN BY LEWIS F DAY. Price Three-and-Sixpence each, bound in Cloth I THE ANATOMY OF PATTERN. With Thirty-five full page Illustrations II THE PLANNING OF ORNAMENT. With Thirty-eight full page.Illustrations III. THE APPLICATION OF ORNAMENT With Forty-two full page Illustrations. J < ‘G I ck "W T181131 )>%@J,F‘ ‘“\'w .=1." *§*-‘ni?U14%§§ is ;;!g>_<1 g .4; %% Baa)‘ §%?§v!= I %n“nmIQ ‘€ gmfflfi *%%%% éééwfi :‘M%;%\.i~§ %»£€~ &4j§€€?H!~ as é i §i;% "“’<»%Z;@ 6 gm I‘~i_;-*l§‘%-If‘; "'""m"'“"'m ?%“w@%~? I-KI >9’ @‘*> , ))))) )) 0-»): 2 .0 J )')n PREFACE The former text-books of this series con- cerned themselves with the rudimentary lines on which ornament may be designed and distributed. It is only in theory, however, that orna- ment can be independently discussed. Prac- tically it exists only relatively to its applica- tion. Apart from its place and purpose and the process of its doing, there is no such thing as ornament. The necessity of adapting design to its position and use is as obvious as it is abso- lute. The need of conforming to the more technical conditions imposed by material, and the means of working it, is not so generally understood. It takes, perhaps, a craftsman thoroughly to appreciate its urgency. These few chapters go to demonstrate how essential to évrnament is its strict subordina- ) g\ . \"%gY\$ iarfii/n@2s;z?s5 vi P refaw. tion to practical conditions ; how in all times and in all crafts good workmen have cheer- fully accepted them ; and how the very forms of historic detail handed down to us grew out of obedience to them. In the genesis of ornament will be found the strongest argu- ment for the study of technique The consideration of natural form and its adaptation to ornamental design is reserved for a separate volume. LEWIS F. DAY. I3, Mzrklenburg Square, London, I/V.C. Odober 71/1, I888 I 2 -v J. 4 5 6 7. 8. Q. IO. II. I2. 13 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF PLATES sTENCIL—The ties breaking up the broad masses of colour ORNAMENTAL FIGuRE coMPos1"r1oN—Identical figures reversed. ANIMALS AND ARABESQuE—Varied creatures sym- metrically disposed. A TREE OF JESSE— Figures ornamentally valuable among the foliage. NuRSERY WALL PAPER——Fl1I1lI‘l design ANIMALS AND ARABESQuE—Va1‘lO11S creatures enliven- ing the ornament. PATTERN WITH GROTESQuES-—Tl1e creatures them- selves reduced to ornament. VARIOuS VESSELS--Characteristic of the way of their making \VOOD CARVING—Sh0Wing the marks of the chisel. AFRICAN BASKET WORK—A typical example of plaiting CARVED LEATI-IER—PreServlng the quality of‘ the material. PERSIAN FA1ENcE—Direct potter’s work. LETTERXNG—SI1OWing its relation to the pen, &c. b X List of P/ates I4. I5. I6. I7. I8 I9. 20. 21. 22. 23 24 =5 26. 27 28 29 30 3:. EGYPTIAN scuLP'I"uRE—Basa1t. GREEK scuLPTuRE—Marble. RENAISSANCE scuLPTuRE—Marb1e RENAISSANCE scuLPTuRE—Sandstone. WOOL DAMASK—Br0a(1 surfaces calculated to exhibit the quality of the material LYONS SILK—Trivia1 design, disguised by the sheen and colour of the material. BYZANTINE SILK—-C0lOl1red according to the weft. ARABIAN PATTERNS-—IX1CiS€d in soft plaster. IRoNWoRI<—Characteristic similarity of motif in work of quite different periods. IRONw0RK—Characteristica11y different types of wrought iron. NEEDLEWORK—Characteristic quality of line EMBOSSED PANEL—Design suggested by the process. FILAGREE-—Characteristic design common to work of different periods GREEK LACIn:—Ana1ogous to filagree on straight lines JAVANESE oRNA1vIEN'1‘—Inspired by the way of working. FRETWORK—In wood and metal. SAWN WORK—Ingeni0us patterns produced by very simple means STENCIL PATTERN-—And the way of producing it. 32 33- 34- 3S~ 36. 37 38 39 40 41 42. List of P/ates. xi BOOKBINDER’S 'r0oLn~:<;--And the tools usell. MOSAIC PAVEMENT—Workman1ike thrift RIGID DESIGN—I11 need of the softening influence of accidental colour. NIELLO-—Severity of pattern calculated to be mitigated by the brilliancy of the metal. MARBLE INLAY--Practically a fret pattem. ARAB LATTICES—Characteristic wood-turning ENAMEL—ShoWing the difference of outline in cloironné and cbanzp/evé STAINED GLA5S—The glazing lines for the most part the outlines. ,qPP1_1Qz/5‘ EMBROIDERY—Tl1€ joints masked by a corded outline. 0uTL1NE—Defining the forms. OuTLINE—SOftening the forms THE APPLICATION OF ORNAMENT. I. THE RATIONALE OF THE CONVENTIONAL Concerning all questions of art, the diffi- culty of coming to any clear understanding is greatly increased by the totally different meanings attached to the terms, more or less technical, one cannot avoid using To begin with definitions does not greatly help us. We no sooner commence to define than we find ourselves stumbling against other words equally in need of explana- tion. What a flood of light would be let in upon the question of decorative design, could we but agree amongst ourselves as to what is meant by the term “ conventional ” ! A An English ornamentist understands by conventional treatment, such a rendering of natural forms as may be consistent with the B 2 T /ze Applz.catz.on of Ornamenl. decorative character of the work in hand. It implies to him that self-restraint, that intelli- gent selection, that recognition of material and its characteristics, that strict regard for the purpose and position of design, without which ornament does not so much as deserve the name of ornament. To a Frenchman, on the other hand, it stands for all that is helpless and hopeless in art. “ C ’est de la L‘0fl7J£IZli0fl, ga," is the expression of his supremest contempt Of course it is not merely a matter of country. Not all Britons are agreed as to what they mean by the word conventional, nor all Frenchmen; but there is in the national interpretation of the term an expla- nation of the respect, as of the contempt, in which conventionality is held The continental use of the word is perhaps the more exact. The conventional is literally that which has come to be accepted ; and, as a matter of experience, we find that, even in a world of progress, little or nothing is ever universally accepted until it is already toler- ably stale. The accepted thing becomes, therefore, identified with all that is most deadly dull and tedious in modern art. T no Rationale of tlze Conventional. 3 There seems to be no hope or promise in it ; it stands for stagnation. Yet there is another side to the question. We find in the best work of nearly all periods, and of nearly all nations, certain principles which appear to have been generally obeyed ; so universally obeyed, indeed, as to warrant us in calling them the principles of decorative art In endeavouring to explain those principles, concerning which we have come to some sort of general understanding or agreement, the advocates of due restraint in ornament adopted in an evil hour the term conventional, to ex- press that kind of treatment which, whatever it might be, was adapted to the purposes of decoration. But it proved less easy to grasp the elusive spirit of design than to take pos- session of the forms in which it was embodied. And the cut-and-dried character of the ex- amples of design adduced by way of illustra- tion, led to the supposition that the conven- tional was neither more nor less than the trite ; the literal meaning of the word lending itself to the confusion. One may take it that the artistic verdict on convention will be mainly according to the B 2 T /ze Rationale of the C01z?/entional. 5 cannot conveniently ignore the word by which it is currently known, and we find the word “ conventional ” in possession. One can scarcely conceive of ornament which is not, in a manner, more or less modi- fied by considerations altogether apart from the natural forms on which it may have been founded. Even the human form, which is our highest type, and with which liberty may less safely be taken than with any other of nature’s works—even the human form is not ready-made to the hand of the sculptor The works of the great masters, to which we accord the title of “monumental,” are so in virtue of a something which was not in the model of the sculptor, but in his art Call this subtle quality what you will—con- ventional, traditional, monumental, ideal, indi- vidual——s0mething there is in all applied art (in all art for that matter, but our concern is just now more especially with decorative and ornamental art), something which is, let us not say contrary to nature, for it belongs in- herently to human nature, but non-natural, in the sense that it is not directly borrowed from natural forms. Conventionality in ornament is another 6 T/ze A jfiplicatzon of Ornament term for reticence or self-restraint. The artist who exercises no restraint upon himself will hardly command the full sympathy or admira- tion of Englishmen. Apart from the natural, or national, desire for some reserve in art, as in everything else, restraint is forced upon the ornamentist by all the conditions of his work, by its purpose, place, and means of execution, no less than by that necessity for repetition which, in these days more than ever, is a con- dition of its very existence What is Implied by Repelzfiou 7 II WHAT IS IMPLIED BY REPETITION. The very purpose and position of ornament, the method of its execution, and even its construction, insist upon some treatment of natural forms which, for want of a better word, we call “conventional.” First, in reference to the construction of ornament.“ Its mere repetition, which in a former text—book (‘The Anatomy of Pattern’) was shown to be inevitable, would of itself render such treatment necessary; and even without the inducement of economy, which calls for the use of a machine, we should still resort to repetition, if only because the human brain cannot go on inventing without inter- mission, but needs the comparative rest of repeating itself, even in hand work In the artist’s repetition of himself (unless the fatal pressure of the times have made him also a machine), there will always be a certain degree of variety, which there could 8 T /ze A pptzkatzbn of Ornament. not be in mere mechanical reproduction. But he cannot afford to dispense with repetition ; nor need he wish to dispense with it. It is in itself an element in decorative design; it is a preventive against loose and rambling ornament ; it exhibits order, and gives scale. The only question is, where and to what extent we should avail ourselves of it. In proportion to the naturalism of a design, and the point of realism to which it is carried, it becomes unsuited to multiplication. To put it the other way about, the oftener it is proposed to repeat a form, the more impera- tive it is that it should be removed from the imitation of nature, and the further it should be removed. It needs, in short, adaptation to the purpose of repetition. Such adaptation is strictly in proportion to what one may call its reticence A highly elaborate and attractive feature—anything, certainly, that is in the least self-assertive- will not bear so much as reduplication; where- as an insignificant device may be multiplied ad infinitum. In anything of the nature of a background (and so many manufactures are intended to serve only as backgrounds) repe- W fiat is [mptied 6y Repetition. 9 tition is of the utmost service, and repetition implies modification. It follows from what has already been said as to the danger of tampering with the human figure, and the prominence it naturally as- sumes, that there is great difficulty in repeat- ing it without offence. The interest of a pattern is enhanced, no doubt, by the re- currence at stated intervals of appropriate figures. But it is desirable that there shall be always some difference in them; for with every repetition of the same figure its charm is discounted. There is something exaspera- ting in the reversing of identical figures in a pattern (Plate 2), when it is so simple a thing by the careful disposition of various creatures to retain the symmetry of effect desired (Plate 3) Presumably the reason for introducing figures into ornamental design, is for the sake of some added interest there may be in them. But you cannot get up any absorbing interest in a series of figures all identically of one pattern. They suggest only the mechanism employed in producing them. The multipli- cation of the figure, far from multiplying its interest, diminishes it in proportion to the 10 T /ze Application of Ornament. number of times it is repeated. And though it be a very good thing that is repeated, the case is not greatly mended—it is so easy to have too much of a good thing. The only safety is in toning down the re- peated form until its recurrence ceases to be very obvious. This may be effected in various ways. In certain embossed leather, and such like designs, it is brought about partly by the low relief of the stamping, partly by the soft- ness of the colouring, and partly by a more or less cunning complication of the figures with the rest of the design, so that they do not thrust themselves into notice. That variety in the creatures, were it possible, would be desirable no one can doubt. The consideration which occurs in the case of figure design which it is so necessary to re- duce to comparative insignificance is, whether it was then worth doing Perhaps not. Except that ornament has a way of being a trifle too ornamental, or, more strictly speaking, too monotonously ornamental ; and the introduc- tion of any bold mass, such as the figure very readily gives, is one obvious way out of the besetting danger. Apart from the symbolic intention of the Q ’ L‘u\ _b=wU £%_ $0 Ea r_3?0s_ Cé>___ ow? \_\‘(_TuuQ‘c1KM'__Q C9 __o T: by J Alnrmnn 5 Queen Squ-re W C N T__ O T O I P I 1 2 T /ze Application of Ornament. portions are given on Plate 6, clearly gives point to the ornament ; and they are rendered with a certain conventionality which makes them one with it. To reconcile us to the repetition of these creatures would be a feat indeed. The grotesques introduced into the cretonne design on Plate 7 may perhaps be excused on the plea of their remoteness from nature in the first place, and further on ac- count of the minuteness of the scale on which they are drawn : they are scarcely apparent at first sight. But their real justification is that they are a joke Alas, it is not often that the conditions of manufacture allow us that relief The advisability of introducing animal forms into mechanically repeated manufac- ture depends entirely upon the possibility of keeping them in appropriate subjection—in their place, in fact—which, in turn, depends upon the art of the artist. There is a lesson for us in the artful way in which the designers of the Renaissance contrived to keep down the creatures, graceful or fantastic, with which they peopled their scrolls, subduing them to the decorative key. Where the forms which first take the eye are the bold lines of the leafage, among which the live things are more or less I: EIBJI . I ‘ ll I. ll 1|-l‘ u I! n ‘W ‘ ‘ l \ M W Tl 51.? ‘ ‘-.F5r \ - Y.}r l‘ .Y5-T0. HQ‘/$iUl T:-T‘;-:_—.=%*- _~_ ‘ 1t l i- -nrrs 5 Pi U fimffl I- $7 - - X- - _\_~_§“_- 3" Q Hilg T /-lter (‘r n cn V O NOLIORN I INO.l.O-LITNO I FURN VAL K ILL 0! ‘ W/zat is fmpliea’ ly Repetition. 1 3 hidden, so that it is only by degrees that one becomes fully conscious of them all, scarcely the ‘purist can find cause of complaint. Some sort of mystery in design is always delight- ful. The perfection of art is reached when, however attractive at first sight, it continues to grow upon you, and the more you contem- plate it, the more you see in it. Natural forms, to be admissible in ornament, must be decoratively treated. Natural though they be, they must be at the same time orna- mental. A lion, as Landseer modelled it, is not fit for any decorative purpose. An Egyptian or Assyrian lion, on the other hand, Dona- tello’s lion at Florence, or Stevens’s outside the British Museum, are adm_irably decorative. The objection to naturalism, or perhaps it would be more exact to say literalism, in forms repeated, applies not only to animal but even to floral forms It exists in a less degree, inasmuch as they are of less prominent interest ; but for all that it exists. The charm of the simplest flower is lost when we see, side by side, so many copies of it -—not varieties, as they would be in nature, but stereotyped repetitions of the same thing The designer is exposed, by his very artistic I4 The A p_filz.calz.0n 0f Omamem‘. ability, to the temptation of aiming at natural effects, a temptation all the stronger because, few persons having knowledge enough to appreciate design, whilst all are more or less familiar with natural forms, there is nothing in the shape of public opinion to keep him in check. Every artist likes, of course, to make a good drawing, and to carry it as far as he can But that is not at all the vital point in de- corative design: the all-important thing is the effect of the work in execution and in its place. Any one who thinks twice about it must realise that in very self-defence he is bound to consider the repetition of his design, and all else that concerns its use. If he is really a designer, he will know how to make capital out of the very poverty of the condi- tions to which he submits. Submit he must —better do it, then, with a good grace Some adaptation of natural forms, some simplification in fact, is demanded, not only to fit them for repetition, but, further, by the position and purpose of the work; sometimes in order that the detail may not assert itself too much, sometimes in order to give it the emphasis that is needed. $323. x "I; Combination oF.ScroIt s(-HunTin£;_sccne - incised on Stone r W/zat is [mp/ied éy Repetz.tz.0n. I5 For example, it is quite a common thing to see an infinity of elaborate and laborious work misspent upon details of domestic furni- ture, which not only pass unnoticed, but which ought never to attract notice. It often seems as if the workman had set himself to show how far it was possible to go in the direction of minuteness of detail It is quite possible to show that, and at the same time illustrate the futility of going anything like so far. In proposing to carry execution to a point beyond what has hitherto been attempted, it is as well to ask oneself, whether there may not be good reason why the attempt has never been made Our forerunners were not all of them fools, we may be sure As a tour de force, once and again, most things may be ad- missible; but a wise workman rarely indulges of his own accord in that kind of “brag” (there is no better word for it) which exhibi- tions, international and other, have done so much to encourage. A master is loth to waste labour, and he knows how to make his work hold its own without shouting at you. He deliberately does less than an inexperienced person would have thought necessary, with a view to making 16 T /ze Application of Ornament his design tell in its place. In wall decoration, for example, to be seen from some distance, a merely natural representation of natural forms would often go for very little. By the omission of multitudinous detail, he manages to emphasise what he is anxious to preserve. Or (since decorative treatment by no means consists in omission only) he exaggerates, perhaps, features in his design which, in the position assigned to it, would otherwise be lost. According to his purpose, he makes no scruple about modifying natural forms and colours: he enforces his effect, indeed, by every conventional—-that is to say, every workman- like—expedient at his command. I8 T he Applieation of Ornament. fined may seem at first sight rash enough. But with regard at all events to things of common everyday use, there clearly is a point at which the line of decoration must be drawn. And, more than this, just as the object itself, its use, its material, and the manner of its making, indicate plainly enough the fit method of its decoration, so also they give the hint as to the measure thereof. It would seem, in short, as though the point at which a material or a. process failed were the point at which we might most conveniently stop, rather than bring in some supplementary process, which, under pretence of helping it out, ends more likely in supplanting it. This will be made clearer by an example,— let us say pottery, in aid of which so many of the applied arts are called in, that we shall necessarily have to branch out by the way into discussion of the wider subject of applied ornament, with which this text-book is con- cerned. The primitive way of making a pot is by what is known as “throwing,” that is to say, shaping the lump of wet clay with the hands as it revolves on the wheel before the potter. This, it should be observed, is at the same ~;,¢,,-1-1-.9--Q- -a|-0!I"~%."uis--‘JR o'~‘¥$i¢-“iii 64‘ 1 ...-.' ' ':-7.-' :_,.A ‘.-._...9-.. .. TI 5 1 i 4 - i. I-Fl if ''__'_ .' _ _ I‘;-... -sa.-re --;. is-‘wt.nv.~o..“'.-;1- fl:"K~r\- 1 il l I . ‘l ' ‘ I PVkere to Stop in Ornament. I9 time the way most directly conducive to artistic results (Plate 8) Bigotry alone would seek to narrow the scope of a workman to any single process of making. One is fain to own that in the hands of an artist the lathe too may have its use (Plate 8). The so-called Etruscan vases (Plate 8) were turned on the lathe, the artist probably caring more about the painting of his vessel than its shape. ‘ But whilst you watch the potter at his wheel, it appears to you that no supple- mentary process can be necessary Almost from the moment he begins to hollow with his hands the revolving lump of plastic clay before him, it begins to take suave and beautiful shapes, gliding the one into the other, as the wheel goes round, with an ease which it is delightful to see. It all seems to go so easily that your fingers itch to try a tu-m at it. Seeing the potter at his work, you see how the typical pottery forms grew out of his fingers; you realise how it is that ugly forms are so rare in‘ primitive pottery; and you are inclined to think that the ugliest pot ever made on the wheel must have passed in the making through several stages of C 2 O C _ > 5 If I ‘W ‘ .... .Pnovo-Tm-r, by J-Ak.rmnn,6 Queen Squ-.-o,W C I ‘N I \ . ‘y L, “ W/zere to Slop in Ornament. 21 the hand If any such final shaving is to take place there is, artistically, small reason for the preparatory process of throwing. The thing might just as well be cast, or otherwise mecha- nically made from the commencement, since there is to be nothing but what is mechanical in the result. There is this against after- processes generally. They are apt to undo a great deal of what has been done. How fatally the final process of glass-papering wipes all character out of our modern wood- carving; whereas one great charm about old work (Plate 9) is in that crispness of touch which tells of the carver’s chisel The excuse in the particular instance of earthenware (there is always an excuse ready for unworkmanlikeness) is in some supposed advantages of lightness and so-called elegance The answer to this is that lightness is not the quality most characteristic of, or especially desirable in, pottery. If it is elegance we want we had better employ glass (Plate 8), the convenient and conventional treatment of which is all in the direction of grace and airi- ness. A bubble, whether blown in molten glass or soap and water, is a bubble. In earthenware we had best be content with 24 T/ze A ¢plz.mz’z.0n of Ornament artist and a delusion to the buyer. The sales- man has a way of excusing the high price of a thing on the score of the difficulty there was in making it But was it worth while ? That is the question. Apart from its superiority in design, there is not much to choose between the Portland vase and the marvellously cut glass or crystal of modern Bohemia. They are the very extravagance of workmanship, and as such merit the praise due to all patient labour, and no more. The simplicity and appropriate breadth of treatment of the crystal cup on Plate 8 is vastly more workmanlike than either Patience does not rank, outside the copybook, as the virtue of virtues. With- out some share of it genius falls short; never- theless the power of taking pains does not constitute genius, nor will it even enable one to design so much as a good pattern. But this is straying rather from the point, which is, that material and process may be trusted to suggest the character of de- coration and the point at which it should be restrained. The lavish and unintelligent use of ornament about us is enough to reduce one to despair. In our longing for palat- able ornament we seem sometimes to see 28 T /ze A _;§plz'eatz.0n of Ornament in which here and there one competent may be permitted to indulge, growing as it does naturally out of a natural process of work It is a sort of fine-gentleman cousin of the process that is easy and obvious enough for the decoration of ware for common use—that more rough and ready painting, namely, in clay or “slip,” as it is called, where the touches of the brush are left to tell their own tale. It is strange that the public should have to learn that the tale of the tool—brush, chisel, hammer, or whatever it may be--is never discreditable, and always interesting. There is a something very direct and work- manlike in the way “ slip ” is used in modern Indiangpottery. The dark—coloured clay is first patterned over in whitish slip, and then the whole is dipped in transparent glaze. It results from the very method of execution that the relief is so slight as not in any way to interfere with the form of the thing it enriches, nor yet in any way to hinder its usefulness The necessarily restricted relief of repoussé metal is accounted for in a similar manner; whereas ornament in relief applied to a vase usually presents the appear- ance of so much excrescence upon it The l \ I 3A7‘: q§_",' ___;__“ __ Q) E, __1“rW_\ %é~_ fim \ ' 0 , I my 5 ; __. . _’|+.J_ ~ ,_‘_‘%_~“_‘ I’ ”‘: r q_,t" ‘p \~-(-Qm Square WC ‘PNOTO -TINT’; b_vJ I\kormnnG Queen W/zere to Stop in Ornament 29 modelling you get with a brush is not likely ever to be in too bold relief, nor that which you get by punching too sharp. A very suggestive illustration of appropriate flatness of relief resulting from a workmanlike proceeding, is given in Plate II, representing an old German book-cover in carved leather. The flatness is such that itlis not unsuited for its purpose, and the quality of the material is retained. It looks like leather. Sgraflitto, or the art of scratching, is another of those direct methods plainly appropriate to the decoration of earthenware. Just as the Italian decorator covered his tinted plaster with a layer of white plaster, and while it was yet soft scratched out his design (which thus appeared in the dark colour of the under- ground), so the potter dips his vessel of dark- toned clay into a paste of white, and on this outer coating proceeds to scratch his design Or, of course, he may scratch on the moist body of the vessel itself, and rub colour into the incised lines. These simple processes in a manner suggest themselves by their very easiness; and the blunt line produced by the point on the damp clay, has an ornamental character of its own 3o The A pplication of Ornament. well worth keeping. The delicate diaper lines, simply picked out of the painted ground (Plate I2), have a different character of their own. The objection there is to obtaining relief by the application of cast ornament applies only in a less degree to rude and rough and less assuming work, such as German stone- ware or gres rte Flandres (Plate 8) Stamps or punches for impressing coarse patternwork, need to be used with judgment Within certain limits one may employ in ornament, especially of the ruder ‘kind, devices which would not be endurable in work of more lofty pretensions; still there is always a danger of hardness resulting from mecha- nical and perfunctory ways of working, even though, as in stoneware, the glaze may help to soften the forms The important thing is that the end of beauty be gained without sacrifice of use, and without greater ex- penditure of time and labour than is justified by the purpose in view The truly con- ventional way is the workmanlike way. l One would not by any means exclude human or animal figures from the sphere of ornamental design; but it should be of the u W/zere to Stop in Ornament. 33 to do. In any case, if he is discreet, he will limit his ambition to the range of his appli- ances. The china painter, that is to say, will think out a scheme of colour which, if not suggested by the oxides employed in ceramic painting, is not in any way opposed to them This will, indeed, deprive him of some pos- sible indulgence in naturalistic effect, but in the main it will lead him to more perfect achievement than would the pursuit of mere difficulties, without regard to the nature of vitreous colours and the action of the kiln upon them. One appreciates more fully the colour of the Persian or Damascus pottery when one realises that the painter’s palette was set by the circumstances It is only when we respect our materials that we get so much out of them. The uncertainty of all colour which has to pass through the fire renders it most unwise to entertain a scheme which (whether founded upon nature or not) depends upon absolute accuracy of tint. The certain thing about vitreous colours is their uncertainty in the kiln. The potter is working always more or less in the dark, since the value of his work is not D 36 The Application of Ornament. the circumstances is not only safest but most directly conducive to success; and there is a further charm in the evidence of directness itself In all applied art, and in every stage of it, the work in hand points out the appropriate treatment; it suggests the degree as well as the kind of conventionality to adopt; you have but to heed its prompting and it will tell you what to do, and where to stop. Style ana’ Handz.eraft. 37 IV. STYLE AND HANDICRAFT. The purpose and position of ornament belong to the wider subject of decoration, at which we have not yet arrived, and come only incidentally under our consideration On the method of its execution depends, as already said, the very conception of ornamental design. One cannot properly discuss style without reference to material and tools. The style peculiar to each particular kind of work is, indeed, so strongly marked, that it would be quite feasible to classify ornament according to its evolution. Mr Wornum’s analogy between “style” in ornament and “hand” in writing, holds absolutely good. There never was a tool or process but it wrote its character on the work done. It was so in a simple practical matter like lettering The cuneiform character of the Assyrian inscrip- tions was developed chisel in hand. It was the chisel shaped the hieroglyphs pf Egypt 38 T/ze A pplieation of Ornament. In a certain bluntness of the early Greek character the influence of the stylus is ap- parent. Chinese and Japanese writing must first have been done with the brush. The various shapes of letters on Plate I 3 are instructive. The simple form of the Roman capitals A B C might, like the Greek, first have been indented on a soft substance with a point The later form of lettering, D E F, with its varying thickness of line and its spurred extremities, was better calculated for engraving on hard stone. The use of the thick and thin lines (the down-stroke and the up-stroke) comes of the use of the pen, and so, plainly, does the characteristic thickening of the backs of certain Gothic capitals such as the G. The smaller Roman letters, h i j, and still more plainly the italics k I m, are unmis- takably related to the “round-hand” n 0 p But it is in the medieval “ black letter" that penmanship is most plainly pronounced, as in the letters q t S, in the capitals Eli G1 U, and in the more fantastically flourishing {LEE on the same plate. That our own printed type does not more distinctly reveal the intervention of the metal worker, is accounted for by our following the Style and Handz.erafl. 39 historic, pen-born, fashion of lettering—I would say, too closely, but that history and senti- ment must be allowed to count for something ; and it would be hard to set a limit on their just influence. 0 In our day we are given to the cultivation of “_a good business hand,” which is just a little characterless and monotonous, as are indeed the lives of some of us who accomplish that modest end. Time was when the pen of the ready writer indulged in occasional flourishes. There is no time for such frivolity nowadays ; and what little character there is left in our handwriting seems likely to be sacrificed to the convenience of the stylographic pen—even if we do not give up penmanship altogether in favour of the “ type-writer.” Style, then, is not so much a thing of dates and countries as of materials and tools. Whenever the development of ornament is discussed, it is the custom to begin with the savage. How the aboriginal developed into the Assyrian is not very clearly shown. But from Assyrian art is traced Egyptian, and from that again Greek art, and its Roman imitation—all very plausibly. The foun- dation of Byzantine art upon the ruins of 40 The Application of Ornament. Classic, the growth of Gothic, the reaction of the Renaissance, its transplanting, and its degradation, follow in accustomed order. It is easier to jog along this well-beaten road, though it be a trifle tedious, than to explain how, all the while, parallel with this, Oriental art was pursuing a course of its own, infringing, nevertheless, at times upon Western art, and whenever that was the case, leaving the imprint of its touch upon it. This would be well worth doing; but it would take volumes to do it in, and would demand, besides, historical knowledge far greater than I can pretend to—a knowledge perhaps scarcely compatible with the neces- sary knowledge of art One feels always how hard it is for the artist to equip himself with the necessary scientific and historic knowledge ; as for the man of learning and research to cultivate that susceptibility to art necessary to any profitable discussion of the subject Still more to the purpose would it be to classify ornament according as it was plaited, notched, scratched, turned, modelled, carved, inlaid, printed, woven, embroidered, or what not (see Plates IO, 3o, I2, 37, 2I, 9, 36, 7, 19, 40, respectively). l E 3 AF t .‘! \‘ I \ V-r l' F I‘ ‘ I I‘ ‘~ ‘PHOTO-TIITI by J Akermnn5,Quecn squ-re ,WC ‘g’ ll {I r -I U9 U2n 4%‘ ‘’ _ PuOTO -TINT: by J Akormnn,5,Quoen Squ-re WC U l _‘_’ ‘ ! | 0 ' _‘ 42 The Application of Ornament. Greek, Gothic, or Renaissance sculpture. But if we compare for a. moment the carving of Egypt, of Greece, and of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, we shall see at once that the styles are not more distinctly of a place and of a period than they are markedly granite, marble, and soft stone styles. The monumental simplicity of the graven obelisk, the refinement of the Panathenaic frieze, the rude grandeur of the Gothic portal, the delicate elaboration of the Italian ara- besque, were but the natural development of resources at hand. Working in porphyry, basalt, or granite, severe simplicity was in- evitable, and the Egyptian (Plate I4) was severe with a vengeance. There was no temptation to him to fritter away all breadth in the accumulation of petty detail. On the other hand, the even textured but less obsti- nate marble encouraged the Greek sculptor and his fifteenth century successor (Plates I5 and I6) to greater and ever greater subtlety of execution; which again would have been quite out of the question in working the more friable sandstone native to Northern Europe (Plate I 7). We associate the coarser treatment with ‘ _‘ ‘ 22‘l ‘0 _ . .‘___‘ I “vii l g_iL§ g I Z 6,Que.n Squ-re ,W_C Puoro-TINr, by -l Alm mnn 44 The Application of Ornament. directly due to, some particular manufacture or method of work. So it is with the details of ornamental design. The exquisite simplicity of certain cha- racteristic patterns familiar in the figured velvets of the I 5th century, is cleverly calcu- lated to disturb the least possible amount of the sumptuous pile, so that the full value of the rich texture is preserved In the old-fashioned damask patterns the big broad leaves and scrolls are planned (like a Turkey carpet or an Indian rug) with a view, before all things, of getting a broken effect of colour. The designer relied upon the quality of the silk with its varying sheen to alleviate the exceeding flatness of the pattern. No treatment less broad would have done justice to the quality of the stuff, which in those days was worth consideration. Compare even the comparatively debased specimen of woollen damask on Plate I8, with the current designs in linen damask, and it will be seen how well advised were our grandfathers. Nineteenth century manufacturers who desire equally to exhibit the quality of their woof, can think of no other way of doing it than by leaving the ground for the most part empty They 46 The Application zy‘ Ornament. charm in monochrome. It is hard to realise that forms like those on Plate I9 can ever pass for beautiful; but it is wonderful what colour and texture will reconcile us to in the way of design. That is no reason why the artist should leave us to reconcile ourselves with ugly forms, still less why we should accept such models without attempting to improve upon them. The Byzantine colouring, in bands, accord- ing to the weft (Plate 20) is almost brutal in its outspoken acceptance of the limitations of weaving?‘ It speaks volumes for the safety with which such limitations may be accepted, that the contradiction between the forms of the design and the scheme of colour does not in the least offend one in the silk. The same kind of thing occurs sometimes in Japanese stuffs. Until recently, the conventional treatment of foliated forms always and everywhere con- fessed quite frankly the way it was done. The so-called honeysuckle of the Greeks I have shown elsewhereT to be directly trace- able to the use of the brush, as was the case * See ‘Anatomy of Pattern,’ pp. 49, 50. 1' See ‘ Everyday Art,’ pp. 106-8. /as??? /cz/or/Q '-»\ ‘<94,@v\@.'<>>.\;\'spirecl by way ofwork" c I ntu rr1OT0-Lflnn 8FUlv<|VAL s‘ NOLIOIN 2 c The T eaching of the Tool. 5 3 It cannot be insisted upon too strongly that, in designing for ornament, it is abso- lutely essential always to have those con- ditions in mind, as clearly as though you were yourself working under them. - In beaten work you descend from the mass to the minutiae; in filagree, on the contrary, you would work from the minutiae to the mass. Commencing with wiry lines, you would perhaps clothe them with more com- pact spirals, clustering these together where you wished to concentrate the effect The design of the Byzantine artist of a thousand years ago is not, you will see (Plate 26), very different from that of the medieval silver- smith, nor yet from that of the Genoese and Maltese artificer of to-day. This is the type of all ornament in deli- cately elaborate line, as, for instance, damas- cening, embroidery in gold or silken outline, and, on a larger scale, hammered ironwork Substituting straight lines for curved, it has its parallel in certain kinds of lacework, such as the so-called “ Greek lace.” (Plate 27.) A very curious instance of design directly inspired by the way of working occurs in the Javanese work on Plate 28. Some plastic 54 The Application of Ornament. substance, paper or gutta-percha, is rolled out into the thickness of stout wire, curled round into spirals, and laid on papier-maché The ground is then partly fretted away and the whole gilded There is something delight- fully naive in the result. Fret cutting affords another homely illus- tration. The very neccssities of the saw suggest the nature of the design. You are led to devise some form of pierced ornament not unlike stencilling ; or, if you prefer to cut away the ground instead of the pattern, you are compelled to hold the design together by ties - Unless these ties were from the first taken into account, they would be sure to mar the effect The artist, accordingly, finds himself, as if by instinct, evolving a kind of strap- work, which reminds one of the typical Elizabethan ornament—which very possibly originated in some such device as fret carving, although the forms show also the influence of types more proper to metal. The likeness of the strip of low-relief pattern- work, on Plate 29, to fret cutting, is too striking to be merely accidental. The rela- tionship challenges recognition Plate Z9 i I Q 7 flnbo s 5 e cl (rel /"\ etal (5 erman llll W Ill 1] ii" M)? €T '1 a 5???? All llll 1 s cllwan STl.c\p-\AlOlUk\ ‘WV l ' iii . I ~_ g'e 1 *€-1° _ ' ‘. _ ! A r—n'~| A ET 5». l —r- llllllllllll llllll I 1‘ '0' nu! {“-Mt -n_ l'\ ' ll ‘ pi W" to no mill Illlllllll O4 - ll I mm ow lg 1 " l~-.Autn 1 " 56 The Application of Ornament. through which the design is rubbed in, the plate protecting the ground. Stencilling is very properly used in decora- tion as a means of laying in a first painting only, in which case one may do with it what one will, or what one can One may even, by the use of a succession of plates, produce most elaborate designs. An ordinary Italian house decorator will manage to stencil a wall surface with a gorgeously rich damask pat- tern, at a cost not exceeding that of equally effective wall- paper. A stencil pattern proper should, however, be designed to be stencilled right off, without needing to be made good at all by hand. This principle is illustrated in Plate I, which by its construction owns to being stencilled It is a bastard kind of design that is ashamed of its origin. Ties, it will be seen, may well be turned to account to form a pattern on the pattern, to give detail, such as the veining of large leaves, or otherwise to break up the broader masses of the design. The geometric diaper on Plate 31 is ob- viously produced by means of two stencils, the outline being formed by the .portion of __,- ~ I AW'“l-if T “Till I-l"'“"' W {Wt __l it In "ml A um etc Will‘ AI *2 a (0 The F4 Q L A r-*@'+'* up A-‘Y -A Er , ' >"- ;* ~ _ Fg-5-_-‘-E2-Frr-$53? see —-if ;- --Q §_ flag gr Q2, § 1 ‘é 5 2 "T? $5’ 5 is w .=. g Ii. ?"= 5 e :2’ = X § '5 5 2 = at r? E .. I i ‘=.~J. E j ea s 2 ' 2 e s era, ~ __§ %-I . _.-2' % i _-5.-E *- --:1" E--_ 44: 3|. .nt ll-l, FNIITQ-llTN0Il.UlNlVAL S‘ KOLIGIN EJJ k 1 F-"lyd 4,‘_7+'_‘.,\ _+'_Q Feel?‘ *1 1; ¢+'-35$: First stencil M ‘J 6o T he A pplz.mtz.0n of Ornament. tainty of shape, and gives an air of mystery to what would otherwise be only so much mechanism. The rigid forms of the diaper on Plate 34 are plainly in need of some such softening influence of colour. Again, in geometric ornament like the “niello” on Plate 35, the silvery brilliancy of the metal glorifies, so to speak, the nakedness of the design. S0 in the ornamental glass mosaic so often used in Italy about Giotto’s time in connec- tion with white marble, the shimmer of the surface, more especially as it was never absolutely even, put all contingency of harsh- ness out of the question. Such a thing was barely possible with all those little facets of glass catching the light at all manner of angles, and glittering each according to its own bright will. In marble inlay of strongly contrasted colour there is no such excuse for severity of form; some of the old pavement patterns, that for example in the baptistry at Florence (Plate 36), are exceedingly graceful in design Even there you see the influence of the material The desirability of maintaining the solidity of the white slabs into which the blackish-green Plate 55 clgqsu\2m>1.|oM c,l_‘Q]pul uocuwo: 30 ! |H=!‘*, n w) SPHQ J VYVVVVVV "VVVVVVY WVYYVYYY "YVVYYYVY IWVVVVVVYV YYVVVVYVVV \\ Q \§ Iv %’<<<<<<<<<>/>\>\>>\>>>\>/>>>>>>>>/>\%»> ‘vi - The Teaching of the Tool. 6 I is inlaid, has led to a kind of network of white enclosing the darker tints, by which means the contrast between light and dark is most judiciously softened. These patterns would stencil perfectly. They are, in fact, fretted in marble. Here it may be as well to remark that, though a stencil is a kind of fret, a fret is not exactly the same as a stencil. In designing a stencil the ties are the main consideration. In designing a fret, the connection of the openings is an important point. One must as much as possible avoid the hindrance of perpetually removing and refixing the saw, which, in fretting a stencil pattern such as that on Plate I, would take almost as much time as the actual cutting. Long, smooth, sweep- ing lines are also suggested by the saw, the backward and forward action involved in following jagged lines, such as the serrated edges of leaves, resulting in some waste of labour Very characteristic design occurs in the wooden lattice work which has lately been imported from Cairo, and freely used (not always with discretion) in the decoration and furniture of English houses (Plate 37). Better 1% . ._' ¥ 3 Z M” 'm_g‘ My ‘ at -%UA W- 'mw mph ‘Q - . '__. A: \ . V A _ '4‘ ' ‘)A@_v)l\&€¢ “aw 3 - - _* ”’‘v""“ if - T/ze Teaching qf the Tool. 6 3 until there is now little dilference between the picture and its copy in wool, except that the copy costs ever so much more than the original. Already in the comparatively early tapestries of Raffaelle, you can see at Dresden or Beauvais what inferior and characterless hangings his famous cartoons make, as com- pared with the neighbouring designs of earlier, unknown, and less accomplished draughtsmen, who knew their trade. That Raffaelle either knew little or cared little about tapestry, is clear. And in his failure there is some con- solation for the least of us. If we only love our trade, and know it (as only those can who love it) we may succeed where a Raffaelle would fail, though we be anything but Raffaelles. It is easier said than done, for a great painter to step down to mastery in the minor arts. All trades want learning. The crowning point of ignorance and incon- sistency in design is reached where the con- vention peculiar to and characteristic of some quite different material is affected, as in the bulbous forms of beaten metal reproduced in I 5th century Gothic stonework, or the facets of Brobdingnag jewels in Elizabethan wood- carving. 64 The Application of Ornament. The modern Frenchman seems to have no conscience at all in this respect. He will copy anything in any material, and be proud of himself. He is not to be persuaded that the characteristic lines of darning for example (Plate 24), when reproduced in wall paper are simply broken lines, as meaningless as they are awkward Affectation of that kind seems to throw into stronger relief the fitness of fit ornament. l r r J I \ I’ l 3' l E Plate 37 |u-my 595%? '|l| llll - i\“* ‘ \3‘n 59/ \“ M’! \(3\ //1, ’ Z11 \ ‘alkali Iéfliiccs ¢1wae1¢.i.1.¢ \/\/OOl-l'Uf'O-ll‘) _. _ v . A e 1 nu H10T0-LITNOIFUIlIlVAL :T uoumm : o Some Superstitions. 6 5 VI SOME SUPERSTITIONS. Out of the practical conditions of work have arisen elements of design so distinctly decorative that they are sometimes taken to be inseparable from ornament and essential to it. Flatness of effect, symmetry of dis- tribution, firmness of outline, and other such useful devices, have been adopted as articles of a rather too credulous faith That is a proud position to which they are by no means entitled. They are at the best work- ing rules, a sort of recipe, not without use, but useful mainly to those who are not much in need of such help. Let us inquire into one of these supersti- tions—outline. It is of such use in ornament, and so often useful, that it has come to be accepted by certain theorists as a necessity of the case; with them it is the passport to “the decorative” Useful as an outline is in decoration, it is not, however, inevitable. Nor F 66 The Application of Ornament I is it so easy to say just where an outline should be used. In very many cases, the material and its workmanlike employment necessitate an out- line. They may even determine its colour, as in the case of the metal lines marking the cells in which the paste of enamel is laid And it is curious to notice how, in champlevé enamel, where the cells for the paste are dug out of the metal ground, the outlines are of varying thickness; whilst in cloisonne’ work the even section of the wire soldered on to form the cells, necessitates an absolutely even strength of line. You have only to look at the quality of the outline, to tell at once whether enamel is champleoé (a sort of niello in colours instead of black) or cloisonné. The evangelistic emblem on Plate 38 combines the two pro- cesses. You can distinguish the solid metal from the wire-work quite plainly. You find that when the more laborious process of cutting out the ground is used, the artist adopts a larger treatment, and is altogether more chary of his lines, omitting them even, and blending one colour into another The method invites the use of broad late 59 m k,_§ Mg d I‘ IV; \‘ 4 S 0~0 _-‘')_ W ’.‘&‘o 9;‘ 6") Po-00T0 Turr, b_yJ Aklrmnn 6 Queen Squ-re WC 7o The Application of Ornament. the hard shapes drawn for the damask weaver are redeemed by the sheen of silk or linen,- and so on. In such cases the artist who has been equal to the emergency will often find again in the executed work something of the delicacy belonging to his original. Even in autograph work, where the artist executes his own design, he still avails him- self of a soft outline. Decorative art is a kind of shorthand. Its very existence seems to depend upon its being done with readiness, quickness, and certainty—so that he who runs may read. The art which only careful scrutiny reveals to us will, for the most part, fail to win appreciation. Whatever its merits, if it hide them, no wonder that men pass them by. Even poetry of the over-subtle order is not popular; and decorative art (unpopular though it be) is essentially popular art. The effectiveness so much to be desired in decorative art, has to be obtained without many of the resources of which the painter is free to avail himself. It is not often that the ornamentist can indulge in extremes of light and shade, nor yet in very strong model- ling. Under these circumstances, an outline ‘ ate ill W _ _ 1 _- l _ ___ ‘F _J_____ , _.____= _.v____'___ ___ _ g __________._ ' :1 ______ ______'''~_'__________ ___ ~*==v 2:2 1? :_______;__::¥_ __:__ pg 3 W gr, _______ _ _____ __ _'__ W ______ _________ __________:_ E 5% E: __im__§_ Q J E ____ g ‘ _ *2 L IU Z _ g M _ __ 5 v_ MfiW_:§MgM 1 ___ _ 0 ________ ‘_ __ _w_:___ 51 “IL __ »_ :5 _____.= _ __ ____ ____: '______ ______ ___ ___ _ _____<_‘_____~______“'_____ E __ ~m___E_" ___~_ ______g _ ~ g__N_““_g pg _pw___ é __“_% __ LE _ p _ _W_w_‘_*____ §_% ___§, __:____m____ __;m_?__*W _ N, MM? 2 .2 _ :_ __ :_ _&_ Lag‘ =2 i ” F5“ 5* _ :4 __ v___ _ :_:____:_,: cflline wlovcla clcfmes the for1n»(fi~.-fi~c- E _ :7 1 O Plate 4-Z -1 l ~fll\I. -- D ~mhw 41|||lIllI1m* i : Illlllll nu w Ou1".ne which soften-asthe l:°""°'* L-“‘”"'u‘“'*. = r mur-