THE
PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT

Patera in silver from the Hildesheim treasure.

Frontispiece.

THE
PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT

BY
JAMES WARD
HEAD-MASTER OF THE MACCLESFIELD SCHOOL OF ART
EDITED BY
GEORGE AITCHISON, A.R.A.
PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
153-157 Fifth Avenue
1896
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,
London & Bungay.

EDITOR’S PREFACE

As Examiner on the Principles of Ornament at the Science and Art Department, I found there was no good English text-book on the subject, so the necessary information could only be picked up by extensive reading and independent observation, and these are not to be expected from young students. Certain parts of the subject have been admirably treated by Moody in his Lectures and Lessons on Art,—in fact I know of no book where the subjects treated show such keen observation and profound knowledge, but they are embedded in lectures on other subjects, and the book has no index. Having written the original Syllabus on the Principles of Ornament, I was disposed to write a text-book, had not other avocations prevented me. Last year Mr. Ward’s book on The Elementary Principles of Ornament was sent me, and though it was a useful book and had a glossary, it contained some doubtful passages, and being printed from a course of lectures it was a little too discursive. In writing the new Syllabus this year I could not recommend it for a text-book as it stood, but as I thought it would be unfair to Mr. Ward for me to write a text-book after the trouble he had taken, I consented to edit a new edition. I may here say that I have left Mr. Ward’s musical comparisons as I found them, and have not revised his views on Ogham, and Runic, nor those on the symbolic ornament of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Siamese, Burmese, Japanese, Hebrews, Buddhists, and Brahmins.

George Aitchison.

EDITOR’S PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION

I have carefully revised the book without altering its substance. I have also added an Appendix containing a few remarks on the Orders of Architecture, with illustrations of some of the best classical examples; believing that this would be useful, not only to carvers and modellers who have to execute enrichments on Architecture, but to all students.

The ornamented parts of the Greek and Roman Orders, figure sculpture apart, show how two cognate nations, each with transcendent abilities but of an entirely different range, abstracted the beauties of plants, and conferred them on stone and marble to emphasize and adorn the rigid forms of Architecture; how the Greeks seized on the exquisite beauties of flowers, and adapted them, so as to retain the greatest purity of form, and used them in the most sparing way; while the Romans, or Greeks working under Roman dictation, used them lavishly to procure magnificence; and eventually were so prodigal with their ornament as to defeat the end in view, as little of the architecture was left plain; to act as a foil to the enrichment; while from the quantity employed no time could be spared to perfect the ornament.

The power of abstracting and applying the beauties of floral form seems now to be entirely lost. The great art of the present day seems to consist in copying nature as exactly as it can be copied in hard materials to make a colourable imitation; but in such a way that its highest beauties are lost.

Mr. Ward has added several illustrations which his experience shows him will be useful to students, and he has added an Appendix on the construction of some geometrical figures, and the methods of drawing conic sections and spirals.

George Aitchison.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

In the preface to the first edition of this book, I stated that the contents consisted of a series of class lectures given to art students. These lectures were not originally intended for publication. I was, however, strongly advised to publish them, and did so without any attempt at revision, under the title of Elementary Principles of Ornament. Although there are many excellent text-books on ornament published at the present time, there are none that exclusively treat of the theory, or what is known as the “principles of ornament”; this belief is shared with me by many of the principal art masters in the country, and by many gentlemen whose names stand high in the list of decorative artists, judging from the numerous letters and opinions I received after the publication of the first edition.

I was gratified to find that the book received a favourable recognition from the authorities of the Science and Art Department.

The present edition has been edited and revised by Professor Aitchison, A.R.A., the Government Examiner in the subject and Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy. To that gentleman I here desire to record my grateful thanks for his invaluable services in connection with the book, and, I am sure I shall be right if I add, the thanks of all students in ornamental art. Professor Aitchison has also written the new introductory chapter.

I wish here also to express my best thanks to John Vinycomb, Esq., F.R.S.A.I., for his valuable suggestions to me in the chapter on symbolic ornament.

The illustrations must only be accepted as blackboard diagrams, they are merely intended as aids in explanation of the text; more illustrations have been added to this edition, a few that appeared in the former edition have been left out.

J. Ward.

CONTENTS

INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS

[A], [B], [C], [D], [E], [F], [I], [J], [K], [L], [M], [N], [O], [P], [R], [S], [T], [V], [W].

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

IT may not be amiss to point out the advantages of studying ornamental art even to those who do not mean to be artists. The course to be adopted, after acquiring the necessary geometry, is to draw or model plants and to learn their anatomy. This will make the student accurately acquainted with the forms of plants and of their parts, and as he progresses he will find out beauties which have escaped him in a cursory view; the further he proceeds, the more his admiration will be excited by those subtle beauties he finds so hard to render and so easy to miss. The student will then notice, how many illustrations of plants are near enough to the originals to be unmistakable, but that the grace of the plants has evaporated. As soon as he is sufficiently advanced to study with advantage the best examples of ornamental art, he will find out the difficulties the great ornamentalists have overcome in applying the beauties of nature to works of art; and will then take a deeper interest in these masterpieces, and receive a corresponding delight. He will learn from these studies to reverence the artists and to admire the nation that produced them; for “art is the mirror of a nation’s civilization.”

I have spoken only of floral ornament, though the highest ornament is the human figure, and after that animal forms. The severity, however, of the requisite studies to become a figure draughtsman, which demand a knowledge of the skeleton and of the muscles, unfortunately deters amateurs, and not unfrequently ornamentalists, from learning to draw the figure, so that their works fall short of the excellence of the Greeks and Italians, who were above all things figure draughtsmen. Amateurs too will greatly aid the art, for as a rule excellence is only attained when there are many educated lovers of it, who can appreciate a beautiful creation, and reward the artist by their judicious admiration.

For twenty years I have pointed out that Nature offers her beauties gratuitously to mankind for its solace and delight; perhaps, however, the following words of Emile de Laveleye, in his book on Luxury, will have more weight:—

“Might not the man of the people, on whom the curse of matter weighs with so heavy a load, find the best kind of alleviation for his hard condition, if his eyes were open to what Leonardo da Vinci calls la bellezza del mondo—‘the beautiful things of the earth’?... Pindar says, ‘In the day when the Rhodians shall erect an altar to Minerva, a rain of gold will fall upon the isle.’ The golden rain which falls on any people when literature and the fine arts are encouraged ... is a shower of pure and disinterested delights.”

I am tempted to say something on the prospects of ornamental art. Nothing in this world can be had without paying for it, but though we must all live, those who have devoted their lives to the creation of the beautiful, look more to the delight they give and the admiration they excite, than to mere pecuniary rewards. No art will ever flourish unless there are educated and enthusiastic admirers of its masterpieces. The artist will never devote his talents to an art, and undergo the ceaseless toil requisite to create beauty, unless he be rewarded by the praise of real judges. I fear we cannot as yet make the Greek boast “that we love the beautiful”; but until we do love it, we can hardly expect to rival those who did.

The whole ornamental art of the world is now before us, and it is not to be believed that artists would not elaborate something new and beautiful from all the knowledge they have gained, if there were a passionate desire for it among the people. This can never be so long as the public is content with paraphrases of deceased art, or merely asks for a jumble of discordant scraps. Novelty we must needs have, for this generation does not inherit the precise tastes of former days, not even those of its immediate predecessor, and it is this generation that wants to be charmed: it is true that it gets novelty, but it should want beautiful novelty, and not that which is commonplace or ugly. Novelty in art is not an absolute difference from what has gone before, for that is sure to be bad, but only that difference and that improvement which one instructed generation can give to the past excellence it builds on. It is therefore necessary for the student who is born an artist, and hopes to create new loveliness, to be steeped in the beauties of nature and of art. To attain this a profound study of nature and the masterpieces of former art are wanted, for, as Sir Joshua Reynolds said, “Invention is one of the greatest marks of genius, ... and it is by being conversant with the inventions of others that we learn to invent”; while to express our knowledge and invention admirable draughtsmanship is requisite.

We have a novel phase of ornament, which consists in twisting or arranging certain plants into the shape required, to make them fit their places. Much of this work is flabby or wire-drawn, and often omits the highest beauty of the plants it uses, but even when the beauty of the plant is not left out, the ornament is infinitely below the highest flights of former art, in which the artist had absorbed the graces of floral growth and had properly applied them. The highest ornament, by its abstraction, is closely allied to architectural art, while all its higher achievements are in conjunction with architecture; consequently there should be a harmony between the decoration and the framework. Natural foliage arranged on a geometrical basis makes a poor contrast to noble architecture.

All ornamental arts, that are not realistic imitations, must be founded on precedent art. We have only one complete system of decorative art that took an entirely new direction besides Gothic, and that harmonizes with its architecture—the Saracenic—and that art is not congenial to our taste, feelings, or desires. Gothic ornamental art is mostly too barbaric or too realistic to suit us, except when it is borrowed from Roman, Byzantine, or Saracenic sources; in fact, we have nothing but Roman, Byzantine, and Renaissance art to fall back on for ornament; of Greek ornamental art we have some carved stone-work, moulded metal-work, painting on vases, incised work, and the traces of painting. Little of secular Byzantine art remains, though it is not probable that it materially differed from the ecclesiastical art of its period; it was Roman art modified by the new religion and by Greek and Oriental taste, in which saints and martyrs, with their attributes or symbols, took the place of the antique gods and goddesses; while the Renaissance was an attempted revival of Roman.

We cannot expect to equal at once the masterpieces of Greek, Roman, or Renaissance art; we have neither the centuries of experience nor the cultivated public. Every artist, however, can, by the means before mentioned, be sure of having conquered the preliminaries of his art, and he can be sincere; he can give us those beauties from nature that have captivated him, and have been transfused into ornament by the alembic of his mind; such ornament will be sure to find some congenial spirits to admire it: and I think I may say that a public sufficiently cultivated to appreciate real art is gradually being formed. The highest art is undoubtedly that which is the simplest and most perfect, which gives the experience and skill of a lifetime by a few lines or touches; and this art is more calculated to captivate the best taste of the day than the complex or the intricate. However, there will even now be ample recognition of the creations of any skilled artist who is sincere, let his genius take him where it will. There is, too, this consolation for every true artist whose works remain: that if there are few judges of his work now, there may be more hereafter—judges who when they look at his work will say, this is the work of a true artist; and he may confer delight on unborn thousands, and direct attention, in after ages, to those beauties of nature that have been overlooked.

I will now revert to the book, and confine myself to such remarks as I hope may be useful to those who study it. The student, when he has learnt and comprehended the laws, should observe growing plants, and notice that every plant illustrates some, and mostly many, of the laws; and when he has clearly distinguished them, he should examine the best ornament of antiquity and the Renaissance, and satisfy himself that the laws, involved in the particular example he is studying, have been followed. When he has done this, he should note any divergence from the laws and endeavour to understand the reason for it. To ensure the effect they intend, great artists sometimes ignore the ordinary laws.

It is well that he should consider that the main object of every plant is to live and propagate itself: to live it wants air, moisture, and nourishment, and mostly sunshine, and it must strive to get these necessaries amidst a crowd of competitors. In this struggle the plant is often dwarfed or distorted, and still more frequently some of its parts are deformed; its flowers must attract insects by their colour or scent, and must allure the insects by the honey they distil to fertilize them; so that beauty, except in the colour of the flowers, is for the plant a secondary consideration.

In ornament, on the contrary, beauty is the only consideration, except perhaps in mnemonic and symbolic ornament; and these must have beauty, or they cease to be ornament.

Ornament has also to be portrayed on some material, or carved in it; it should conform to the shape of the object, be governed by the quality of the material, and by the use to which the object is to be put—e.g. a leaf may be carved in certain woods, almost of the thinness of the real leaf, but then it must be preserved in a glass case. This thinness is not to be got if the leaf be carved in stone; the artist must therefore see what beauties he can abstract from the plant he has chosen or from floral growth generally, so that it can be carved. He should in all cases know that his design can be expressed in the material to be used, that it will ornament the object, will not be easily destroyed, and will not interfere with the use of the object. If he succeeds in doing this, his skill, taste, and judgment will be admired. This necessary abstraction we unfortunately call convention, and when it makes good ornament, and shows the characteristic beauty and vigour of plant form, it is of the highest sort; this is found in the best Greek, Roman, and Renaissance ornament, while when a coarse and clumsy imitation of nature is made, with all the beauty left out, it is the lowest sort of convention.

Any cheap speculative houses that have carving upon them, will afford ample illustrations of contemporary convention in its worst form.

Gothic ornament was quite new; for no sooner did the architects, carvers, masons, carpenters, and others find that they had surpassed the old world in constructive skill, than they looked down on all the old world arts, and would not be beholden to them. They were determined to begin afresh; they had human beings, animals, trees, plants, and flowers, as well as the Romans and Byzantines; why should they not make as good statues and ornament? There is much to be said in favour of this contention, for every one must desire to see his house, his town-hall, and his church ornamented with the flowers and plants that he knows and loves, instead of with the conventionalized plants of other countries that he does not know, or that he has gazed on to satiety. But it is one thing to have a longing, and another to be able to bring plants, leaves, and flowers into the domain of high art. The early Gothic sculptors did give a certain crispness, and in some cases even a monumental air to their carved flora, and sometimes they got that mysterious look of infinite complexity that is found in nature, and they had invention to a marvellous degree. From the sculptors working on the spot, and being able to see each figure and piece of ornament in its place, they never missed their effect. All their ornament answered its main end, of giving a broken mass of light and shade to contrast with plain surfaces, mouldings, or shafts, while much of it was vigorous; but some of the early Gothic foliage has no grace, is often destitute of floral character, and might be mistaken for hanks of string on pieces of firewood, or worm-eaten wigs. The first touch of the Renaissance brought a sweetness of proportion to architecture and a grace to floral ornament that is most striking.

Good traditional ornament has these inestimable advantages, that it has been treated for ages by skilful men, so that its faults have been corrected, new graces have been added to it, and it has been fitted to properly fill the requisite shapes. From the first, the artist must have noticed some special beauties and fitness in the plant he chose, and the ornament must have had some striking qualities to make it popular; for why else should it have been preferred and persisted in, when so many other plants had great beauty? There is, however, some ornament that, after it has once been perfected, seems incapable of further improvement. The egg and tongue may be cited as an instance. It has never been improved since the perfecting of Greek architecture, nor has any good substitute for it been found. A coarse caricature of it is still the most popular ornament of the ovolo. The Romans converted it into a floral form at the Temple of Jupiter Tonans, with marked want of success.

The Greek honeysuckle and the acanthus are the most striking examples of good traditional ornament. To take the acanthus first, it was started by the Greeks, continued by the Romans, and used by the Byzantines with a different character, then adopted by the Renaissance artists, and has been treated in an entirely novel way by Alfred Stevens in our own day. Stevens has given a peculiarly plastic character to its leafage in the Wellington monument. That form of it which is used in the Corinthian capital has had such an infinity of pains bestowed on it, that improvement on the old lines is scarcely to be expected, though new floral capitals may be invented. Every portion of the leaf, down to its rafflings, has been perfected to the end the Romans destined it to fulfil, though, as in all human inventions, something was sacrificed to attain it. The Greek capital was rather deficient in outline, but it was possessed of the most exquisite floral grace, and this was sacrificed by the Romans to attain distinctness, strength, and dignity; these qualities being particularly necessary when it was used in colossal monuments. Even when it was on a smaller scale, we can see the advantages of the change. In some Byzantine buildings, old Greek and Roman Corinthian columns have been used together. As an isolated ornament the Greek capital is greatly to be preferred, but when the two are seen in conjunction as parts of the building, the Roman capital is clear, distinct, and dignified, while the Greek one is a confused mass.

In their colossal capitals, the Romans mostly substituted the olive-leaf for the natural raffle, and used but four or five in each leaflet; though the oak-leaf, the parsley, and the endive were occasionally used. Each raffle of the olive-leafed variety is hollowed by a curve without ribs, the only lines being those made by the edges of the hollows, and each leaflet is hollowed out like a cockle-shell as well. In the best examples, the upper edges of each leaflet are mostly clear of the one above or overlap it; in the first case they are thrown up by the shadow behind, in the latter the edges of the raffles are bright against the half light of the leaflets above, and are also thrown up by the shade in their points. The top of the complete leaf curls over, and thus throws its shadow on the part below, so there is the contrast between masses of light, graduated shade, and graduated shadow. The back of the leaf was used to get a wide stem, and this stem tapers upwards, while the pipes, that come from the eyes between the leaflets, taper downwards, are nearly parallel with the stem, and are deeply undercut, thus making the whole leaf distinct and vigorous ([Fig. 110]). If examples are compared, the superiority of the parallel pipes over those that run into the stem is at once seen. The lower leaves are cut through horizontally in the middle, and come straight down on to the necking, which gives much more vigour to the capital, than when the bell turns inwards above the necking.

The student will do well to carefully draw a good example, then model it, and then carve it, for it has been the type from which most good floral capitals have been derived. The acanthus and other floral ornament used by the Italian Renaissance artists deserve quite as much attention as the Roman; for though their ornament was not on the same colossal scale, it was done by excellent figure sculptors who had studied ornament, and were of finer artistic fibre than the Romans, besides having the best Roman examples for their models. The Italian artists were, too, nearly as fond of the human figure as the Greeks, and introduced it wherever they could do so appropriately.

There is perhaps but one other ornament that is worthy of the profoundest study, the radiating ornament of the Greeks, known as the Greek honeysuckle. This ornament is full of subtle devices, in the elegant graduation of its forms, in the proportioning of the masses, in its even distribution, and in the making of the different curves enhance the value of one another. There is often, too, a suggestion of horizontality or verticality introduced, that gives the highest value to the composition; all showing the intimate acquaintance with nature that the Greek artists possessed. Many of the Greek running patterns are both original and effective, and in some of them tangential junction is distinctly avoided, to attract attention to the ornament. The Greeks, too, were pre-eminent in knowing the use of restraint and the value of plainness. When the sculptor had carved his ornament on an architectural monument he seemed to say, “Better this if you can!”

The Byzantines understood the value of gradation, and when they wholly ornamented a profile, they made some parts in bold, some in low relief, and engraved or sunk other parts. The Saracens learned this art from them, and so improved on it, that the general effect of their best work resembles Greek art; at the proper distance the subordinate ornament looks like a mere difference of texture.

Saracenic ornament affords the only instances of complete floral decoration without the figures of man or animals; and although it is inclined to be monotonous, and geometrical forms are too predominant, it is, when coloured and gilt, saved from monotony by the magical change of the patterns on the beholder shifting his position. This effect is obtained by trifling differences of level in the planes of the ornament and by gilding. Its floral forms, however, are usually coarse and poor, and have no refined graces.

There are a few points not touched on in the book which it may be well to mention. One is a device that was, I think, only used by the Byzantines, i. e. bossing out ornament to catch the light. Constantine the Great, when he had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem built, had the capitals of the sanctuary columns made of silver, and doubtless the silversmiths in working them hammered out some bosses to catch the light. This device was seized on by the sculptors of Sta. Sophia at Constantinople, and used in the marble capitals of its columns and pilasters (Figs. [A] and [B]).

I may also draw attention to another Byzantine device, which charmed Mr. Ruskin at St. Mark’s—the leaves of capitals caught by the wind and blown aside. Capitals with a similar device existed in Sta. Sophia at Salonica, some of which were partly calcined by the late fire. The propriety of using such an incident in the conventional stone ornaments of a supporting member may be doubted, still we must admire the observation and genius of the sculptor; and there are many opportunities of using such an incident when the ornament is not on a supporting member. I point it out to show what fresh resources for the ornamentalist are to be found in nature, when he has the industry to observe and the talent to create.

There are cases where architectural features have to be reduced, and at the same time to be emphasized too. No better example of this is to be found than in the Caryatid temple attached to the Erechtheum. Its entablature was below the main one, and so had to be smaller, and yet was wanted to be important

Figs. A and B.—Byzantine Capitals from Sta. Sophia at Constantinople, showing the bossing out of the ornament.

Fig. C.—Entablature of the Erechtheum.

Fig. D.—Entablature of the Caryatid portico of the Erechtheum.

and weighty enough for the figures. All the frieze but the capping was consequently left out, the top fascia of the architrave was enriched with circular discs, and between the cappings of the architrave and frieze a deep dentil band was introduced. Mainly by these means the due effect was gained (Figs. [C] and [D]).

Ornament has sometimes to be repeated in a composition on a smaller scale, and this should not be done by merely reducing the scale so as to have a diminutive reproduction, but by keeping the general form of the ornament with fewer details. Several examples may be found in M. Mayeux’s book.[1] Instances of the same motive being repeated in the same height and in a narrower width are sometimes found. An example may be seen beneath the double and single windows of an hotel in the Rue Dalbard, Toulouse[2] (Fig. [E]).

Fig. E.—Reduction of similar ornament in different spaces.

Much might be said on the subject of materials, but I will only make a few remarks. In making a design, due consideration should be given to the material employed, so that the natural ornamentation of one material may not be put on another; pottery is turned on the wheel, and is adapted for painting, while hollow metal vessels are embossed, but it is common enough to see pottery embossed, which can, it is true, be accomplished by casting or by inlaying, yet this sort of ornamentation always looks inappropriate. Stone is usually of large and wood of small scantling, yet in the front of a stone building with arched openings the wooden door-head is often made a continuation of the stone impost, though the mouldings of the wood-work should be finer and the ornament different.

Although the young student should confine his attention to the best styles, the advanced one should have some acquaintance with all traditional ornament, even the styles of Louis XIV. and XV., a grafting of Chinese and Japanese ornament on the current classic, for they are the only modern styles, except the early Renaissance, that have complete unity. The same style runs through the whole building, down to the door furniture and the damask of the chairs; the handling, too, is often admirable, and the examples are full of hints to the advanced student, who is unlikely to be infected with the rococo style.

I have dwelt much on carving for several reasons; it is the most lasting of ornamental work, and as a rule the most important; it is susceptible of the greatest perfection when executed in marble, and all architectural ornament must eventually fall into the hands of the sculptor, since he has devoted his life to its study. I may add that the French architects look upon it as the weak point in English architecture.

To the young student I may say that he can never become an artist until he has mastered the fundamental principles of his art; and that nothing can deserve the name of ornament that is not both appropriate and beautiful, and has been evolved from nature by the mind of man. I would suggest to the young artist that the flora of the world is not confined to the lotus, the honeysuckle, and the acanthus; that if accident caused the original choice of these plants, it was the infinite pains bestowed on their treatment that caused their persistence. There are, too, thousands of beauties still to be culled from plants and flowers that now remain outside the domain of art. Let the student remember that knowledge, skill, truth, and sincerity are the main roads to real success, and that real success is, to have produced some beauty that has captivated or will captivate mankind.

G. Aitchison.

THE
PRINCIPLES OF ORNAMENT

CHAPTER I

ORNAMENT is the proper enrichment of an object or surface with such forms, or forms and colours, as will give the thing decorated a new beauty, while strictly preserving its shape and character. It is the function of ornament to emphasize the forms of the object it decorates, not to hide them. Decoration is not necessarily ornament; for instance, the lovely sprays of plants with birds and cognate subjects, painted on Japanese pottery, may be called beautiful decoration, but cannot in our sense of the word be called ornament; for however realistic ornament may be, it must show that it has passed through the mind of man, and been acted on by it. This kind of decoration might be a literal transcript from nature, and neither emphasizes the boundaries of the decorated surface nor harmonizes with them. It possesses an exquisite beauty of its own, for the drawing and colour and the style of execution are good. With the exception of frets and diapers, true ornament is rare in Japanese art. [Fig. 1] is a Japanese decoration on an oblong surface. Such a design is pretty, but we can hardly call it ornament. Something must be done with it before we can give it that name.

Fig. 1.—Japanese decoration.

Fig. 2.—Japanese decoration altered.

To make an ornamental design, the units of the decoration must be arranged and brought into order; repetition and symmetry may not be required, but even distribution, order, and balance are indispensable. The whole too must not appear to be accidental but designed for the object, while No. 1 might have been made from a shadow cast on a window. The sketch at [Fig. 2] is an attempt to illustrate our notion of ornament by using the elements in [Fig. 1] evenly distributed, having at the same time a due regard to the boundary-lines of the panel.

Applied ornament is that which is specially designed and fitted for the position it occupies.

Independent ornaments are such things as shields, labels, medallions, &c., with or without enclosing frames; pateræ, festoons, and other loose ornamental objects, which may be attached to a surface, and may be used alone, or in combination with applied ornament ([Fig. 133]).

Numerous examples may be given of inappropriate ornament. As a rule, any kind of ornament that is not suited to the surface ornamented, or is falsely constructed, may be called inappropriate. For instance, if upright panels and pilasters were decorated with ornament running in oblique lines, or with a strongly-marked series of horizontal bands; or if a carpet pattern were designed to run in one particular direction; or, from an architectural point of view, if columns supporting nothing were used in decoration; if consoles or brackets were turned upside down; or if curved mouldings were decorated with frets; or panels were overloaded with mouldings; if forms, organic or otherwise, were used together, but out of scale with one another; or things were made to simulate what they are not; or there were a great excess of enrichment; each of these examples might be considered as inappropriate ornament.

Methods of Expression.—Ornament is expressed in three different ways: Firstly, by pure outline, as traced with a point; secondly, where breadth is added, by flat tints as in painting with the brush, or by shading, hatching, spotting, or stippling; thirdly, by relief, or sinking, as in modelling and sculpture. These three divisions may be subdivided, but all the subdivisions are but varieties or combinations of the first three genera. Relief modelled or pierced ornament has no other outline than that given by light and shade; but it may also be coloured, i. e. in two shades—one for the ornament and one for the background, or with the forms and background “picked out” in a variety of colours. Shaded or painted ornament in the flat is an imitation of relief work, and will be noticed again.

Ornament Expressed in Outline.—All the early decorative work of mankind, both the prehistoric etchings on bone and on pottery, the line decoration on Assyrian cylinders, bronze dishes and tablets, and the incised work on the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman cistas, hand-mirrors, and vases come under this head; as well as sgraffito-work when expressed by outline, cut in plaster showing a different-coloured plaster beneath.

Ornament Expressed by Flat Tints, in monochrome or colour, with no shading and without shadow, is a common method of ornamentation. This class includes painted ornament on the flat, whether polychromatic or in “grisaille”; inlaid wood-work, called parquetry when used for floors, and marquetry when used for other purposes; inlaid marble, stone, tile and plaster work, mosaic, tesselated, sectile and Alexandrine pavements; damascened metal-work; some enamels, lac-work, and painted pottery; woven, embroidered, printed, and stencilled stuffs, including oil-cloth; enamelled glass; and some sgraffito-work. It is convenient to class under this head certain work of slight thickness or relief, such as lace, applied work of paper, stuffs, velvet, &c., fine filigree and wire-work. Inlay under the name of “Tarsia” was greatly used by the Italians in the decoration of cathedrals and churches and in fittings and furniture; in cathedral stalls and sacristy fittings, boxwood was commonly inlaid in walnut, but ebony and ivory were largely employed for house furniture and fittings, and many different substances were sometimes employed. Tortoiseshell, gold, silver, ivory, mother-of-pearl, and different coloured woods are largely employed for the same purpose by Orientals and others. A species of inlay composed of white and stained ivory, ebony, and silver, in geometrical patterns, is much used by the cabinet-makers of India—our Tunbridge ware is supposed to be an imitation of it.

Flat Tints enriched by Outline were sometimes used in Greek vases, and are often used in inlays and damascened work; very pretty examples may be found in old Chinese lac-work, inlaid with figures and landscapes in black mother-of-pearl, the features, &c. being outlined.

Relief-work.—Ordinary modelled and carved work, either in relief or sunk, is too well known to need description; but under this heading are included pierced, open, and turned work, and such compound work as may be pierced, or turned and carved or incised as well.

Coloured Relief-work.—All Egyptian, Greek, and Mediæval bas-reliefs, and some if not all of their figure sculpture in the round, were coloured, but when the figures were of white marble, the colour was generally confined to the flesh, eyes, and hair, and to the stripes or patterns on the dresses. In one of the white marble sarcophagi from Sidon, now in the Museum at Constantinople, while figures of half life-size are left wholly white, smaller figures are wholly coloured and gilt, like the terra-cotta ones of Tanagra, and some of the ornament is white on a purple ground. All the Italian Renaissance bas-reliefs in “gesso duro” were wholly coloured.

In Greek temples the carved ornament was coloured, including the triglyphs, and parts of the ornament were often gilt, the uncut mouldings too were mostly ornamented in colour. In some enamelled pottery in relief, the figures or ornament were left white on a coloured ground, or the drapery of the figures and the ornament were coloured, as in some of the Della Robbia ware. All Roman embossed plaster was coloured and gilt. Much relief-work in bronze and the precious metals has been coloured by means of enamel, or alloys in the metal; coloured mosaic has been used to clothe columns, and some mosaic and pietra dura is in relief, as well as lac and ivory work inlaid with fine stones, mother-of-pearl, and ivory; all Moresque and some Saracen embossed plaster-work, and probably carved stone-work, was coloured and gilt; some Burmese plaster-work in relief is gilt and inlaid with coloured glass, and certain stuffs have had raised ornament upon them, formed by stuffing with wadding the applied pieces, which sometimes were embroidered.

Shaded or Painted Ornament on the Flat in Imitation of Relief-work.—This is probably the largest class, and includes engraving, shaded ornament in chiaroscuro, and shaded and coloured ornament with or without cast shadows; in it are included the Chinese, Persian, Mediæval, and Renaissance translucent enamels, which are laid over sunk (intaglio) work, and painters’ enamels; Boule work, which consists of brass, tin, or pewter, inlaid in ebony or tortoiseshell with the metal-work engraved; wood inlay in the shape of shaded natural flowers, landscapes, architectural views, and figure subjects; shaded ornament on woven or printed stuffs, and embroidery; and shaded painting on china and glass, and in Arabesques. What we now call Arabesques were paraphrases of Roman painted decoration, of which Pompeii offers us so wide a knowledge. These decorations consisted of fantastic buildings, interspersed with figures, animals, landscapes, and foliage. The discovery of this kind of painting in the baths of Titus[3] at Rome led Raphael to adopt it and to improve on it. The culminating point in Arabesque painting was the decoration of the loggias of the Vatican by Raphael and his pupil, Giovanni Recamatore, commonly known as Giovanni da Udine. The Mohammedans, from whom the name was derived, mostly avoided the figures of men and animals,[4] even in their secular buildings or furniture, it being feared that the portrayal of living creatures might lead them to idolatry; so spaces were filled with intricate geometrical patterns and coarse foliage.

CHAPTER II

THE elementary forms used in ornament form the next division. It is assumed that the space is given that we are required to ornament; for example, a ceiling, a wall, a frieze, a panel, or a carpet. The boundary-lines are the enclosing lines of our space or field, which may be subdivided. This subdividing is called the setting-out. We have now to think of the forms and character of the ornament we propose to adopt.

It is now advisable to give illustrations of the various elementary forms used in ornament. As lines, either straight or curved, are the basis of all ornament, we begin with the straight line. It would be difficult to overrate the value of the straight line in ornament. The qualities of stability, firmness, and repose given by upright and horizontal lines are well illustrated by the mouldings round rectilinear panels, by cornices and pilasters, and by reeded and fluted ornaments. All frets are composed of straight lines. The illustrations from [Fig. 3] to [Fig. 23] are specimens of straight-lined ornaments. Taking the band or two horizontal parallel lines in [Fig. 3], and marking off equidistant points on the upper and on the lower one, only alternating, and drawing vertical lines from these points, we obtain the basis of a large class of frets. Figs. [4], [6], [7], and [8] show further developments of the fret. Figs. [5] and [18] show the elements of some Saracenic or Moresque frets, of which Figs. [11], [21], and [22] are developments. Figs. [6], [8], [12], [13] and [14]

Figs. 3 to 7.—Straight-lined ornaments.

are Greek frets; 7 and 20 are Chinese. [Fig. 9] is a Gothic nail-head ornament; 10 is of German origin; 19 is a Japanese key pattern; and [Fig. 23] is derived from the plaiting of rushes, ribbons, straws, or from herring-bone brick-work, and is common to prehistoric and Byzantine work.

Frets are more appropriate to flat surfaces than to concave or convex ones; they may, however, be used on slightly concave surfaces, such as the inside bevels of plates or dishes; then their vertical lines will compose well, by radiating from the centre of the plate. The square within square, and double and single frets, shown at Figs. [8] and [15], were often

Figs. 8 to 11.—Straight-lined ornaments.

used in conjunction by the Greeks, and earlier by the Egyptians, on the ceilings of their tombs ([Fig. 16]), both singly, and alternating with spirals and circular ornaments. (See [Fig. 43].)

The zigzag is another straight-lined form largely used as ornament; it was used by the Egyptians and Early Greeks as the symbol of water (Figs. [28], [165]).

Lozenges and diamonds are other elements of straight-lined ornament, and form the basis of many repeating patterns in woven stuffs, paper-hangings, and tiles. Triangles, squares, hexagons, octagons,

Figs. 12 to 14.—Greek frets.

Fig. 15—Fret and panel border, Greek.

and other polygons are also used largely as constructive bases in pattern-designing.

After the straight line, the curved is the other element in ornament. It is pre-eminently the type of grace, and the “line of beauty.” Whether seen in the outline of the cloud, the wave, or the rounded limb of the human figure, the eye takes a delight in

Fig. 16.—Egyptian ceiling fret.

tracing out the flowing curve. We have closed curves in such figures as the circle, ellipse, oval, figure of eight, and in the vesica piscis, or fish-shape, the latter being composed of two arcs of a circle of the same radius, touching each other at their opposite extremities. The parabola, hyperbola, &c., are open curves; such figures as the meander ([Fig. 29]), the spiral ([Fig. 24]), the scroll ([Fig. 25]), and the swag or festoon ([Fig. 27]), are also open curves. When the festoon is formed of links and hangs like a chain from two points, it is called a catenary, and is practically identical with the lines of festoons and the loopings of drapery.

[18] [19] [20]

Figs. 17 to 20.—Straight-lined ornaments

In the illustrations, we have at [Fig. 30] circles touching each other; this is the framework of some diapers and repeating forms. Next we come to circles intersecting each other. [Fig. 31] is a pattern common alike to Saracenic, Egyptian, and Japanese diapers. [Fig. 32] is a border ornament of the same pattern with a centre.

Figs. 21 to 23.—Straight-lined ornaments.

An effective disc border, like that made by savage tribes from cut shells, is shown at [Fig. 33], and a development of the latter is that of Fig. 34, taken

Figs. 24. 25.—Spiral and Scroll.

from Assyrian tesseræ, small oblong pieces of stone or metal, on which the pattern was incised, and often alternating with the guilloche (Figs. [37], [38], [39], and [40]). The guilloche was an important pattern in Assyrian work, in Greek moulding decoration, and in their flat painted ornament.

Fig. 26. A, B, C, D, E.—Scale-work (imbricated).

Fig. 27.—Festoon (catenary).

Fig. 28.—Zigzag. Fig. 29.—Meander.

Figs. [35] and [36] are further examples of ornament obtained from the circle and its segments; the former being the Gothic ball-flower. Imbricated or scale ornament was much used for roofs, to ornament small columns and circular mouldings. Examples are given at [Fig. 26], A, B, and C.

Figs. 30 to 36.—Ornaments mostly derived from the circle.

We now pass from the circle to the spiral,[5] from which a great part of ornamental forms are derived.

[Fig. 41] is an Egyptian wave scroll, and 42 is the familiar Greek wave. [Fig. 43] is from an Egyptian ceiling; all these contain the spiral as their chief characteristic. [Fig. 44] shows two intersecting meanders,

Figs. 37 to 40.—Ornaments mostly derived from the circle.

47 is a scroll intersected by a meander, 46 is an eccentric meander, 45 is the scroll or antispiral of the cyma recta, and 48 is the double spiral of the cavetto decoration. [Fig. 70] is the ornament on the Greek cyma reversa or ogee, called by the French rais de cœur; 71 is a Roman variety.

Figs. 41 to 48.—Ornaments chiefly based on spiral curves.

[Fig. 50] shows the anatomy or centre lines of the purely æsthetic Greek pattern developed at [Fig. 49]. Figs. [51] and [52] are additional examples. [Fig. 53] is one of the scrolls, and in [Fig. 54] is shown the irregular meanders and spiral curves forming the stand for the tripod on the roof of the choragic monument of Lysikrates.

Figs. 49 to 52.—Greek borders from vases.

Fig. 53.—Scroll ornament on the slope of the roof of the choragic monument of Lysikrates.

Fig. 54.—Portion of the tripod stand on top of the roof of the monument of Lysikrates.

CHAPTER III

THE laws of composition in ornament are deduced from nature, but we must look to works of art for their proper application.

The laws that may be deduced are numberless, but the principal ones may be given as follows:—

Geometrical Arrangement, Proportion, Stability, Repetition, Contrast, Symmetry, Radiation, Tangential Junction, Repose, Variety, Subordination, Balance, Unity, Series, Growth, Superposition, Fitness. Some of these are preliminary laws; e.g. we cannot have ornament without some geometrical arrangement, even spots in a line must be set out at regular distances, or with a recurring element of irregularity; and as every plant and part of it are set out on a geometrical basis, we cannot have good floral ornament without such an arrangement. The same may be said of the setting out of the more complex schemes of ornament, and besides this framework, a whole class of ornament depends on geometrical arrangement. There must be harmonic proportion between the parts of the ornament, as well as between the enrichment and the ground, to make ornament pleasing; this last element of proportion is generally called even distribution, and is found in all good work; at the same time it admits of a variety of treatment: in some Indian, Chinese, and Saracenic ornament it is painfully monotonous, while in good Roman and Renaissance work, though the law is observed, there is such variety and contrast, that it never becomes tiresome. Ornament to be satisfactory must have Stability, and not look as if it would fall down. After these preliminaries, Repetition may be looked on as the first law; as anything repeated forms elementary ornament. Contrast comes next, as the mere alternation of upright and horizontal lines form a contrasted ornament | —— | —— | —— | Symmetry perhaps comes next, and is the repetition of any form on its axis; even the rudest blot so doubled makes ornament. Radiation alone is the basis of much ornament, and directly we get as far as the scroll, we must have tangential junction, for broken-backed curves are hardly ornament. Next comes Repose: any decoration that seems to crawl is not pleasing but distressing. As we advance we want Variety and Subordination. An unsymmetrical ornament generally requires Balance; Unity is necessary in any complex system. Series adds a new element by the repetition at stated intervals of a succession of different objects, or of similar ones of increasing or decreasing size. Growth gives us one of the most vigorous and delightful elements in nature, and Superposition may be looked on as the last addition to ornament yet made by man; while Fitness may be said to include all before-mentioned and more.

The descriptions just given will serve for the definition of some of the laws, but others require further explanation.

Proportion, by which “harmonic proportion” is meant, applies also to the architectural features of a design, and is indispensable in designing borders, composed of lines or mouldings, and in panels. The width of such border, or series of mouldings, should be a proportionate part of the narrowest width of the space or panel. There are certain distances between lines that are more pleasing than others, and as a rule, one space should preponderate. In mouldings the same thing is true, but in addition to the spaces, there are the projections and contours to be studied. The study of Greek profiles (Figs. [C] and [D], [p. 15]) is most valuable, though Greek mouldings are unsuitable for external work in this climate. The methods of proportioning cornices given in Vitruvius are useful (the application of proportion to surfaces will be found at Chap. IV.).

Stability.—Instability is mostly found in creeping or twining plants, put vertically, and not attached to a central stem, or to the framework of the panel; also to bulky forms put on slight ones, that from their size seem unable to support the weight. We know from experience that trunks of trees support the enormous mass of branches and foliage above them by their solidity, and bear the strain of winds by their strength and the spread and tenacity of their roots. In the rare case in which such an arrangement is wanted in ornament, we must resort to some device, such as difference of texture between the supports and the mass above, to indicate superior supporting power.

Repetition is the first method by which things were turned into ornament, but if it be carried too far it produces monotony; this may be seen in a long succession of similar windows in factories, and the endless rows of iron railings to parks. A little more thought would put in proper places a larger or more ornate window; and in the case of railings would afford a larger and more important post or a group of them: this infusion of Variety would correct the monotonous appearance, and greatly add to the pleasure of the beholders. The ornaments on mouldings, patterns in checkers, net-work, or diapers may be repeated up to a certain point without being tiresome, but symbolic and distinguishing forms must, as a rule, be used sparingly. One human figure is mostly enough in an ornamental panel, because the figure absorbs the attention, though cupids or very young children may be repeated; the former are imaginary creatures, and the latter sportive ones, but even these should be so arranged as to compose with the foliage, which should be an open screen they are seen playing through. The difficulty of preventing even cupids from absorbing all interest, was probably the cause of the ancients so often making them half-floral.

Contrast in form or colour imparts vigour to the composition; the commonest illustration of contrast in form is the circle and the straight line, but more subtle contrasts are found in Nature’s works, very flat curves being contrasted with sharp ones; and in colour, besides the contrasts of the leaves and flowers, there are often spots of contrasting colour on flowers to heighten their brilliancy, though this is mostly effected by the pistils and stamens. The “egg and tongue,” one of the most effective ornaments invented, has the smooth curved eggs contrasted with the thin lines of the shells, and the curved eggs with the straight edge of the tongue. ([Fig. 67].) Renaissance and Roman ornament (see [Fig. 129]) give the amplest illustrations of contrast; varieties of foliage contrasting with vases, labels, shields, armour, masks, animals, and human figures. (See Figs. [121], [123], [124], [126], [127], [130], [132], and [Frontispiece.])

Symmetry has been defined before as the mere doubling of a form on its axis; it is one of the most important means of producing ornament, as well as one of the laws most commonly found in nature. Nothing in nature, however, is absolutely symmetrical, though there is a suggestion of symmetry about the bulk of its works.

Radiation is the spreading out of lines from a point, like a fan, and these lines may be straight or curved, and the axis of the radiating lines may be vertical, horizontal, or oblique. It is found in the human hand, in the wing feathers of birds, in the scallop and similar bivalve shells, in the umbels of flowers, and in much other plant growth. The Greek honeysuckle is the most beautiful instance of its adaptation as ornament. (See Figs. [49], [50], [51], [52] and [115].) If the centre of the radiating lines is kept below the springing line, it adds greatly to the interest and beauty of the ornament. A succession of festoons or of drapery hanging from two points are examples of one species of curved radiation.

Tangential Junction.—Euclid’s definition of a tangent is as follows:—“A straight line is said to touch a circle, when it meets the circle, and being produced does not cut it,” and is obtained by drawing a line perpendicular to any radius from the point at which it touches the circumference. In ornament, tangential junction means that where two curves of opposite curvature meet they are to meet at the tangential points of each ([Fig. 25]), and in the case of a curve being continued by a straight line, the point of junction is the tangential point. A curve, however, should never be continued by a straight line, but by a flatter curve. The beauty imparted by following this rule is seen in the Ionic capitals of the Temple of Apollo at Bassæ, where the two volutes are joined by a curve instead of by the usual straight line (see [Fig. 179] in Appendix).

Repose.—The absence of a look of motion in ornament; this appearance of motion may be seen in some flamboyant tracery and Saracenic patterns, in some modern paper-hangings, and in patterns in woven and printed stuffs. The word repose is sometimes used to denote an absence of spottiness. In the best pilaster panels, horizontal lines are introduced partly for contrast, and partly to give repose by checking the appearance of motion in the curved plant forms. ([Fig. 127].)

Variety is a difference of form or arrangement in the ornament from that which immediately precedes or follows it. In nature we see that every leaf varies from every other by subtle differences, though the foliage is roughly alike, and it is for this reason that Nature’s works never pall upon us. General similarity with slight variety is the most proper for the highest and most dignified ornament. In other cases absolute variety is permissible. Variety is the salt of ornament that takes off the insipidity of repetition.

Subordination.—The state of being inferior to another, a regular descending series. In any complex system of ornament, one part should be chosen as the most important, and all the rest should lead up to it; but certain distinct parts, such as masses or flowers, may re-echo in a fainter way the main motive. In drawing, subordination is obtained by the principal mass being larger than the rest, and by its details being larger and more pronounced; in painting, by the above and by the principal part being more vivid in colour; in modelling, by greater size and relief. The Romans and Cinque Cento artists were great masters of this art. In some panels, though the highest relief is not great, there is an infinity of gradation, the lowest relief gradually sinking into the ground. In a Renaissance bas-relief of a full face the greatest projection is about the sixteenth of an inch, and yet the face is perfectly modelled. Modern English carved ornament is too frequently deficient in this quality.

Balance.—The making unsymmetrical masses of equal weight. In the creations of nature we see balance employed in trees, shrubs, and plants ([Fig. 160]); in leaves, made as it were on a symmetrical basis, balance is equally employed. In simple oval leaves, for example, one side is more convex than the other, and the balance is got by the curve in the rib.

Unity is the completeness of any system of ornament not marred by incongruous elements or forms.

Series is the repetition of a limited succession of different forms: in the egg and tongue, of two; in the bead and reel, of three; in branches of plants when the leaves regularly diminish in size, of many. Fig. [67].) Long series may be seen in Saracenic ornament, where the same text is repeated sometimes with ornament between the texts.

Growth.—This is at once the rarest and most delightful of the hints taken from nature by great ornamentalists. In climbing plants, whose stalks are polygonal, and that twist to reach an object, or for the flowers to get the sun, the edges of the stalk are seen to form a spiral. Sometimes this vigour of growth is seen in the turn of a leaf or the clasp of a tendril round a twig. The capitals and the tripod stand of the choragic monument of Lysikrates are good examples. (Figs. [53] and [54].)

Superposition.—This is most frequently seen in Saracenic ornament, but it is also found in Renaissance ornament. The simplest form is in the case of meanders of different curvature when one is put over the other, the upper one being more vigorous in form and colour. The next case is where larger ornaments of a more striking colour are put over a smaller and less obtrusive pattern, as in the Persian windows of the Suleimanyeh at Constantinople; but the commonest case is that of inscriptions over floral ornament, examples of which are without number in Saracenic work. This, like nearly all other inventions in ornament, is taken from nature. We see twining or creeping plants overgrowing trees or bushes, and parasitical plants overgrowing others, from which they get their sustenance, and have therefore roots, stems, and flowers, but no leaves. Saracenic diapers frequently have many planes superposed, and as each pattern is differently coloured and gilt, any change of position in the beholder brings out a new pattern. This may be seen in the Alhambra Court at the Crystal Palace. Fig. [101].)

Fitness, in its most obvious sense, is arranging the ornament so that it may not interfere with the proper use of the thing ornamented. The enrichment of a sword-hilt must not hurt the hand, nor render the proper wielding of the sword difficult or impossible; and the same canon applies to the handles of flagons, jugs, or drinking vessels, &c.; in a secondary sense it is a due consideration of the qualities of the material to be ornamented, and of the appropriateness of the ornament to the purpose for which the article is intended; and thirdly, it supposes a well-ordered design, whose completeness would be marred by anything being added or removed.

The want of what is called “alternation” in design is analogous to a surface that is so elaborately decorated with a uniform repeating pattern that it is wearisome to look at.

The value of plain spaces in design is enormous. Charles Lamb, in one of his delightful letters to Coleridge, says in finishing—“I will leave you, in mercy, one small white spot empty below, to repose your eyes upon, fatigued as they must be with the wilderness of words they have by this time painfully travelled through.” To the designer this analogy will be obvious and useful.

Plain spaces as alternations in design, are the oases in the desert, and may be compared to a refreshing silence after a continuous chatter or deafening noise.

It is easier to do too much than to know exactly where to stop. Excess of ornament defeats its own end, there is no foil to set it off, and it must be guarded against. The Saracens, by the relative weight of their ornament, have to some extent obviated this objection. To know the value of plainness is to enhance the ornament used. To have this vividly brought home to you, the best Greek architecture should be compared with late Roman. In the Greek you see a very small quantity of exquisite ornament surrounded by plainness, which makes it doubly precious; in late Roman, every surface is covered without a spot to rest the eye on, so that the whole becomes dull, confused, and monotonous.

CHAPTER IV

BEFORE speaking of the decoration of mouldings, a few words must be said on the mouldings themselves. The Greeks were the first people who carried the art of moulding or profiling to any perfection, and they are still supreme; they mainly used straight-lined sections for strength, but added a few curved sections to prevent monotony. The air of Greece is pellucid and the sunshine brilliant, so for their curved sections those that approximated to conic sections were preferred as having more subtle shade, segments of circles being rarely used. ([See Figs. 61-64.]) The greatest efforts were made to have these mouldings as exquisite as possible, so as to get variety of shade and shadow, and mouldings of the same species were rarely or never alike. The Romans, who had much coarser artistic sensibilities than the Greeks, and were slaves to easy rules, used segments of circles for their mouldings instead of the Greek curves. ([See Figs. 55-66.]) They also had an atmosphere less clear, and their sunshine was not so brilliant. The Mediævals, who lived in misty climates with little sunshine, were as logical in their methods, but were not possessed of the artistic sensibilities of the Greeks, so, although their mouldings answer the

Figs. 55 to 60.—Profiles of Roman mouldings with their fillets.

Figs. 61 to 66.—Profiles of Greek mouldings with their fillets.

purpose, they lack refinement. The Mediævals got their effects by deep undercutting, and by putting fillets or leaving arrises on such parts as were to tell bright;—Classic and Renaissance mouldings, however, are alone treated of here.

Fig. 67.—The ovolo or echinus from the Erechtheum, enriched.

Fig. 68.—The cavetto moulding. Fig. 69.—The cyma recta.

In the best periods of ancient art it was the invariable custom to adopt a form nearly like the profile or section of the moulding, and to double it for the basis of its decoration, and nothing could produce a more pleasing and artistic result, for then the moulding never lost its character, however elaborately it might be enriched. The diagrams from Figs. 67 to 78 will help to illustrate this: for instance, at [Fig. 67] we have the Greek ovolo, ornamented with eggs, called

Fig. 70.—The Greek ogee with water leaf ornament.

by the Greeks “turnip stones,” which resemble the section of the moulding doubled; at 70 and 73 the Greek ogee is shown with the water leaf ornament

Fig. 71.—Roman variety of the ornament on the ogee.

used to enrich it, for which we have no distinctive name—it is called by the French “Rais de Cœur,” and resembles the section of the moulding doubled; at 71 is a Roman variation of this ornament; at 68, a Roman cavetto, or hollow; at 69, a “cyma recta.” [Fig. 77] is a curved “astragal” or bead moulding; and at [Fig. 78] is the bead and reel ornament. (See also Figs. [72] and [73] for examples of Greek bead and reel ornament.) Figs. [74], [75], and [76] are examples of ornament used for flat bands or fascias. When these are sunk with semi-circular or elliptical channels they are called “fluted,” and when raised in relief “reeded.”

Fig. 72.—Decorated mouldings from the temple of Minerva Polias at Athens, ogee, ovolo, and beads.

We may next briefly speak of the ornamental treatment of floors, walls, and ceilings.

Beginning with the floor, it must be remembered that in floor decoration the sense of flatness should be preserved; raised and especially angular surfaces are to be avoided, and what is unpleasant to use is unpleasant to be suggested for use, though the Assyrians used relief on their floors. Whether the

Fig. 73.—Greek cyma reversa or ogee decorated with the water leaf, a fret ornament carved on upper fillet, and a bead and reel below.

74. From Jupiter Tonans.

75. From the Forum of Nerva.

76. From the Temple of Jupiter Stator.

Figs. 74 to 76.—Fluted ornaments.

decoration be obtained by carpets, rugs, floor-cloth, inlaid marble or metal, mosaic, tiles, or parquetry, nothing should be introduced to disturb the flatness,

Figs. 76 A and 76 B.—Reeded ornaments for flat bands.

by shading the forms or by imitating mouldings, or a ridge and furrow. All realistic renderings of animals

Fig. 77.—Astragal or bead moulding.

Fig. 78.—Bead and reel.

or plants should be carefully avoided. The colour may be varied, but evenly distributed, and mostly sober; though the Romans sometimes used lapis lazuli for their floors, or encrusted them with gems, and the Byzantines used gold or silver chased and enriched with niello. Mosaic work applied to floors was an early form of decoration, and is still of a high order in the scale of floor decorations, the highest

Fig. 79.—Opus Alexandrinum from a pavement in the Church of San Marco (Rome).

being marble inlaid with other marbles or with mastic, like those in the Baptistery at Florence and the Cathedral at Siena. The use of marble or tiles in this country is limited to the floors of museums, baths, halls and passages; on account of their coldness, they cannot be used with comfort in ordinary rooms. Mosaic may be treated with borders and lines like the framing of a picture, with the field (or central space) either plain, powdered with spots of decoration, or covered with a pattern. Black and white is the most dignified treatment. If other colours are used, black with pale red or cream colour, or low-toned reds, greens, greys, and yellows are to be preferred. Opus Alexandrinum is one of the most magnificent floor decorations yet used; rectangular or circular slabs of porphyry are surrounded with bands composed of geometrical figures in purple, green, and black porphyry, on a white marble ground, though marble occasionally takes the place of porphyry in the smaller geometrical patterns. (See [Fig. 79].)

Floor-cloths and linoleums are of modern introduction. The decoration of these coverings is best when it is of subdued colours treated flatly.

In carpets, the pattern should, as a rule, radiate from geometric points; at least the more important spots should be on a circular, lozenge, or square basis, so that the eye should not be carried in one particular direction. If animals are used, they should have a simple outline, and should be treated flatly. Realistic flowers, birds, human figures, landscapes, and architecture are out of place on carpets. A border always improves a carpet, if properly designed to harmonize with the centre, or to enhance its value.

Walls may be decorated with metals or marbles; with wood panelling, either plain, moulded, inlaid, carved or incised; with plaster flatly embossed or sunk, or in which stones, shells or looking-glass, &c. is embedded; with plain colour, with painted or stencilled patterns; with furs or feather work; with hangings of velvet, satin, silk, or calico, either plain, enriched, or embroidered; by tapestry, matting, stamped leather or

Figs. 80 to 83.—Improper arrangements for wall-papers or room decoration.

its imitations, and by paper-hangings. If pictures are to be hung on a wall, it is obvious that a low-toned decoration, that will set them off, is alone admissible; since the pictures themselves are the principal decoration, the walls should be treated as an unobtrusive background. The best decoration for appearance after simple colour or a painted pattern is silk or woven stuffs.[6] If paper-hangings be chosen, they should have a uniform pattern and be free from spots; for the eye should not be arrested by any particular form, nor be forcibly carried in any direction. In illustration of this, we may suppose the diagrams, Figs. [80], [81], [82], and [83], to represent decorated wall spaces. All these decorative arrangements are bad as wall-coverings; but by combining their elements, at [Fig. 84] a tolerably good paper-hanging is produced that will form a background for furniture and pictures.

Fig. 84.—Arrangement for the lines of a wall-paper.

The diagram, [Fig. 80], arrests the eye; 81 and 82 tend to exaggerate the height or breadth of the room; for patterns in which vertical or horizontal lines predominate will have the effect of lengthening or widening the surface of the wall; whilst the diagram 83, being composed of oblique lines, will not only give a look of weakness to the wall, but will lead the eye from one corner of the room to the other. A pattern, to be satisfactory as a background, should neither arrest the eye nor carry it in any particular direction.

The height of a real dado generally depends on the height of the chair-backs, but it may be influenced by the height of the ceiling, and partly by the use to which the room is put; high wainscoting prevents small-sized pictures from being seen. If the wainscot

Figs. 85 to 87.—Fillings of ceilings showing various schemes of all-over effects.

be higher than the centre of the wall, the upper part of the wall may have a stronger decoration with a more flowing pattern than would be admissible on a

Fig. 88.—Portion of the ceiling of vestibule of Sacristy of S. Spirito (Florence) by Sansovino.

wall with lower wainscoting. If there be a frieze in the room, a still freer and more pictorial treatment may be allowed on it. The Greeks called the frieze Zoophoros, or life-bearing, because it was generally

Fig. 89.—Ceiling from Serlio’s architecture.

adorned with figures of men or animals. Wall spaces need not be panelled in small rooms, as the window-openings, doors, and fireplaces mostly break up the space sufficiently. If the rooms, though small, are high, a dado and a frieze are improvements. On ceilings there is more room for variety and elaboration. There are many ways of decorating ceilings. We may take the cornice as the frame, and regard the ceiling as the space to decorate; the simplest way is to powder it ([Fig. 85]), or to cover it over with a scroll-work pattern ([Fig. 86]). An effective treatment consists in lightly covering the field with a pattern steadied by labels, shields, or medallions ([Fig. 87]).

In dividing a ceiling into panels, either by painting or by relief work, the centre panel or compartment should generally be larger than any of the others (see [Fig. 89], and 92 at B), though there are excellent Renaissance ceilings divided into equal panels. When the ceiling is unequally divided, the spaces should be in harmonic proportion, so that no two series of panels shall be the same width; this, however, does not apply to the widths of the stiles and rails, which should be alike. Figs. [88] and [89] show such arrangements. Care must be taken in designing the subdivisions of ceilings that the panels, interspaces, and mouldings are well contrasted. A safe guide for the designer in obtaining the requisite proportions is to be found in the Roman ceilings, although those of which drawings are preserved were mostly vaulted. For flat ceilings, good examples may be studied of the best period of Italian Renaissance ([Fig. 88]), and in both cases the mouldings of the panels are usually given. Where a ceiling to be decorated is divided by beams, the panelling, if admissible, should be repeated in the different compartments. Ceilings of corridors or long rooms may be harmonically divided across at discretion.

Relief work or modelled ornament on ceilings should be so regulated that the light from windows or from artificial illumination should cause little cast shadow, only enough to define the outline; the forms should be carefully rounded off in the more important masses to lessen the abruptness of cast shadow. A preponderance of light in the larger masses, connected and softened by lower tones, is commonly adopted.

On the carved surface itself, the play of light and shade should be quite secondary, and not compete in strength with the deeper shadows cast by the ornament on its ground. If this be not attended to, confusion and obscurity are apt to be produced.

A nice balancing of light and shade is of the greatest importance in relief ornament. It may here be remarked, that for outdoor work in a sunny climate, a lower relief in the carving and more delicacy in the mouldings is admissible, than in a misty one like ours, where strong sunlight rarely occurs; and for this reason a bolder treatment of relief is necessary, which allows of a coarser material being used. Before leaving the subject of relief ornament, it would be as well to state, that no carved decoration should be fastened on to a ceiling or panel, but should be worked out of the material itself; and also that where human figures are used on ceilings, they must be so arranged as to be seen from the heads at the most important point in the room; seen from the feet the figures appear to be upside down.

CHAPTER V

IN setting out spaces for decoration the chief aim should be to get them in harmonic proportion. The Greeks were the great masters of this art, the most subtle proportions being chosen by them, but there is not space here to enter into refinements. Roughly speaking, the proportion of 1¾ to 1 is fairly agreeable; when the space required approaches a double square, it looks better if it somewhat exceeds or falls short of that figure. As a rule, a marked preponderance in the height or length should be given to every oblong used in decoration, and with those rough rules, an educated eye can mostly, after a few trials, obtain harmonious proportions. Those forms about which there is an uncertainty always look feeble and unsatisfactory, e.g. an oblong that approaches the square, or an ellipse that approaches a circle. In the case of the square there should be no doubt about its being a square, so it is necessary that the ornamentation chosen be calculated to emphasize the shape and not give it the appearance of an oblong, i.e. the ornament should be symmetrical on both the axes, and it is often useful to accentuate the corners as well; if the square be surrounded by a border it is sometimes advisable to strengthen its corners by knees. If this be done it is necessary to have them at the four corners; if they be applied to the two upper or the two under corners, the square will be taken for an oblong. The repetition of squares is much more endurable than a repetition of similar oblongs. A common case of the monotonous effect of similar oblong panels is to be seen in a four-panelled door with the middle rail in the centre, so the middle rail is commonly put below the centre to get variety in the panels. Even in so graceful a form as the human figure, sculptors rarely represent it in a perfectly symmetrical attitude, particularly in bas-relief, unless it be to express some marked emotion, or for the sake of the composition; there are, however, a few figures in front view, symmetrically arranged, that form the centres of ornamental compositions: the front view of animals in bas-relief is still less admissible. The circle is by far the most beautiful and useful closed curve, but it is not always available, as in the case of a central feature in a very long ceiling or in oblong panels, and its place must be then supplied by an ellipse, which has this merit, that its proportions are infinite, the straight line and the circle being only extreme cases of the ellipse; but when the choice is unfettered the long (major) axis should so far exceed the short (minor) as to afford a contrast; an ellipse that differs but slightly from the circle too much resembles one that is ill-drawn. When an ellipse is placed with the long axis vertical, which is sometimes necessary in oblong panels, looking-glasses, &c., it should be tied to the vertical and horizontal framework to prevent an