weaving of figured fabrics was introduced by Bonchon, 1725, and
continued by Falcon in 1728, by Vancanson in 1745, and perfected by
Joseph Marie Jacquard, 1752-1834.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis the XIV., caused
large numbers of weavers to come to England, bringing their art and
tradition with them, and many established themselves at Spitalfields
which soon rose to some importance. The patterns, necessarily, were
purely French in treatment, consisting of natural arrangements of
flowers; a sketch is here given of a Spitalfields design for silk
damask.
[Illustration: FLOWER VASE PATTERN]
The textile fabrics of Flanders reached a high degree of perfection in
the 16th and 17th centuries, Bruges being famous for its silk damasks
and velvets, the patterns showing the traditional Persian or the
pomegranate and artichoke type of the Florentine textiles. Block
printing had been introduced into Flanders in the 15th century and many
fine patterns with Indian motives were produced up to the 17th century.
[Illustration: DESIGN FOR A SPITALSFIELD SILK FABRIC DATED 1739 SKM]
At Ypres, fine diapered linen was manufactured, and Ghent was famous for
its woollens, but the remarkable prosperity of Flanders was destroyed by
the Spanish occupation (1556-1648).
[Illustration: SINGLE MULLION PATTERN]
Then large numbers of Flemish weavers came to England and settled in
many parts of the country, bringing their traditions and craftsmanship,
which have undoubtedly had a most marked influence upon the production
of cotton and woollen textile fabrics in England.
Tapestry, of which many fine examples of the 16th and 17th centuries are
treasured in our museums and palaces, differs from most woven fabrics in
its method of production, which consists of interweaving and knotting
short pieces of coloured wefts, which form the pattern, to a strong
warp, a ground weft being thrown across each pick to bind the material
well together;
[Illustration:
TEXTILE FABRICS. Plate 39.
]
this is almost the same method as that used in the manufacture of the
Indian and Persian carpets. It was during the 14th and 15th centuries,
at Arras in Flanders, that storied tapestries were brought to their
culmination and the tapestry workers became a most powerful guild. From
about 1480, Brussels produced many magnificent hangings from designs by
the great masters of the Italian Renascence. Raphael’s famous cartoons
which are now in the South Kensington Museum are the original designs
for the ten tapestries manufactured at Brussels for Pope Leo X. for the
enrichment of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican; the seven cartoons,
three being lost, were purchased by Charles I.
Many of the great Flemish painters also designed for the Brussels
tapestries, such as Van Orley, Van Leyden and Jan Mabuse.
Francis I. caused tapestry looms to be set up at Fontainbleau in 1339,
under the direction of the Italian, Serlio, but it was not until the
Gobelin tapestry manufactory was established in 1603 in the Faubourg
Saint Marcel by the Fleming, Marc de Comans, and François de la Planche,
that French tapestry reached any importance. Under the Minister Colbert
in 1667, the Royal Gobelin manufactory produced many fine tapestries
designed by the head of the establishment, Charles le Brun.
About 1590, some carpets called Savonnerie were made in the Louvre, the
technique being somewhat similar to the Persian carpets but the patterns
were more pictorial and naturalistic in treatment; fine tapestries were
also produced at Beauvais and Aubusson. Tapestry had been manufactured
in England as early as the reign of Edward III., but it was not until
the time of James I. that it assumed any importance, when a tapestry
manufactory was established at Mortlake by Francis Crane.
Some fine Flemish tapestries are in the South Kensington museum and
eight large pieces by Bernard Van Orley are in the Great Hall of Hampton
Court. The coloured cartoons by Mantegna in Hampton Court, representing
the Triumph of Cæsar, were to be reproduced in tapestry for the Duke of
Mantua. There are some fine Gobelin and Beauvais tapestries in Windsor
Castle which were gifts from the Court of France, and they all show the
most consummate technique, beauty of material and harmony of colour.
The well-known Bayeux tapestry is embroidered in coloured wools upon a
white linen ground. It is 214 feet in length and 22 inches in width and
divided in 72 compartments with incidents representing the Norman
invasion of England by William I.
Though reputed to be the work of Queen Matilda, the probability is that
it is the work of English hands some few years after the invasion. This
embroidery or tapestry is still preserved in the cathedral of Bayeux.
The remarkable civilization of the Incas or Peruvians, is shown in the
many splendid objects of the industrial arts now treasured in our
museums. Of these relics of a vanished civilization, the textile
[Illustration:
PERUVIAN TEXTILES. Plate 40.
]
[Illustration:
PERUVIAN TEXTILES. Plate 41.
]
fabrics are, perhaps, the most instructive and interesting. The high
technical skill of the craftsmanship, the fine spinning of the wool and
cotton, and the perfection of the dyeing of the yarn, together with the
skilful weaving of the figured cloths and tapestries are a tribute to
the vitality and civilization of a people remote from all Asiatic or
European influences.
Many of the fabrics are of double cloth, of deep brown and pale straw
colour, and show the same colour and pattern on both sides of the cloth.
Some of the fabrics are tapestry woven, having short strands of coloured
wool inserted into the fabric by the aid of the needle, and they
somewhat resemble the Gobelin tapestry in their method of production.
A few of these Peruvian cotton fabrics are ornamented by means of tied
or knotted work, identical with the Bandhana or knotted work termed
Chunti Cloth, of the North-west province of India. These knotted
patterns consist of simple spots arranged in square, zig-zag or curved
lines. The pattern is first marked with a red earth on the plain fabric;
then the pattern or spots are tied up tightly with cotton thread and the
whole dipped in the dye which only acts on the untied portions of the
cloth; a white pattern on a coloured ground is thus produced, both sides
being alike.
These Peruvian textiles are remarkable for the absence of the beautiful
flora of Peru as elements for decoration. The fylfot or fret is a
frequent form of enrichment (plates 40-41.) The wave scroll so typical
of Greek work is also a remarkable element in Peruvian ornament, and
illustrates the singular development of the same ideas and aspect of
form among people so remote from each other as the Greeks and Peruvians.
But the patterns that sharply differentiate Peruvian examples from all
other styles are the conventional treatments of figures, birds, fishes
and animals. The llama is conspicuous in many patterns, but the bird
forms are the most remarkable, having many variations of type and
treatment. Illustrations are given in plates 40 and 41, all taken from
the Smithies Loan Collection at Manchester. Other examples of these
interesting fabrics may be seen in the Smithies collection at South
Kensington, showing the wonderful diversity of the treatment of pattern
designing by a people so remote as the Peruvians.
It is difficult to fix any date for these Peruvian examples, but as it
is known that during the reign of Inca Pachacutic (circa 1390), the
ceramic art was at its best, we may assume that the sister art of
weaving reached its perfection about the same period, and continued
until the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century.
[Illustration:
FRETS. Plate 42.
]
FRETS.
The remarkable universality of the fret, the simplicity and rhythm of
detail, its adaptability and usefulness for surface enrichment, have
made the fret one of the best known forms of ornamentation. It was used
in the surface decorations of the tombs of Egypt, the temples of Greece,
and the civic and domestic buildings of Rome.
The Greek form with its right-angular and equally-spaced keys was used
on the simple abacus and plain fascias of the Dorian architecture, in
bands upon the painted vases, and in a concentric form when used in the
interior of the red-figured circular cylix. The Romans, without
imparting freshness, used the same right-angled key pattern, chiefly as
borders for mosaic pavements and upon the horizontal soffits of their
architecture. The Byzantine using the same type in conjunction with the
cross and circle gave more significance to the fret.
The Arabian fret differs in the use of the oblique line together with
the right-angled key, obtaining a wonderful degree of complexity and
richness.
The Celtic fret is chiefly a diagonal one, but the recurrent angle is
rounded to a curve.
Chinese and Japanese frets are usually right-angled, and are used in
great profusion, often in a secondary field or background.
[Illustration: WALL MOSAIC OF COLOURED MARBLES]
The Japanese key or “_Fret diaper_” is used in the greatest profusion;
it is used alike on silks and brocades, damascened in metal, in
cloisonné enamel and in lacquered work, and is frequently arranged in
irregular shaped compartments or medallions.
The Greek continuous fret border is rarely used by the Japanese, who
generally use the disconnected or irregular fret. A similar irregular
fret border was used by the Peruvians (plate 41), by the Mexicans, and
by the natives of Polynesia.
The Assyrian and Byzantine guilloche is but a curved fret, but
additional interest is given by the introduction of radiating forms in
the principal interstices of the fret (fig. 5, plate 11.)
[Illustration:
Plate 43.
]
CONTINUITY OF STYLE
in architecture and ornament has always been influenced by tradition,
racial influence, and the myths and religious beliefs of the people, and
it developed with the progress of the nation, often culminating in some
great epoch. Frequently the continuity was carried on by some
contemporary or succeeding race, modified by different conditions and
environments, yet still retaining the style in its general
characteristics, or, this thread of continuity was occasionally lost for
a time, only to spring into new life, endowed with fresh vitality and
beauty, culminating again in splendour. Then fresh religious ideas and
conditions engrafted their symbolism and traditions upon the style, thus
forming a new period in the history of art.
Ornament is the expression of the people or of the priestcraft, and in
its primitive state was used symbolically. The ornament of Polynesia and
Melanesia probably shows this primitive state of ornamentation. Isolated
as these islanders were from the influence of Eastern or Western art,
and with but little communication among the various islands, the
ornamental art of these people has its own traditions and
characteristics, each province or group of islands showing different
ideas and details in proportion to its culture or state of civilization,
New Zealand showing the highest development and Australia the lowest,
while with the Marquesans the ornament is almost pure picture writings.
The illustration of the beautiful paddle in the Heape collection, with
its geometric ornamentation, shows the continuity and ornamental
development of the representation of the human figure, which was
originally chosen by the priesthood for its significance or divinity.
In Europe and Asia all trace of this primitive stage has ceased to
exist. The development and continuity of ideas and customs, the
traditions of style and craftsmanship carried on through many centuries
of the world’s history have obliterated the early or primitive style of
ornament, chosen first for its significance or emblematic character.
Some remarkable examples of pottery and woven textile fabrics have been
recently found in the ancient cemeteries of Peru--relics of the
Incas--long anterior to the Spanish conquest. Many fine examples of
these woven textiles of cotton and wool are now in the South Kensington
museum, forming the Smithies collection, and, as in the ornament of
Polynesia, floral forms are entirely absent, the ornament consisting of
conventional representations of the human figure, with the owl, condor
and the toucan, mingled with the wave scroll and the fret, elements
doubtless chosen for their significance.
Many beautiful illustrations could be chosen from the history of
ornament, showing this continuity and persistency of line and form and
its remarkable influence upon contemporary and succeeding races.
Perhaps the form and enrichment of the Architectural Capital offer one
of the most interesting and instructive fields of study in the history
and evolution of architecture. The remarkable persistency of the capital
as a distinctive feature in architecture may be traced through many
centuries, though differentiated by climatic conditions and racial
influences, yet still preserving a remarkable similarity of form and
enrichment among the various nations of the earth.
The function of the capital is to sustain and transmit to the columns
the weight of the entablature or archivolt, and the beauty and
appropriateness of the capital depends:--
First, upon this functional treatment of strength;
Second, upon the beauty of profile or mass;
Third, upon the enrichment and proportion of the capital.
The dignified Doric capital of the Greeks illustrates these functions
and conditions by its perfect adaptability, simple functional strength,
beauty of profile, appropriateness of enrichment and proportion and
harmony of parts, qualities which are essential to beauty of
architecture. In the Parthenon, B.C. 438, we have the finest treatment
of this capital--a treatment full of dignity, reserve, and unison of
profile (plate 6). The many examples of the Doric Order in Greece and
her colonies attest to the esteem in which this order was held by the
Greeks. The Indian capital (plate 24) exhibits the same functional
treatment by the use of brackets or modillions, which undoubtedly are a
survival of a wooden construction, and which are typical of Eastern
architecture.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN CAPITAL FROM PHILÆ.]
The remarkable persistency of the profile, and enrichment of the capital
extending through a period of 4,000 years, may be illustrated by a
series of diagrams of typical examples. The profile of the capital has
not varied to any appreciable extent in the examples here given, and the
enrichment of the bell is remarkable for its persistency, though
differentiated by racial influences. The Corinthian capital, with its
volutes and acanthus foliage, is but the architectural continuity of the
Egyptian capital. The only pure Greek example of this order is from the
monument of Lysicrates, but the Romans continued the tradition,
assimilating and elaborating until they produced the magnificent
capitals of the portico of the Pantheon and the temple of Castor and
Pollux. In these examples the leaves are arranged in series of two rows
of eight leaves each, the volutes springing from sheaths and stems
between the leaves, which support the angle of the volutes. The example
of early French Gothic has similar characteristics and illustrates the
continuity of style.
The Ionic capital, though one of the most persistent in the history of
architecture, never reached the architectonic perfection of other
capitals. This was undoubtedly owing to the wooden origin being
incompatible with the necessities of stone and marble. There is a want
of unity between the volutes and ovolo of the capital; in brief, it has
neither coherence nor harmony of parts. The exquisite craftsmanship of
the capitals of the Erectheum, with their anthemion enrichment of the
greatest purity, the beauty of the ovolo and the subtility of the
volutes compensates to some extent for the lack of unison (plate 6). The
enrichment of the architectural capital is no doubt a survival of the
primitive custom of binding floral forms round the simple functional
capital, these forms being afterwards perpetuated in stone or marble.
[Illustration: CORINTHIAN CAPITAL FROM THE PANTHEON ROME.]
In early Corinthian examples these floral forms were frequently of
beaten metal, which, in turn, gave place to the beautiful marble foliage
of the Greeks and Romans.
[Illustration: FRENCH. EARLY GOTHIC.]
That the ancients used metal work in their capitals we have abundant
proof. In the descriptions of the building of Solomon’s Temple we read
of “Two chapiters of molten brass to set upon the pillars, and nets of
chequer work and wreath of chain work to set upon the top of the
pillars.”
[Illustration: COMPOSITE CAPITAL FROM POMPEII.]
The Composite capital is deficient in coherence and unity of parts,
having the same defects as its prototype the Ionic. The annexed
illustration from Ancient Rome gives an unusual treatment by the
introduction of the human figure in the centre of the face of the
capital.
The Byzantine capital differs from those of the Greeks and Romans in its
marked symbolism of detail and the prevalence of the cushion form.
Functionally, this type of capital is admirable, yet it lacks the
vigorous upward growth of the Egyptian and early Gothic capitals.
The Byzantine capitals have a wonderful complexity and variety of
detail, such as interlacing circles and crosses with their mystic
symbolism, basket work, chequered details, and the traditional sharp
acanthus foliage of the Greeks.
[Illustration: BYZANTINE. S^T MARKS VENICE.]
These features are seen in the greatest profusion at S. Sophia at
Constantinople; S. Apollinare and S. Vitale at Ravenna, and S. Marco at
Venice. These splendid capitals of a splendid period are exceedingly
beautiful in fertile inventiveness of enrichment, and show the
assimilative power of the Byzantine craftsmen. The abundant use of
chequer work, wreaths of chain work, and of lily work in Byzantine
capitals, many of which are figured in Ruskin’s “Stones of Venice,” show
the continuity of style and tradition in architecture.
[Illustration: BYZANTINE S^T MARKS VENICE.]
The Byzantine capitals have the square abacus, usually consisting of a
simple fillet and chamfer enriched with the billet, dentil or star
pattern. The Dosseret, a singular adjunct to the capital was introduced
during this period; it was a cushion-shaped or cubicle stone placed upon
the abacus of the capital to give additional height (plate 11).
[Illustration: BYZANTINE CAPITAL S^T MARK’S VENICE.]
The Byzantine influence is seen upon the Norman capitals with their
square abacus of fillet and chamfer, and the cushion profile of capital.
Some remarkable Siculo-Norman capitals are in the cloisters of the
Benedictine Monastery of Monreale in Sicily, A.D. 1174-1184. The great
fertility of inventiveness in the 200 capitals, their storiation, the
intermingling of figures, birds and animals with the classic and
Byzantine foliage makes this cloister one of the most remarkable in the
history of the world. The Arabian capital, which frequently shows the
traditional volute, differs from the typical bell-shaped form in its
marked squareness of profile with flat or low reliefs enriched with
colour.
[Illustration: FRENCH ROMANESQUE CAPITAL.]
The Early Gothic capital is one of the most vigorous and beautiful. The
perfect adaptability of its foliage to stone carving, the significance
of its detail as emblematic of the Trinity, the spiral growth of its
foliage and the vigorous contrast of light and shade are the chief
characteristics of this period. Lacking, perhaps, the delicacy or
variety of detail of the Byzantine period or the later Gothic work, it
excelled them in the appropriateness of its enrichment, which is more
beautiful in the Early English examples with their circular abacus than
in contemporary French capitals where the square abacus was prevalent.
The transition from the circular column to the square abacus was always
felt to be a difficulty, and was rarely overcome, but in the circular
abacus of the Early English capitals we have a break in the continuity
of the style of the capital.
[Illustration: CAPITALS FROM THE CLOISTERS MONTREALE.]
[Illustration: CAPITALS FROM THE CLOISTERS OF MONTREALE.]
The English foliage of this period differs from the French in the use of
a deep mid-rib and simple trefoil leaf. The French examples have a less
pronounced mid-rib, and the leaf is convex in form and divided into
three lobes, and the foliage adheres more closely to the bell,
consequently the brilliant play of light and shade which is so
characteristic of Early English work, is generally absent from French
examples (fig. 12, plate 16).
[Illustration: EARLY ENGLISH CAPITAL ELY CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: ARABIAN CAPITAL FROM THE ALHAMORA]
[Illustration: SOUTH-WESTMINSTER DECORATED CAPITALS]
The Decorated Gothic capitals differ essentially from those of the Early
Gothic period, a more natural type of foliage being used, consisting of
the briony, maple, mallow and oak. This foliage was carved with singular
delicacy of touch and grace of profile, and is beautiful in its
modelling and play of light and shade, yet frequently the capitals are
trivial in conception and arrangement, lacking that architectonic
character which is so essential to all architectural constructive
features.
[Illustration: RENASCENCE CAPITAL VENICE.]
The perpendicular or late Gothic capital was usually octagonal in form
with square conventional foliage of the vine, showing a marked decadence
in tradition and craftsmanship (fig. 9, plate 17).
The Renascence capital was frequently marked by a fine feeling for
profile, splendid craftsmanship, diversity of enrichment, and vitality
of conception, more especially in Italy, where the tradition of
architecture culminated in the works of such remarkable men as Leon
Battista Alberti, Bramante, Baldassare Peruzzi, San Micheli, Serlio,
Palladio, and Sansovenio. The tradition was worthily carried on in
France by Pierre Lescot, Jean Bullant, Philipert de Lorme, and De
Brosse, and in England by Inigo Jones, Wren, and Chambers.
[Illustration: ROMAN SCROLL.]
TERMS USED IN ORNAMENTAL ART.
Ornament is the means by which Beauty or Significance is imparted to
Utility. It is either Symbolical or Aesthetic. Symbolic ornament
consists of elements or forms chosen for the sake of their
_significance_--Aesthetic ornament consists of forms or elements chosen
for their _Beauty_ alone, or their power of appealing to the senses.
Of the historic styles of ornament, the Egyptian, Assyrian, Byzantine,
Scandinavian, Persian, Indian, Gothic, Polynesian, and much of the
Chinese and Japanese are symbolical, having elements and ornamental
details chosen for their significance; while in the Greek, Roman, and
Renascence ornament, the purely aesthetic motive is characteristic.
Ornament, again, may be natural or conventional--Imitative or Inventive.
The terms “natural” and “imitative” have the same significance--viz.,
the exact copying of natural forms, so that they become principal--not
secondary as perfect ornament should be. Conventional ornament is the
adaptation of natural forms to ornamental and technical requirements,
and is seen in its greatest beauty in the frank treatment by the Indians
and Persians of their flora and fauna for the decorative enrichment of
their textile fabrics, pottery, and jewellery.
Inventive ornament is that which consists of elements not derived from
any natural source; the Moresque style is a good example of this type.
The _elements_ of ornament are the details or forms chosen for
ornamental motives, and the _principals_ of ornament are the arrangement
of these forms and details; they comprise repetition, alternation,
symmetry, radiation, balance, proportion, variety, eurythmy, contrast,
intersection, complication, fitness, and utility.