DESIGN AND COLOUR
CARPET designing is a branch of Applied Art which makes exacting demands
upon its adherents, requiring as it does technical knowledge to an
exceptional extent. The average designer who ventures into this field,
however high his artistic ability may be, is not likely to achieve a
practical success, unless and until he has studied the particular
capacities and limitations of carpet fabrics. For this reason, the
public carpet designer is more or less of a specialist in his domain,
which is rarely invaded unless by such exceptional craftsmen as the late
Walter Crane or Voysey. Similarly, and because there are so many
varieties of carpet fabrics, requiring special knowledge and treatment,
all carpet manufacturers maintain private staffs of designers, whose
business it is to produce new patterns for each season and quality in
accordance with the commercial requirements. For the manufacturer has to
be governed to a great extent by the tastes and inclinations of his
customers, the carpet dealers, and cannot afford to be too enterprising
in initiating novelties, while the carpet dealer, in his turn is, as a
rule, rather a follower than a leader of the public taste. The
commercial standard has, therefore, been to some extent a hampering
influence upon the progress of carpet design towards perfection, but it
is certainly less so than in the past. For it has been modified of
recent years by a new tendency, which, however, is not one of unmixed
advantage to the manufacturer.
This tendency may be expressed as the intervention of the consumer.
Scarcity of materials during the war, and the consequent obligation of
carpet dealers to accept what they can get from manufacturers has,
temporarily at any rate, modified the influence of the individual buyer
of carpets upon carpet design and colour; but previous to the war it had
become a factor to be reckoned with. There were, and are, many
householders possessed of definite ideas upon arrangement of design,
combination of colour, and harmony of decoration; and these ideas often
germinate in suggestions or demands conveyed through the dealer to the
manufacturer for single carpets of special colouring or arrangement.
Often these suggestions prove to be more original than effective; but
often they lead to effects both artistic and saleable.
This critical and creative spirit on the part of the individual is not,
therefore, to be despised by the technical expert. It encourages
novelty, and tends towards the evolution of new ideas in design and
colour, and a liberation from an excessive dominance of the commercial
standard.
From whatever source, however, the carpet manufacturer obtains his ideas
for a design, it is by his expert staff, or by a professional carpet
designer, that the ideas must be reduced to a practical form. And the
technical preparation of designs for carpets is as full of difficulty as
it is of interest. As has been indicated, the various makes of carpet
differ from each other in many respects, including that of pitch, or
number of threads or rows per inch. They all, however, have this in
common, that, anatomically so to speak, as regards design, they are
reducible to squares of colour. For this reason, ruled or point paper is
always employed in the preparation of the design, and preferably paper
ruled so as to represent the full size of the woven fabric. The
designer, therefore, may not represent the curved outline of a leaf, for
instance, with a bold sweep of his brush, but must paint it carefully,
square by square, leaving actually an outline, which is more or less
jagged according to the coarseness or fineness of the pitch. Here, at
once we recognise a limitation which is apt to be irksome to the
untrained designer of carpets. And what applies to form applies also to
colour. There is no imperceptible graduation of shade to be achieved.
Each particular square has to be of one colour and no more. Again, the
designer must consider the number of colours he is allowed to employ, be
they two or a hundred; and must know whether they can be used anywhere
or only in restricted places in the pattern. Then there is the
consideration of the repeat, with the mysteries of the straight match,
reverse, drop and half drop; of the width of the fabric, body and
border; and of the various adjustments of design required for carpets of
different sizes, whether breadth goods, Chlidema squares, medallions, or
seamless. Last, there is the real artistic imagination that is required;
the art of seeing from one repeat how a complete carpet will look, of
estimating the difference in appearance between the flat colour on the
paper and the richness of the wool; of the variation in value of the
same shade in collocation with this or with that. From the above it will
be seen that the successful carpet designer has to be both craftsman and
artist.
The finished coloured design passes into the hands of the colourist,
who, whatever be the nature of the subsequent manufacturing process,
will have the responsibility of selecting the coloured yarns to go into
the fabric. These will normally, in the first instance, follow the main
lines of the shades of the design paper. Then the travellers’ samples
are made; and in some fabrics even, where pattern making is not
practicable, whole carpets or sets of carpets are produced. Some idea
can thus be obtained of the expenses to which carpet manufacturers are
put in the preparation of new designs and colourings (which, in pre-war
times, used to be done annually, and even more often) before a yard of
carpet is sold to recoup them.
The carpet designer and colourist must have strict regard for the
limitations of his medium, and in particular the limitations of pitch
and of colour. He must know how to employ in the most effective manner,
thirty shades or three, and what treatment is best for a floral design
or an Oriental, in a fine or a coarse pitch.
Of course, the same laws of colour harmonies and contrasts hold good for
the carpet colourist, as for the artist in any other branches of applied
art; but the carpet artist has his own particular problems, such as
those that have been indicated, and such as arise, for instance, from
the fact that carpets have wool surfaces and lie on the floor, and
therefore bear quite a different relation to the decoration of a room
than curtains or ceilings.
Carpet colourings, apart from plains, may be analysed into self-colour
effects, two-colour effects, and effects of three or more colours.
Self-colour or tone-on-tone effects adapt themselves more easily to a
scheme of decoration than carpets containing contrasted colours. It
seems to be a fact that the carpet is about the last thing to be thought
of in a scheme of decoration. It need not be discussed whether it ought
to be so or not. The walls, curtains, tiles, etc., are decided upon
before the question of the colour of the carpet arises. In such a case,
if a harmonious effect is to be ensured, there may be little choice left
in the matter; and a self-coloured carpet may be either the easiest way
out of the difficulty, or an artistic necessity. Certainly it is easier
to furnish to; and, if it does mean a certain want of ambition in the
decorative scheme, it is simple and satisfying.
Self-coloured carpets are also eminently suitable for small rooms,
especially bed-rooms, on the one hand, and for theatres and music halls
on the other, perhaps because one colour is more restful than several.
The number of shades used varies from two to five, according to the
simplicity or boldness of the design. More than five are certainly
undesirable, as it becomes impossible to get steps of shades without
approaching a white at the top and a black at the bottom; and, indeed,
some of the most effective self-colours are made in three shades only.
Two-tone effects of contrasted colours are not greatly used. They are
sometimes employed in small designs, with two colours only, or three
(one and a contrasting pair), but more often in bold designs of the
Empire, Adam, or Wedgwood style, with three or four shades of one
colour, upon a ground, or working against a pair of shades, of another;
but effective combinations on these lines are rare.
By far the largest proportion of carpets made are multi-coloured; and
nearly every style and fabric is adaptable to treatment in this way.
It is impossible to deal properly with the question of many-coloured
carpets except at great length; but, as a basis, it may be useful to
remember that there are only three primary colours, and that in every
multi-coloured carpet there should be represented some red, some yellow,
and some blue. That is not saying that these should be primaries. The
red may be a terra-cotta, the yellow a tan, the blue a slate. But if you
have forty shades in a carpet they can all (except, of course, black and
white) be scientifically analysed into reds, yellows, and blues, even if
some of them are secondaries or tertiaries. That is to say, that,
according to its collocation, a purple will be acting either as a blue
or as a red, a green either as a yellow or as a blue, and so on. It
follows, therefore, that in practice the carpet designer or colourist
who has a large range of colours at his disposal will arrange them in
sets: a tan with a cream, three blues, two reds and a ruby, and so on.
From this point of view, the manufacturer of Wilton is not so hopelessly
outclassed by the maker of Axminster and Chenille. With his five or six
colours, irrespective of planting, he can produce an effect which is
satisfying, and artistically perfect; though he may have to use one
shade, where two or three would give additional softness and richness.
Much, however, depends on the nature of the design; and it is obvious
that if it is desired to represent, say, a flower in a naturalistic
manner, the fabric that commands a large number of colours, combined
with a reasonably fine pitch, will come off best.
A dictum of that eminent art-critic, Owen Jones, may perhaps be
appropriately quoted at this point. In a lecture on Decorative Art he
writes—
“Carpets should be darker in tone and more broken in line than any
portion of a room, both because they present the largest mass of colour,
and because they serve as a background to the furniture placed upon
them. As a general rule, lighter carpets may be used in rooms thinly
furnished than the contrary, as we should otherwise have too
overpowering a mass of shade.”
All ornament, according to the source and principle of its design, may
be classified as either geometric, naturalistic, or conventional.
Ornament of the first class consists of apparently arbitrary
arrangements of circles, squares, spirals, or intersecting lines, or
repetitions of simple figures. It is the natural form of expression of
primitive art, as employed by savages or found on prehistoric remains;
but it has been developed in some style, as, for example, the Moorish,
into elaborate and beautiful patterns. Naturalistic ornament is that
which is closely based upon natural objects, especially flowers and
leaves, which are coloured as closely as the limitations of the material
permit. Conventional ornament, which may probably be regarded as the
highest class, is based upon observation of nature; but the natural
forms are not slavishly copied, but conventionalised, in the sense of
being selected and simplified, and adapted to the decorative purpose in
view.
This classification holds good of carpet design, as for other domains of
applied art; and it may be interesting to trace the development of the
fashion of carpet decoration with this classification in view.
The geometric style is characteristic of the youthful days of British
carpets, and was at its zenith in Early Victorian times. Designs of this
class, rather elaborate than simple in drawing, were associated with
bright and strongly contrasted colours, while black grounds, at once the
most effective and the most difficult of all ground shades, were greatly
in vogue. It is interesting to note that of late we have returned to the
use of black, for many years an outlaw colour; though it is employed now
in a more artistic manner than it was sixty years ago.
With the later Victorian times is associated the development of the
naturalistic style in carpets as in other decorative fabrics; flowers,
singly or in bouquets, being depicted in bright colours as near to
Nature as the technical limitations permitted. This style may perhaps be
regarded as flourishing until gradually checked or sobered by
conventionalising influences, and notably that of William Morris, to
whom, indeed, it is not too much to attribute a revolution in the
decorative point of view. But this revolution was both slow and partial;
and the naturalistic style, founded, as it is no doubt, upon a love of
Nature innate in man, is too deeply rooted ever to lose its popularity
completely.
It is still with us. And why not? Flowers, though not meant to be
trodden under foot, are round about our feet; and they make a double
appeal to the carpet designer of intrinsic beauty, and of fitness for
ground decoration. A green ground carpet with pink roses, as near as may
be to life, represents no doubt something of the aspiration of the
dweller in town for the country; and who shall say that it is unworthy?
Owen Jones is again worth quoting in this connection, even if his
strictures seem excessively severe. He says—
“I will say no more on the floral style, but to express a regret that,
the more perfect the manufacturing process in carpets becomes, the more
do they (the carpets) appear to lend themselves to evil. The modest
Kidderminster carpet rarely goes wrong, because it cannot; it has to
deal with but two colours, and consequently much mischief is beyond its
reach. The Brussels carpet, which deals with five colours, is more
mischievous. The Tapestry carpet, where the colours are still more
numerous, are vicious in the extreme; whilst the recent invention of
printed carpets, with no bounds to its ambition, has become positively
criminal.”
But the supremacy of the naturalistic style long since passed away, and
gave place towards the end of last century to the conventional, There
was a very definite movement in this direction, arising perhaps in the
first instance from the Morris influence, but carried forward notably by
_The Studio_, the Arts and Crafts Exhibition, and by such artists as C.
F. A. Voysey, Walter Crane, G. C. Haité, Arthur Silver, and many others.
The conventional style is particularly suitable to carpets, in that it
possesses great decorative possibilities, and continually reminds the
occupant of a room of beautiful objects in Nature, without deliberately
challenging, as in the naturalistic style, comparisons, which can only
be disadvantageous. This style reached the summit of its popularity
about the first years of the century and has since declined, though it
is by no means extinct. Its decline may be regretted, if only for the
reason that it is one of the very few styles of design in carpets which
can claim to be distinctly British.
It left behind it a successor, however, which enjoyed a few years of
public favour. This is the tapestry or verdure style, wherein flowers,
fruit, and leaves are treated in a half-conventional manner, generally
on a well-covered ground. This really stands half-way between the
naturalistic and the conventional styles. It may be the joint offspring
of the two, a more exuberant Morris type, or a more chastened floral
chintz; while it seems not unlikely that it was introduced from Germany,
where it was certainly very popular at one time.
Then we passed into an era of reproductions. Examples of masterpieces of
decoration, and especially those of Oriental art, have always, and
rightly, been studied by carpet designers, and frequently reproduced by
carpet manufacturers in the past; but never to such an extent as during
the years preceding the war. The carpet trade of that time was dominated
by the cult of the antique Eastern carpet; and a very large proportion
of the production of British carpets was upon Persian and Indian styles,
while subsequently the Chinese came in for marked attention. From one
point of view, this was all to the good; for the birthplace of the
carpet was the Orient, and old Eastern carpets are classics, just as the
works of Homer, Vergil, Handel, or Velasquez are classics. Competition
among manufacturers was keen; and close and beautiful reproductions of
the best antique Oriental carpets were offered to the public,
distinguished in design, soft in colouring, and lending themselves
readily to harmonious schemes of decoration.
But from another aspect this era was less satisfactory. The masterpieces
of Persia and Asia Minor, so eagerly sought out, were not studied as
models, to be adapted to modern ideas and requirements, as inspirations,
or bases for new effects. They were apt to be slavishly copied, line for
line and shade for shade, as far as the limitations of the machine-made
fabric permitted. A manufacturer would boast: “This is an exact
reproduction of the famous carpet of so-and-so, made in the fourteenth
century”; not: “This is a beautiful carpet. Persian in feeling.” This
sort of thing did not make for progress, nor for originality and
initiative in the design, but led to a certain monotony and arrested
progress, though the beauty of the productions was incontestable.
The next stage in the development of carpet design was very interesting.
A slight, but inevitable reaction set in against the dominance of close
reproductions of Persian and other carpets of the Near East. Carpets in
the characteristic decorative styles of other countries, and of other
ages, were attempted. The Far East furnished the first departure from
the Persian domination; and the rich stores of Chinese and Japanese
ornament were drawn upon, with very satisfactory results. Then the
carpet manufacturer and designer struck out more boldly, and invaded any
land or period whose particular style of decoration could be converted
to the artistic purposes of the industry. Louis XIV, Louis XVI, Rococo,
Italian Renaissance, Empire, Adam, Georgian, Queen Anne, and other
periods were laid under contribution; and it was no less a clear demand
on the part of the dealer and the public (to whose share due credit must
be given) than a point of honour with the manufacturer, that every
design should be pure and true to its particular style. This involved
knowledge and study, and tended to restore the designer and colourist to
his proper position as a creative artist from that of a mere copyist, to
which he had been in some danger of sinking.
The Futurist, Cubist, Vorticist movement, whatever its effect has been
in the world of Fine Art, has had but little influence upon carpet
design and colour. But perhaps this is yet to come.
There has been one more stage in the development of carpet design, which
may be regarded as a part of, but slightly different from, the
period-study stage. This may be called the Archaeological. The art of
Greece and Rome, apart from the superb acanthus scroll, has left little
that lent itself to carpet decoration; but older civilisations have been
drawn upon; and the finely conventionalised ornament of Ancient Egypt,
Chaldea, and Assyria, has been utilised in harmonious and dignified
carpets. Nor is this tendency likely to be arrested, as long as fresh
fields can be found that will repay exploration.
All this is extremely healthy and stimulating for the industry. It
involves study and effort and originality; and it makes for real
progress. The consumer of carpets has been growing more discriminating,
just as he has been growing more eclectic. His taste is varied: he may
buy a Hamadan design or a Celtic; but he will want it pure in style, and
well coloured. He is interested in a little archaeology; but he likes a
sound design better than archaeology, and finds a good colouring more
important still.
What developments the future holds in store it is impossible to say. It
may be that we shall have a reaction from this, eclecticism, this
cosmopolitanism of taste, to a more insular vogue; that we shall even
evolve a Twentieth Century British style in carpets as characteristic as
the Egyptian or the Renaissance.
Meanwhile, some indication has been given of the steps by which the
carpet trade has reached the high and varied standard of excellence in
design and colour which it enjoys to-day.