A Study of the Textile Art in its relation to the Development of Form and Ornament

A STUDY OF THE TEXTILE ART

IN ITSRELATION TOTHE

DEVELOPMENT OF FORM AND ORNAMENT

WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

CONTHNTS.

rage

IntiDiluction 193

Fonuin textileart 196

Relations offormtoornament 201

Color in textile art 301

Textileornament 203

Developmentofa geometric system withinthe art 303

Introduction 203

Reliefphenomena 303

Ordinaryfeatures 303

Reticulatedwork 210

Superconstructivefeatures 211

Colorphenomena 215

Ordinaryfeatures 215

Non-c'sscnti.il^I(instructivefeatures 336

Su|i('iv,.iL-.irii(iivcfeatures 338

Adventitiousfeatures ; 331

Geometricityimposedupon adopted elements 232 Extensionof textileornamenttootherformsof art 244

191

LLUSTRATIONS.

•JsO.iliitor traywithesthetic attributes ofform ¹⁹⁷

287.Tray having decidedesthetic ;ittributes ofform 198

288.Pyriform watervessel 198

289.Basket withesthetic characters ofform 199

290.Basketof eccenti-icfonn 300

291. Cliaracter of surface in the simplestformofweaving 3()4

292.Surface produced by Impacting 204

293.Surface produced by useofwidefillets 204

294.Basket withribbed sm-face 205

295. Bottleshowing obUquelyribbed surface 205

296.Tray showingradial ribs 205

297.Combination giving hen-ing boneeffect 206 298.Combination givingtriangular figures 308

299.Peruvianworkbasket 200

300.BasketofSeminoleworkmanship 207

301.Surfaceeffectproducedinopen twined combination 307 302.Surfaceeffectproducedinopen twined combination 207 303.Sm-faceeffectproducedby impactingⁱⁿtwined combination 308 304.Surfaceeffectproducedby impactingthewebstrands intwined

combination 308

303.Sm-faceeffectproducedbycrossingthewebseries inopen twined

work 208

306.Tray with open mesh, twined combination ²⁰⁸

307. Conical basket,twined combination 209

308.Exampleof jjrimitive reticulatedweaving 210

309.Simpleformof reticulation 211

310.Reticulated pattern in cotton cloth 211

311

.

Peiiivianembroidery 212

312.Basketwith[lendentornaments 213

313.Basket withpendent ornaments 213

314. TasseledPenivianmantle 214

315.Patternjiroducedbyinterlacins strand 316.Patternpro.hicv,]l,vint.-iI;Mn,u -ir.m.l 317.Patterni>n)(lu(>'.ll.vint.]l;i.mi;-tiMn.l 318.Pattern producedl.yintnla.ing^.tniii.:

319.Baseof cdiledbasket

320.Coiledbasketwith geometricornament 218

321. Coiled basketwith geometricornament 219

322.^tViledl.lisketWilliueonietrir.TlK.11i.-nt 230

323.C.iile.ll,||.l<eluilh-e,,liiell-ie ..IlK nt 220

324. (oiledl.:,>ketNsill,-e,, trienniainent 221

325.Coiledbasketwithgeometricornament 223

326.Coiledti-aywith geometric ornament 224

327.Coiled traywithgeometricornament,^r 225

ETH

1:] - l!i:J

ifferent colors

11)4 II.IATSTKATIONS.

Page.

Fio.328.Ti-aywith geometric ornament 225

329. Ti-ay witligeometric ornament 226

330.Ornamentproducedby wrappingtliestrands 227 331.Ornamentproduced byfixingstrands to the surface of the fabric.

.

227

332.Basketwitli featherornamentation 227

333.Basket withfeatherornamentation 227

334.Piece ofclotlishowinguse ofsupplementarywarpand woof 228 335.Piece of clothshowinguse ofsupplementarywai'pand woof 228

336.E.xami)le of grassembroidery 230

337.Ex.imiilcoll.'.ithcrembroidery 231

338.FiKiiicsfr..1)1thfPenn

wampum

^belt 233

339.Fig\in-< in>niaCaliforniaIndianbasket 234

340.CaliforniaIndianbasket 234

341.Figuresfrom a Peravian basket 235

342.Figure froma piece ofPeruviangobeUns 236

343.Figuresfrom a Peruvianvase 237

344.Figure from acircularbasket 238

345.Figureofabirdfrom aZufli shield 239

346.Figureofabirdwoveninatray 240

347.Figureofabirdwovenina basket 241

348.Figiuesembroideredon acotton netbytheancientPeruvians 243 349. Fi-iin-oll.inl-^.Miiliiciil.'iva livthe ancientPeruvians 248 350.C'nii\.iiih.ii.il.1.-lun|.;iiiitr.lii|.nncotton cloth 243 351.Heniiiulioncaii.lchcckcTpatternsproducedinw-eaving 246 352.Herring boneand checkerpatternsengravedinclay 246

353.Earthenvasewithtextileornament 247

354.Exampleof textileornamentpainteduponpottery 248 355.Textile pattern transferred to potterythrough costume 248 356.Ceremonial adz with carved ornamentof textilecharacter 250

357.Figuresupon a tapa stamp 251

358.Designinstucco exhibiting textilecharacters 251

TEXTILE ARTIN IT8 llELATIONTOTHEDEVELOPMENTOF FOliMAM) ORNAMENT.

By William H, Holmes.

DMTRODUCTION.

The

textileai-tisoneofthe

most

ancient

known,

datingbackto the very inceptionof enltuvo. Inprimitive timesitoccupied a

wide

field,enihracinn' thestemsof

numerous

l)raiic]iesof industry

now

expressedin otliermaterials.>rrele.^ati'dtodistinctsystemsofcon- struction.

Acciimpauyiny

tliegradual narrowingofitssphere there

was

asteady development with the general increase of intelligence

and

skill,sothat with the cultured nationsofto-dayittakes

an

im- portant,tlmugli uutilitrusive. placeinthehierarchyofthearts.

Woven

faliricsincludeallthose productsof art in

which

theele- mentsor parts

employed

inconstructionarelargely filamental

and

are

combined by methods

conditionedchiefly

by

theirflexibility.

The

larocesses

employed

are

known by

such termsas interlacing.

plaiting, netting,weaving, sewing,

and

embroidering.

The

materialsused attirsf are chiefly filiform vegetalgrowths.

suchas twigs, leaves, roots,andgrasses.1lutlater

on

filiform

and

then fibrouselements

from

allthe

kingdoms

ofnature, aswellas

numer-

ousartificialpreparation*;,arefreelyused. Theseare

employed

in thesingle,doubled, doubled

and

twisted,

and

plaitedconditions,

and

are

combined

by the

hands

alone,by the

hands

assisted

by

simple de\aces,

by hand

looms,

and

finallyincivilization

by machine

looms.

The

productsare,first,individualstructuresorarticles,suchas shelters,baskets, nets,

and

garments, orintegralparts of these;and, second, " piece "goods,suchasarenot adaptedtouseuntilthey are cut

and

fitted. In^earlierstages of art

we have

todeal almostex- clusivelywith the formerclass,asthetailor

and

thehouse furnisher areevolved withcivilization.

Intheirbearing

upon

art these products are tobe studiedchiefly withreference tothree

grand

divisions ofjihenomena, thefirstof

which

Ishall

denominate

constructive, the second functional,

and

thethird esthetic.

The

lastclass,with

which

thispaper has almost exclusively to deal,is

composed mainly

of

what may

becalledtlie supeicon-^iructive

and

superfunctionalfeatures ofthe art

and

in- eludesilii-eesul)divisions of

phenomena,

connectedrespectivelywith (1)form.(.')color,

and

C!) design. Estheticfeatures of

form

are,

I'Jo

l!IG TKXTII.K

AKT

IN

RELATION

TO

FORM AND ORNAMENT.

in ori^riii

ami

manifestation,related tobothftinctiiJiiandconstnic- tion: C(jlorand design.t(iconstructionmainly. Inthe t'ollowin.i?

study.sei)a.r:itcscctiunsa-n'i;-i\-cnIn(aclioftln'si-topics.

It"isfortunate|MTliapsthatinthis

work

Iaini-cstrictedtotheprod-

ucts ofratlii-rpriiuitivcstages of culture, asIhavethus^todealwith alimited

number

of uses,simpleprocesses,

and

simpleshapes. In the advancedstages of art

we

encounter

complex

j^henomena.processes,

and

conditions,theaccumulationof ages,

through which

no broad lightcanfall

upon

thefieldof vision.

In

America

thereisa vast

body

ofprimitive,indigenousarthav- ingnojjarallelinthe world.

Uncontaminated by

contactwith the com]ilexconditions of civilizedart, itoffersthebest possiblefacili- liesforthestudyofthefundamentalprinciples of estheticdevelop- ment.

Tilelawsofevolution corr(\si>ond closelyinallart.and.ifonce rightly interpreted intheincipient stage ofasingle,

homogeneous

ciilture.are traceablewith comparativeeasethroughallthe succeed- ingstages of civilization.

FORM

IN

TEXTILE

ART.

Form

inthetextileart,as inallotherusefularts, isfundamentally, althouglinotexclusively,theresultantor expressionof function,but atthe

same

timeitisfurtherthaninothershapingarts

from

express- ing thewholeoffunction.

Such

isthepliabilityofalargeportion of textileproducts

—

as,forexample,nets,garments,

and

hangings

—

thattheshapes

assumed

are variable,and,therefore,

when

notdis- tendedor for

some

purpose foldedordraped, thearticlesarewithout estheticvalue orinterest.

The more

rigid objects, in

common

with the individualsofother usefularts,whiletheirshapestillaccords withtheirfunctionaloffice,exhibit attribiites of

form

generallyrecog- nized aspleasing tothemind,

which

ai'eexpressed

by

thetei-nisgr;iee.

ele-aiire.

symmetry,

and thelike. Sncli atti-ilmtes are notseparaMo from functional attrilnites.butoriginate

and

exist conji_)intlywith tlieni.

In additiontothese features of

form we

observe othersofa

more

decidedlysupei'functional character,

added

manifestlyforthe pur- poseofenhancing'1ln'apjiearance.

In veryi)rimitive times

when

atitensil is producedfunctional ideaspredominate,

and

thereis,jierhaps,so farasits artificial char- actersareconcerned, a

minimum

of comeliness.

But

astheages pass

by

essential features are refined

and

elementsofbeauty are added and enipliasi/,ed. Inriperculturethe

growing

pressureof esthetic desire leads totheaddition of

many

superficial modifica- tions

whose

chiefoffice istopleasethefancy. In periodsofdead- enedsensibilityoreven through the incomjietenceof individiial art- istsin

any

period,suchfeatures

may

beillchosen

and

erroneously

FORM

^l.\ TEXTIT,F.AKI 191 applied, interferingwith construction

and

iise.

and

thusvi()latins>- well foiiuded

and

generallyacceptedcanonsoftaste. Inresi^'ctto primitive

works we may

distinguishfoursteps intheacquisition of esthetic features of form,three of

which

are normal, the fourtli abnormal:First,

we have

thatin

which

functional characters alone arecoiisiilfrfd.

any

I'li'iiicnt uf ln'auty,

whether due

totheartist's

hand

^{(ir \<<}llifaicidfiits<ifmatiTial. construction,ormodel,lieing

purelyadvcnlitinus: sccoiid. that iu

which

the necessaryfeatures of theutensilappearto

have

experienced the supervisionoftaste,edges being rounded, curvesrefined,

and symmetry

perfected; third,that in

which

the fimctionallyperfect object, just described,undergoes furthervariations ofcontour,addingtovariety,unity,&c.,thusen- hancing beautywithoiitinterferingwithserviceability:and,fourth, that inwhich,

under abnormal

influences,beautyissoughtat the sac- rificeof fiinctional

and

constructiveperfection.

Fir iSOMat

The

exactrelations ofthevariousclassesof forces

and phenomena

pertainingto this

theme may

be

more

fullyelucidated

by

theaidof illustrations.

Woven

mats,inearlyuse

by many

^tribesof

men and

originatingintheattemptto

combine

leaves, vines,

and

branches forpurposesof coraiort,areflatbecauseoffunction,thedegreeofflat- nessdepending

upon

thesize of filaments

and mode

ofcombination;

and

inoutlinetheyare irregular, square,round, oroval,asa^result of

many

causes

and

influences,

embracing

use,construction, material, models,&c.

A

^closeapproachto

symmetry, where

not

imposed by

some

oftheabove mentionedagencies,isprobably due to esthetic tendencies

on

the partof theartist.

The

esthetic interest attach- ingtosuch a shape cannot begreat,unless ])erhapsitbe regarded,

19S ^PK.Vl )KM

AND

^OKXAArEN'l MSill1individualsjiiid classesiiia> lieregarded, in its jjossiblerela- tions to id-ccMliii-. as-.iriaic<i,and succri-iling foruis of art.

The

vfiried featnrrs nliscrvnlupon thesui-face,the colorsand patterns (Fig.280),pertain todesignratherthantoform andwillreceiveat- tention inthe properplace.

Fig.asr.Tiay hv\iDg ileeule1 1

1iihlItimthe\pache—}.

Inpoint ofcontour the basket tray

shown

ⁱⁿFig. 287has a some-

what more

decided claim

upon

esthetic attentionthan the preceding, asthe curves exhibited

mark

astep ofprogressincomplexity

and

grace.

How ^much

^{of thisisdue}to intention

and how much

totech- nical ]ierfection

must

remainindoubt. In

work

^soperfect

we

are wiuit.hi.iweverunwarrantably,torecognizethe influence oftaste.

Fig.28.'!.Pj-rifo —1MvdbytheKuteIndians

-

A

third

example —

presentedinFig. 288

—

illustratesan advanced stage intheart ofbasketry

and

exhibitsa highlyspecialized shape.

The

forces

and

influencesconcernedinitsevolution

may

be analyzed asfollows:

A

])rimal origin infunrtinii andafinaladaptationtoa

FORM

IX

TEXTILE

ART.

199

special function,thecarrying

and

storing ofwater; acontourfull togivecapacity,

narrow

abovefor safety,

and

jDointedbelowtluilit

may

beset insand;curveskeptwithincertain

bounds by

the limit- ations of constriiction;

and

a goodlyshareof variety,

symmetry,

and grace,theresult toacertain

undetermined

extentof the esthetic tendenciesoftheartist'smind. In regardtothelast point there

isgenerallyinformssosimple

an

elementofuncertainty: but

many

examples

may

befoundin

which

thereis]i()sitivcevidenceoftin-rxist- fiic'fofa stroiii;-ilosireonthe part oftliei)rniiiti\cba>kcl

maker

to enhaucr beauty^ofform. Itwillbe observedthattlictextile juaterials

and

constructiondo not lend themselvesfreely tominutenessin de- tailor tocomplexityof outline, especially inthose small

ways

ⁱⁿ

which

beautyis

most

readily expressed.

Modificationsofadecidedlyestheticcharacter are generallysug- gested tothe i>rimitive

mind by some

functional, constructive, or accidental featiire whicli

may

witheasebe turned in the

new

direc- tion. In thevessel i)resented in Fig. 280

—

^the

^work

^of

Alaskan

Fig.2Sn.Ve.ssplwith ftheYakama—|.

Indians

—

the

margin

isvaried

by

alteringtherelations oftliethree mai-ginal turnsofthecoil, producing ascallopedeffect. Thisis without referenceto use,isuncalledfor inconstruction,

and

hence

is,inallprobability,thedirectresult of esthetic tendencies. Other

and much more

elaborateexamples

may

befoundinthebasketryof almostallcountries.

In the pursuitof this class ofenrichmenttliere isoccasionallyno- ticeableatendencytooverload thesubjectwith extraneousdetails.

Thisisnot aptto occur,however, inthe indigenouspractice of

an

art, btit

comes more

frequently

from

alossofequilibriumorbalance inmotives ordesires,caused

by

untowai'dexotic influence.

When,

through suggestions derived

from

contactwithcivilizedart,thesav- age undertakestosecureallthegraceamiconiiilexityobservedinthe

200

TKXTii.EAirrin

kklation

to

korm and

OKNA.MKXT.

works

of

more

culturedpeoijles,he doesso attlieexpenseofconstruc- tionandadaptability to use.

An example

ofsuch

work

ispresented in Fig.290.aweak,useless,

and

whollyvicious piece ofbasketry.

Fio.aso.Basketmadei

Other equally

men

^tini

ms

jutcesrepresent goblets, bottles,

and

tea pots.

They

aretin

woik

ot tlieIndiansofthenorthwestcoast

and

areexecutedinthe neatest possiblemanner, bearing evidenceof the existence ofcultivatedtaste.

Itappears

from

thepreceding analysesthat

form

in this artis not sutHciently sensitive to receive impressions readily

from

the ilelicatetouchof esthetic fingers; besides,there are iieculiardiffi- cultiesinthe

way

ofdetecting traces ofthepresence

and

supervision oftaste.

The

^inherentmorphologicforces oftheartarestrong

and

stubborn

and

tendtoproduce theprecise classes of results thatwe.

at thisstage of culture, are inclined to attribute to esthetic influence.

If,inthe

making

ofavessel,the

demands

ofuse arefullysatisfied.

if constructionis perfect of itskind,if materialsareuniformly suitable,

and

ifmodelsare not absolutelyIjad. itfollows that the result

must

necessarily possess ina high degreethoseveryattributes thatallagreearepleasingtotheeye.

In a primitivewatervesselfunction gives afull outline,as ca- pacityisaprime(•(Uisidi-ratinn:cDiixciiii'nccnfusecallsfor a

narrow

neck

and

acniiif.-illi.isr; (..nstnictidii .-iinlniafcrialsunite toimpose certain limltatidustncurvrs andthiMrcuiiiliiiiations.

from which

the artistcannotreadily free himself. Models furnished

by

nature, as theyareusuallygraceful,donot interferewiththe pi'ecedingagen- cies,

and

allthese forcesunited tendtogive

symmetry,

grace,

and

the unitythatbelongstosimplicity. Taste

which

isina formative statecan butfallinwiththesetendenciesoftheart,

and must

beled

i[..i.MEs.l

FORM AND ORNAMENT

IXTRXTIl.E ART.

20

L l)ytheiu,

and

led iua

measure

correspondingtotheirpersistencyand universality. Ifthetextileart

had

been the only one

known

to

man.

ideas ofthe esthetic inshape

would have

beenina great

measure

formed

through

thatart. Naturalforms

would have had

^littleto do withitexcept through models furnisheddirectly to

and

utilized

by

theart,for theideas ofprimitive

men

concentrateabout that

upon which

thoir

hands work and upon which

tlieirthoTights frcmi necessitydwellwith steadyattention

from

generationtogeneration.

RELATIONS OF FORM TO ORNAMENT.

It

would seem

thattheesthetictendenciesof themind,failing to find satisfactoryexpressioninshape,seized

upon

thenon-essential features oftheart

— markings

ofthe surface

and

colorof filaments

—

ci-eatinga

new

fieldinMdiich tolal)or

and

exj)endingtlieirenergy

upon

ornament.

Shape

has

some

direct relations to ornnnifnt.andthesp ivlations

may

beclassifiedas follows:

First,the contourofthevesselcontrolsits

ornament

toalarge ex- tent,dictatingthepositions of design

and

settingits limits;figures are in stripes, zones, rays,circles,ovals,orrectangles

—

according,in noslightmeasure,tothecharacterofthe spaces afforded

by

details of contour. Secondly,itaffects

ornament

throughthereproduction

and

repetition of featui'esofform,suchas handles, forornamental purposes. Thirdly,itisprobablethat sliape intluenresc-nilielli.shment tlii'onghthejieculiarbias givenl)yittothe taste

and judgment

of

men

prior to orindejiendentofthe emjjloymentofornament.

COLOR

IN

TEXTILE

ART.

Colorisoneofthe most constantfactorsin man'si-nviroiinienl.

auditissostrongly

and

persistently forced

upon

hisattention, so useful asa

means

of identification

and

distinction,thatitnecessarily receivesa largeshareofconsideration. It isprobably one ofthe foremostobjectiveagenciesintheformationand develojiment^ofthe esthetic sense.

The

naturalcolors of textilematerialsareenormously varied and

form

oneofthechief attractions ofthe productsoftheart.

The

greatinteresttakenin color

—

thegreatimportance attachedtoit

—

^is

attested

by

thevery general useof dyes,

by means

of

which

additional variety

and

brilliancyof effectaresecured.

Color

employed

intheartisnotrelated to use.excepting,perhajis.

insymbolic

and

super.stitiousmat^teis:noris itofconsequencein con- struction,althoughitderivesiiii|joitance

from

the

manner

in

which

construction causesittobemanifestedtotheeye. Itfindsitschief useinthefieldof design, in

making

evidentto theeye thefigures withwliicliobjects of artare embellished.

Coloi'isem])loyedor appliedin

two

distinctways: it iswnyi'wnv

202

TKXTii.KAirr i\

kklaiiox

to

fokm and oknamknt.

worked

^intothe fabric

by

usingcoloredfilanieiits or parts, oritis addedto the surface of thecompleted object

by means

of pencils, bnishes,

and

dies. Its

employment

inthelatter

manner

isespecially convenient

when

com])lex ideouTa))hic orpictoi-ialsubjects are tobe execnted.

TEXTILE ORNAMENT.

DEVELOPMENT OP

A GEOJIETRIC

SYSTEM OF

DESIGN

WITHIN THE

ART.

INTRODUCTION.

Having made

abriefstudyof

form and

color inthetextileart, I shall

now

present the greatgrouj) orfamilyof

phenomena whose

exclusiveoffice isthat ofenhancing beauty. Itwillbenecessary.

however,^topresent,besidesthosefeaturesoftheart])ro})('rlyex])ress- iveof theesthetic culture ofthei-ace, allthose

phenomcua

that, being- presentintheartwithoutman"svolition,tendtosuggest decorative conceptions

and

giveshape^tothem. I shall

show how

thelatterclass of features arise as a necessity oftheart,

how

they gradually

come

into notice

and

arc si'izcd u]jon

by

theesthetic faculty,ami

how

underitsguidance lln'vassist inthedevel()]imcnt of a system of

ornament

of woi-ldwideapplication.

For

convenienceoftreatmentesthetic

phenomena may

beclassed asrelieved

and

flat. Figuresorpatternsofarelievonaturearise during constructionasaresultoftheintersections

and

other

more complex

relations

—

thebindings

—

ofthe

warp and woof

or ofin- serted orappliedelements. Flat or surfacefeaturesaremanifested in color, either inunisonwith or independentoftherelieveddetails.

Such

isthenatureofthetextileartthatin^itsordinarypractice cer- taincombinationsofbothclassesoffeaturesgo onasanecessity of theart

and

wholly without referencetothedesire oftheartistorto theeffectofresultantpatterns

upon

theeye.

The

characterofsuch figuresdepends

upon

thekindofconstruction

and

ujionthe accidental association ofnaturalcolors in construction.

At some

periodofthe practice oftheart these peculiar,adventitious surfacecharacters

began

toattract attention

and

tobe cherishedfor the pleasuretheygave^;

what were

atfirstadventitiousfeatures

now

tookon functions peculiartothemselves,forthey

were

foundto gratify desires distinct

from

those cravings thatarise directly

from

lihysicalwants.

It isnottobe supposedfora

moment

thatthe inceptionof esthetic notionsdates

from

this association of ideas ofbeauty withtextile characters.

Long

beforetextileobjects ofa high classwere made, ideas of

an

estheticnature

had

been entertained

by

themind.as.for example,in connectionwith jjensonal adornment.

The

skin

had

beenpainted,pendantsi)lacpdabmit tlieneck,and bright^fi'athers setintlie hairto euliaiice attractiveness,

and

it is ii..tdifficult to

n..i.MEs.l

GEOMETRIC CHAHACTEK

OF

KKIJEVKD

KEATTRES. 20'.) conceiveofthetransfer ofsuchideas

from

purely personalassocia- tions tothe embellishmentof articlesintimatelyassociatedwith^tlie person.

No

matter,howeA-er,

what

the period or

manner

oftheas- sociation ofsuchideaswith thetextileart,thatassociation

may

be takenasthe

datum

pointinthe

development

of a^reat systemof decoration

whose

(listiii,t;uishiii,n- cliai'actersare the result ofthe geometrictextile((iiisli-uctii)n.

In amplifyingthis subject Iliuditeouvenieutto treatseparately the

two

classesofdecorative pheuuuieu:!

—

^tlierelieved

and

theflat

—

notwithstanding thefactthat theyare

(m

themost ]iartintimately associated

and

acttogetherinthe aee(iin]ilislnnent of acouiukiuend.

Ordinary

featnres.

— The

relieved surfacecharactersof fabrics resulting

from

constructinn

and

available fordecorationare

more

or less distill, -tlyperceptiblet..theeyeand^t,>tlietoueliandaresusre,,ti-

1lieofnillimited variatinn in detailandaiTaii-emeiil. Sm-lite.itiires are familiar toallinthe strongly

marked

ridges<.fbasketry,amiiiiiich

more

pleasinglyso inthedelicate figures ofdamasks, embroideries,

and

^laces. So longasthefiguresproduced are confined exclusively tothe necessary featuivsufuiieiiibellished eoustruetimi. asistliecase

inverv

priniitixc

work

and^{in all} j.lainw.,rk.tlieivsnltaiiti.alterns arewh,illy,-e,,iiietricaiidhyendlessrepetitnnidflikej.arts,.xtreinely monotonous.

Inrightangled

weaving

thefigures

combine

in straightlines,

which

run parallelor cross at

uniform

distances

and

angles. Inradiate weaving, asinbasketry,theradial linesare crossedin

an

equally formal

manner by

concentriclines. In other^{classes of}combinatinn thereis

an

almost equal degreeofgeometricity.

When,

however, with the

growth

ofintelligence

and

skillitisfound that greatervarietyof effectcan be secured

by modifying

theessential (Miiibinatidiisof parts,

and

that, too,withoutinterferingwith con- struetix-eiierfectionor withuse,a

new and wide

field isopenedfor the developmental tendenciesof textile decoration.

Moreover,inadditiontothefacilitiesafforded

by

the necessaryele-

ments

of construction,thereare

many

^extraneousresoirrces of

which

thetextiledecorator

may

freely avail himself.

The

characterofthese issuch that theresults,

however

varied,

harmonize

thoroughly with indigenoustextileforms.

To make

these pointsquite clear ^itwill be necessary^ti>aiialy/.e

somewhat

closelythe character

and

scopeof textilecombinatiunand oftheresultant

and

associatedphenomena:.

We may

distinguish

two

broadclasses ofconstructive jiheiKimena

made

useof inthe expressionof relievedenrichment.

As

^indieati'd above,these are.first,essential or actualconstructivefeatures;inil.

second,extra or superconstructivefeatures.

204 ART

INHI )RM

AND ORNAMENT.

First,it isfound^{tliat in}the practice ofprimitivetextileartava- riety of

methods

ofcombinationorbindingsoftheparts

have

been evolved

and

utilized,

and we

observe thateacliof these

—

no matter

what

the material or

what

the size

and

characterofthefilamental elements

—

givesrise to distinct classes of surfaceeffects.

Thus

itap- pearsthat peojjles

who happen

todiscover

and

uselikecombinations produce kindred decorative^results,while those

employing

unlikecon- structionsachievedistinct classes ofsurfaceembellishment. These constructivepeciiliarities

have

a pretty decidedeffect

upon

the style ofornament,relievedorcolored,

and must

becarefully consiileredin the treatmentof design;butit isfound that each typeofcomlnnation has agreatlyvaried capacityofexpression,tendingtoobliteratesharp lines ofdemarkation between the groupsof results. Itsometimes even happensthat in distincttypesof

weaving

almo.stidentical sur- face effects areproduced.

Itwillnotl)enecessaryintliisconnectiontopresent afullseriesof the fundamental bindingsorordersofcombination,asa

few

will suf- ficeto illustratetheprinciplesinvolved

and

to

make

clearthebearing of this classofi^henomena

upon

decoration. Ichoose,first,a

mimber

()ft-xanqiles

from

thesimplesttypeofweaving, thatⁱⁿ

which

the

web

andthewoofaremerelyinterlaced,thefilamentscrossing at right angles or nearly^so. InFig. 391

we have

theresiUt exhibitedina l^lainopen orreticulatedfabricconstructed

from

ordinaryuntwisted

fillets,si;chasare

employed

inour^sjdint

and

canejiroducts. Fig.

i'.)-iillustratesthe surface producedl)ycrowdingthe liorizontal series

m

(iEOMKTKIC CHAK-ACTEK

OK KKIJEVKD

FEATIKKS. l>()r) iul\cii/f(l ^ulistaiues

The

general surface seiniliquiil tuods. oi

puhf

effectgiven1)\(Idseh wdx represents a laii^c^\\ickei

sillnstrateilinFig.-iUi,which lasket obtained

from

the

Moki

Fig.294.Basketshe lents. Mokiwork

—

J

Indians. Inthisinstance theridges,,

due

to a

heavy

.seriesof radi- ating

warp

filaments,areseeninavertical position.

Itwillbeobserved. however, that theridgesdo not neressariln take

Fig.«l.i..\lt«i-nationof intersection, Fig.aiW.Radiatingi-ihsassi-eu inHatwoik in-oducingobliqueorspiralribs. Pi- fromabove. Mokiwork-].

the direction of the wari)tihinieuts.f til.'horizontalsi-rii-s

—

^tlu'

^wo-f — w

1lie partlv linislir.l b,,ttlc illusti-ati

witliadifferent alternation of

:i't nhliqueridges, as

shown

in

ill l^'ig.-iii.-i.

They

are. how-

20(; KXIII.E

ART

IN KKI.ATION TO

KOKM ANU OKNAMKNT.

ever,notsopronouucedas intlieprecedingcase. Tlie peculiareffect of radiate

and

concentric

weaving ujwn

theribsiswell

shown

inFig.

•Z'M.

By

changesintheorderof intersection,withoutchangingthetype ofcombination,

we

reach aseriesof results quiteunlikethe jjreced- ing; so distinct, indeed, that,abstracted

from

constructiverelation- ships, there

would

belittlesuggestionof correlation. Inthe

example

Fig.2D7.Diagonalcornbinatiun, ^iviii^

herring lioneeffect. tu

giveninFig.297theseriesoftilameuts interlace,not

by

jjassing over

and

underalternate strands, as inthe precedingset of

exam-

ples,but

by

extending over

and

undei'a

number

oftheopposingseries ateachstep

and

in such orderas to give widehorizontal ridges i-ibbeddiagonally.

This

example

is

from

an ancient

work

basketobtainedatAnc(jn, Peru,

and shown

in Fig.2!J!).

The

surface features are in strong- relief,giving a pronounced herring Ixmeeffect.

Fig.-Jf.m.I'eriivian«oil<basket of reeds,witlistrongly relievedriil.i,'es.

Slightchanges inthesuccession of partsenablellicwurkiiian lo produce a great varietyofdecorativepatterns,

an

exani])le of

which

is

shown

inFig. 298.

A

^goodillustrationis alsoseeninFig280.

and

anotherpiece,said tobeofSeminole

workmanship,

isgivenin Fig.oOO. These

and

similar relieved results are fruitfulsourcesof primitive decorativemotives.

They

are

employed

not niilywithin

iKiLMEs.l (iKOMETKIC

t'HAKACTKK OF RELIEVKD FEATURES

"JO theart^itself,butin

many

otherartslessliberallysuppliedwitlisii^

gestions ofembellishment.

[Fig.300.Effectsproduced bj varjingtheorderof intersection Seminolework

—

^J.

Taking

a secondtyjjeofcombination,

we have

a family^{of result-} ant patternsinthe

mam

distinguishable

fiom

thepieceding.

Fig.:}()!illustratesthe simplest

form

of

what

Dr.O. T.

Mason

has

calledthetwined combination, afavoriteone with

many

ofour native tribes.

The

strandsofthe

woof

seriesarearrangedintwos

and

in

L'OS

TKXTILE ART

INKEI.ATION TO FllKM A."

WHHviug

aretwistedhalf

around

ateacliintersection,iiiclusini;- tlic o])))osingfillets.

The

resultingopen

work

hasmiiclitheH])]ii'.ir,nicr ofordinarynetting,

and when

ofjaliablematerials

and

distendednv strainedoveran earthen orgourdvessel the pattern exhibitedis strikingly siiggestiveof decoration.

The

resiiltof thiscombination u])on a latticefoundation of rigidniati-rialsi-.well

shown

inthe largebasket])res('ntedinFig.:j02. Other\aiiantsol thisty]jeare giveninthethreesucceedingfigures.

The

resultseeninFig.303isobtained

by

uilji.ktmi;tlieliorizontal ortwinedseriesof threads.

The

surfacei^neail.\ identicarwith that oftheclo.selyimpacted

example

ofthe preceding type(Fig.292).

The

peculiaritiesare

more marked when

colorsareused.

When

the doubled

and

twistedseriesofstrandsareplacedfarapart

and

the ojjposing seriesarelaid side

by

sidea pleasingresultis given, as

shown

in Fig.304

and

inthe

body

oftheconicalbasketillustrated in Fig. 307.

-

W|ijtttTt^-^

^J-U^Ji^

XZ^JIU^ 4^

Fig.304.Surfaceeffect obtained b) placingthe wai-p strands closetogethe andthewoofcables far apart.

Fig.305.Surfaceeffectobtained iycrossingthewarpseries inopen twined work.

InFig )05

we ha\e

apectiliai diagonallyciossed aiiani,(

ment

of theunt^Mstedseiiesof

hUments

J,l^iiiga lattice

woik

efl^ect

Fig jOii stl^e^ to^h ^\ h \\ i ilil\ tinsst\leof

^\eaMng

lends

Fig.301).Decora tray. Klamathw

GEOMETRIC CHARACTER OF RELIEVED FEATURES. 209

itselftotheproductionofdecorativemodification, especially inthe direction ofthe concentric zonal

arrangement

souniversalin vessel-

making

arts.

The

examples given servetoindicatetheunlimited decorativere- sources possessed

by

theartwithout

employing any

but legitimate ((instnirtivfc'li'ini'iits.

and

itwillbe seen thatstillwiderresultscan

lieolitaiiicd l)ycniiiliiuing

two

or

more

varietiesorstylesofbinding inthecuustructiun

and

theembellishmentofasingle objectorinthe

same

piece of fabric.

A

good,

though

verysimple, illusti-ation of thisis

shown

inthetray or

mat

presentedinFig. 280. Inthiscase aborder,varying

from

the centerportioninappearance,isobtained

by changing

oneseriesofthe filaments

from

a multipletoasingle arrangement.

Fig.3(ir.Conicalbasket of theKlamathIniiians ofOregon,showingpeculiartwinedeffectami an openwork border

—

J.

The

conicalbasket

shown

in Fig.307serves to illustratethe

same

point. Inthiscasearudelyworked,

though

effective,borderis secured

by

changing the angleoftheuprightseriesnear the top

and

comliining

them by

plaiting,

and

insuch a

way

as toleavea border of

open

work.

Now

the

two

typesofconstruction,theinterlaced

and

thetwined,

some

primitivephasesof

which have

been reviewed

and

illustrated, astheyare carried forwardinfhc tcclinical jiro^rfss oftheart.ex- hibit

many new

IVatui-csIII'(•iiiiihinatioiiandrrsiiltantsurfacechar- acter,buttheclalHiratiniiisin all casi's almiL;-lines jjeculiarto these typesofweaving.

Other typesofcombinationnf

web and

woof,alltapestry,andall

C

ETH

14

210 TEXTILE ART

IN

RELATION

TO

FORM AND ORNAMENT.

braiding, netting, knitting.^LTocliet,

and

needle

work

exliibitchar- acters peculiar tothemselves, developingdistinctgroupsofrelieved results; yetallareanalogousinprinciple totliosealreadyillustrated

and

imiteincarrying forward the

same

greatgeometric systemof combination.

E,'tiriilal,(J

in„-k.—A

fewiiai-a,-T,-ii.]isiiiaybra<ldc(l]HMvinregard torctiriilalrd fabrics ofallclasses nf <, .inl.iiiati..11.astliryexhibit

more

tiianusually interesting relievu iijiencnneuaandiiaveadecided bearing

upon

the

growth

ofornament.

Inallthei^rimitive

weaving

with

which we

areacquainteddefinite reticulatedpatternsareproduced

by

variations inthespacings

and

otherrelations ofthe

warp and

woof;

and

the

same

istrueinallthe higher formsoftheart.

The

iDroduction of reticulated

work

isthe especialfunctionof netting, knitting, crocheting,

and

certain varieties ofneedlework,

and

agreat diversity of relieved results areproduced, nofigurebeingtoo

complex and no form

toopronouncedtobe under- taken

by

ambitious

workmen.

In the followingfigiires

we have

illustrationsofthepeculiar class ofprimitive experimentsthat,afterthelapse of ages, lead

up

tomar- velousresults,thehighestof

which may

be foundintheexquisite laces ofculturedpeoples.

The Americans had

onlytaken the^first steps in this peculiarart,but theresultsareonthisaccountof espe- cialinterest inthe historyoftheart.

An example

ofsimplereticulated

hand

weaving^isslidwninFig.

;3()8. It isthe

work

ofthe

mound

buihlersaii<l istakeniiouian im-

pression iiponanancient piece ofpottery obtainedinTennessee.

TffiffiTO'iifiL

iliilfmillir

Fig.:5()8.Incipientstage of reticulatedornament. Fabricofthemoundbuildei's.

Fig. 309 illustratesabitofancientPeruvian

work

executedona frame orinarude loom, a checker pattern being produced

by

arrang- ing the

warp and woof now

closetogether

and now

wideapart.

Open work

of this classissometimes completed

by

afterprocesses, certainthreadsorfilaments ])eing

drawn

outorintroduced,

by which means

the figures areemphasized

and

varied.

InFig.310

we have

asecondPeruvian

example

in

which

the

woof

threads

have

been omittedforthe spaceof

an

inch,

and

across this

nuLMKs.J

GEOMETKU'ITY OF

SUPERC'ONSTKUt'TIVE FEATURES. -J]]

intervaltheloose

warp

lias Iteeiiplaited

and drawn

together, jn-odue- iug alattice-like

band

Fig.300.Simijl

Ina similar

way

foni othei

bands

of

naiiow open work

are intro- duced, twoabiixf,nicl

twdhtluw

tli( widtbiiiil Theseareproduced

ftjyj^'^{9'; >}v/r'"I'll li *»'

T

^{irf"*!'^4'^J'^i•*!}

Fig.310.Ri'ticiilateUpatternincotton cloth, Woik^o£the ancientIeru\un.s.

bj^leaving the

warp

threadsfree fora short space

and drawing

al- ternate pairs across each other

and

fixing

them

so

by means

ofa

woof

thread, as

shown

inthecut.

Examples

ofnettingin

which

decorativefeatures liavebeen

worked

arefound

among

thetextileproductsof

many American

tril^es

and

occuraswell in severalgroupsofancientfabrics,butin

most

cases

where

designsofimportance or complexityare desiredi)artsarein- troiluced to facilitatethework.

Siipercoiisfi-urf irefeatures.

—

^Thesefeatures, so iiuiiortaiilin (hf dec(^rationof fabrics,aretheresult ofdevices

by which

aconstruc- tionalreadycapableof fulfillingtheduties

imposed by

function has addedtoitpai-tsintendedtoenhance beauty

and which may

<n-

may

notbeofadvantagetothefabric.

They

constituteoneofthe

most

212 TEXTILE ART

IN

RELATION

TO

FORM AND ORNAMENT.

widely used

and

effectiveresourcesofthetextile decorator,

and

are added

by

sewing orstitching, inserting,drawing,cutting,applying, ajjpending,&c.

They add

enormouslytothe capacityforproducing relievo effects

and make

itpossibleeventorendernatui-alformsin theround. Notwithstandingthis fact

—

the

most

importantsection of this class of featiires

—

embroideryistreated to betteradvantage undercolor

phenomena,

as colorisvery generallyassociatedwith the designs.

One example

of lace-likeembroidery

may

begivenin this place.

It isprobably

among

thebest examjiles of

monochrome

embroidery AmtTic-ilias])ruduced. Indesi,i;iiandinini'tlmd ofrealizationitis identicalwithIlierich,colored cnilircidcrics dftlicancientPeruvians, beinu woikcln|i(inanett'(juiidati.iii,a-^slin\vn inKiu'. :ill.

The

broad

||J:::::::;;j:ILJJLJLJ::::;:::ll|j

Sl^lIliiilMifilSiiiir-iiHnili^S^

iiliiiSiilllllliillli^

11' 11 I !iv.Mi1.,|,Mjii,]iiiii..ii|iiv,i ii|„,ii,1ii.-ihki- laliric. From agraveatAncon,Peru.

band

of figures employs bird forms in connection ^vith running geometricdesigns,

and

still

more

highly conventionalbirdformsare seenin(he

narmw

band.

Appcndcil i.inaincMts arenot

amenable

tothe geometric lawsof fabricati(

m

U⁾theextent observedinotherclasses ofornament.

Thev

iEOJIKTKIC

CHARAfTER OF APPENDED FEATURES. 213

ai'e.however, attachediu

ways

consistentwith thetextilesystem,

and

arecounted

and

spacedwith greatcare,producing designsofa

more

orlosspronnnncorl^-pnmotric character.

The work

isakindof embruidcry.tlirparts iMiipldynl Immiil;-ofthenatureofpendants.

Theseinclude luunln'rless artirlcsderived

from

nature

and

art. It will suffice topresenta

few

examples alreadyathand.

Fig. 313 illustratesa^large,well

made

basket,the

work

of the

Apache

Indians. Itserves to indicatethe

method

of

employing

tas- sels

and

i-lusteredpendants,

which

iu this case consist of biu-kskin

Fig.312.Basket wi

stringstipped withcDuical bits oftin.

The

checker pattern isin color.

Fig..313 illustrates the use of othervarieties ofpendants.

A

featherdecked basket

made by

thenorthwest coastIndiansis

em-

FiG.313. Ba.'iketwithjiPmlants(.1li ithe northwe<it coast Indians.—^J,

bellishedwith pendent

ornaments

consisting of strings of beads tippedwithbitsofbrightshell.

The

importanceof this class of

work

inhigherformsnf textiles

maybe

illustrated

by

an

example from

Peru. It ispn.l.able1lia1

A

niei'lmnart liasi.ro.'lu,-,..!fewexamples oftas.seledwoi-k

moiv

wonderful than that of

which

a fragmentis

shown

in Fig.31-1:. It isa fringed mantle, threefeet iulength

and

nearly the

same

indepth,obtained

from an

ancienttomb.

The body

is

made

uj)of separately Avoven bands,

upon which

disk-like

and

214

^TKXTII.K

ART

IN

KKhATK FORM AND ORNAMENT.

I ^ I ^

^^,M .3'

-. ^^W ^

K^U^

mmmm^sf'Biii'd

I. ^{'.TV Ml}

^,.4'o

rio314Tissel inamentit ifiman

HOLMES.]

GEOMETRIC

CHAKACTEl;

OK

((II.OK

PHKXOMEXA.

^21") semilunarfigures representiiit;-luuiiau faces arestitelied,covering the surfaceinhorizontalrnws.

To

the centerofthese rosette-like jiai-tsrlnstiTs(iftassi'ls(ifvaryiiiii'si/.cs aroattached.

The

^fringe, whichisIwciitx' iiirlifs(li-cp. isr(iiii|M,s(Mlentirelyoflongstrings of tassels,thelarii'ertasselssupportingchisters(jfsmallerones. There are

upwards

ofthree thousandtassels,the

round

headsof

which

are in

many

cases

woven

in colors, ridges,

and

nodestorepresentthe hiimanfeatiires.

The

generalcolor ofthegarment,

which

isoffine, silky wool,^isarichcrimson.

The

illustrationcan convey only ahint oftliecomplexity

and

beautyoftheoriginal.

We ^{have now}

^seen

how

varied

and how

strikingarethe surfacechar- acters of fabrics asexpressed

by

thethirddimension,

by

variation

from

aflat,featureless surface,

and how

^all.essential

and

ornamental, are governed

by

the lawsofgeometric combination.

We

^shall

now

see

how

these are related to color

phenomena.

COLORPHENOMENA.

Ordinary

feafures.

—

In describing the constructive charactersof fabrics

and

the attendant surface

phenomena,

Icalledattention to the factthata greater part ofthe design manifested isenforced

and

supplemented

by

color,

which

gives

new meaning

^{to every} feature. Color elements are presentintheart

from

itsveryincep- tion,

and many

simple patterns appearasaccidentsof textileaggre- gation long before the

weaver

or thepossessorrecognizes

them

^as pleasingtotheeye.

When,

finally,they aresorecognized

and

ade- sireforgreaterelaboration springs up, thetextileconstruction lends itselfreadily tothe

new

office

and under

theestheticforcesbrings about wonderfiilresultswithoutinterfering intheleast with the technical perfection ofthearticlesembellished.

But

coloi' is not confinedtothe

mere

emphasizingof figuresalready expressedinre- lief. It iscapableofadvancin.i;-aloneintonewfields,producingpat- terns

and

desi,i;iis ecinijilexinarraiinenient

and

variedinhue,

and

that, too,withoutalteringthe .simple,

monotonous

successionof re- lievo characters.

Incolor,as inrelieved design,eachspecies ofconstructive combi- nation givesriseto

more

orlessdistinrtgr(ai|)sofdecorativeI'esults,

which

often

become

the distin-nishin-.-liaiactei-isticsoftliewoi'kof difi'erentpeoples

and

thejtrogeuitors oflonglines of distinctions in nationaldecorativeconceptions.

In additionto thisapparently^limitless capacityfor exjiression.

lovers of textileillumination

have

thewholeseriesof extra.inlinary resources furnishe.]by expedientsn..1essential tooi-dinai-yconstruc- tion, the cliaracterand scopeofwhich have been dwelt

upon

to

some

extentinthe precedingsection.

I

have

already spokenot colorina generalway.as toitsnecessary presenceinart. its artificial a]ii>licatioii^t<ifabrics

and

fabric mate-

216 TEXTILE ART

INREI-ATIDN TO

FORM AND ORNAMEN1

rials, itssymboliccharacters,

and

itsiiiiportauce tocstlii-fjc)nnii;ress.

My

object in this sectionisto indicatethepartittakisintixtilcde- sign,its

methods

of expression,theprocesses

by which

itadvances in elaboration,

and

the partittakesinallgeometricdecoration.

Itwillbenecessary, inthefirst jilace,to

examine

brieflythenormal tendencies of

mln-

(oinbiiiationwhilestillniidiTtin-dircrtdniuina- tion of const

nut

i\cclalmr.-itinn. In the

way

^nf illusti'atii.ii.letus takefirstaseries oflilanients.sayinthe naturalcoldr oftliematerial,

and

passthrough

them

ⁱⁿthesimplestinterlaced stylea secondseries

having

adistinct color.

A

very simple geometric patternis pro- duced,as

shown

in Fig.315. It isasort ofchecker,

an

emphasized presentation ofthe relievopattern

shown

in Fig. 291,thefigures running horizontally, vertically,

and

diagonally.

Had

thesefila- ments beenaccidentallv associated in construction,theresultsmight

Fig.315.Patternproducedbyinterlaciugstrands of different colors.

have been the same, butit«isunnecessaryto indicate in detail the p(jssibilitiesofadventitiouscolorcombinations. Sofar astheyex- hibitsystematall it isidenticalwith therelievo elaboration.

Assuming

thatthe ideaofdevelopingthese figures intosomething

moie

tl.iboiate and ^tiikingisalready conceived,let usstudy the

]iio(t--Msami^t(ndilau sofgrowth.

A

veryslightdegreeofinge- iiuitNwiUdj.ibli tht A\

orkman

tovary therelation oftheparts, pro- ducing asuccessionf)fresultssuch, perhajis. as indicated in Fig.^.'ili;.

figruresproducedby

PHENOMEXA.

218 FORM AND

OliNAME.Nr.

atthe

same

timeare sovery generally embellishedwith designsin color;besides,theyareprobably

among

the

most

simple

and

primitive textileproducts

known.

Iliavealready

shown

tliatseveralty2:)esof combination

when

closelyimpacted produce verysimilar sui-facecliar- acters

and

encourage the

same

generalstyleof decoi'ation. In nearly all,thecolor features areconfinedtooneseries offillets

—

thoseofthe

woof —

theother,the warp, beingcomijletely liiddenfromview. In theprecedingseriesthe

warp and

Avoofwere almost equally concerned inthe expressionofdesign.

Here

but oneisused,

and

inconsequence thereismiichfreedomof exjiression, astheartistcarriesthecolored filamentsback

and

forthor inserts

new

onesatwill. Still itwill be seenthat indoingthisheis

by no means

free;he

must

follow the straight

and narrow pathway

laid

down by

the

warp and

wof)f.and.do

what

he

may,

hearrives atpurelygeometricresults.

Iwill

now

present theexamples,

which

forthesakeofuniformity are inallcasesofthecoiledware. Ifa basket^is

made

with

no

other ideathan thatofuse thesurfaceisapttobe pretty

uniform

in color, thenaturalcolor ofthe

woof

fillets. Ifdecorationisdesiredacol-

Fio.31!l.Baseof coiledbasketsbun coil iscomposedof untwistedfibeia The wooforbinding filamaiit, asitit,c

Ltliud utbuilding bj dual coiling. The base ori

formedby addingtothe freeendas the coilinggoe

,lbcaughtmtotheuppersurface oftheprecedingtun oredfilletisintroduced,which,forthetime,takestheplace

and

does thedutyofthe ordinarystrand. Fig. 310serves to

show

thecon- struction

and

surfaceappearanceofthebaseofacoil

made

vessel stillquite free

from any

colordecoration.

Now,

if it isdesired to beginadesi.iiu.the

p^^m

am

ippmo

thieadisdropped

and

acolored

^ir^^j^^)

Itil.II.1thwestI

•HARACTER PHEXOMEXA.

21!

filletisinserted

and

thecoiling continues. Carriedoncearoundthe vessel

we have

anencircling line of

dark

colorcorrespondingtothe lowerline..ftheni'ir.-nn.Mits.-ciiinFig. 320. Iftheartist

ismntcnt

withasiii-lrliii..,,r.-..l,,!],,.sets

theendof

thenarktlnvail,111.1takes

up

thelightcol.ii-i'ilciiii"])rcvi. iiisiydropi^edandcontiiuicstliccoiling.

If further elaborationisdesiredit iseasilyaccomplished. In the

example

given the

workman

hastaken

up

thedarkfilletagain

and

carriedita

few

times

around

thenext turnofthe

warp

coil; then

ithasbeendropped

and

theAvhite threadtaken up,

and

again, in turn,anotherdark thread has been introduced

and

coiled fora

few

turns,

and

soon until four encircling

rows

of dark, alternating rectangles

have

been produced. Desiringtointroduce a

meandered

designhe has taken the upperseriesofrectanglesasbases

and

adding colored filaments attheproper time hascarriedobliquelines,oneto theright

and

the othertotheleft,acrossthesixsucceedingI'idgesof the

warp

coil.

The

pairs ofsteppedlinesmeetingabove

were

joined inrectangleslikethose below,

and

thedecoration

was

closed

by

a liorder line atthetop.

The

vessel

was

thencompletedinthelight colored material. Inthis

ornament

all forms are

bounded by two

classesoflines,vertical

and

horizontal(or,

viewed from

above orbe- low, radial

and

encircling),thelines ofthewar]i

and

thewoof. Ob-

'

' bandsofcolorare

made up

of series of rectangles,gi\ing stepped nes. Alth onghth ese^figuresa.i-epnvelvgf ,JWW.

sibltthit

m

thenposituni

andgiouping

tlie\piesei\eatiace otsonu imitatne conception modifiedto thisshape b\ the

foues

oftheait Til \ Vi\( ((lilt I w 11 h w \ei toillustiit ^-1111)1 iii((hiiiu tl

I'lal Iill 11 1 il mil 1\ tl tl nisuspicion t 1il I11( is

111F'l-, I 11: lit I ill •'' pi"*"ol^\\oi\ \ 111 1 1\till In diaii- t 11k

Ink

i{i\(i ( ihl

mil

^It1-^\ \tnintia tl

m h

im

''^-^.ZZI^

lacted, coiledstyle.

The ornament

isarrangedinhorizontalzone mil consists of a series of

diamond

sliaiiedfiguresinwhite withre

220

^TKXTII-E

ART

IX ItET.ATlOX TO

FORM AND ORNAMENT.

centers

and

black framessetside

by

side. Tlie processes ofsiibsti- tution

wheie

changes^f)tcoloi aielequiied aietlie

same

as inthe precedingcaseandtlio foiin>-of figuies ,indthedisposition ofdesigns arethe

same

bcim;^ovtiiicil1)\the

same

foices

Anothei

chouo puce

fiomthe

Pima

IndiansofAii/ona.isgiven in Fig..U2.

Thelmtsot

tlitoiiiamentadheietxclubuel}tothedirec- tionsimposed

by

the

warp and

thewoof, the stripesofblackcolor ascending with the turnsoftheiilletfora shortdistance,thenfora time following thehorizontal ridges,

and

again ascending, thecom- plete resultbeing aseriesof zigzag rayssetveryclosetogether.

These rays take

an

obliqueturntotheleft,

and

thedarkfigures at theangles,

from

thenecessities ofconstruction,

form

rowsat light anglesto these.

A few

supplementary rays are added

toward

the

margin

tofillout the wideningspaces.

Another

striking

example

ofthe dominationof1('clnii(|u<'ov(>rdesignisillustrated in Fig.'32-i.

Fio.:&•).Coiledbasket fromthe Pin

ofArizona

—

J.

Two

stronglymarked,fret-like

meanders

encirclethevessel,the elements of

which

areruledexclusively

by

thewar)»

and

woof,

by

theradiate

and

the concentriclinesof construction. Thisistlie M-ork ofthe

Pima

IndiansofArizona.

I.OLMKS.1

GEOMETRIC CHAKAtTEK OF COLOR PHENOMENA. 221

I shall closetheserieswith a very

handsome example

ofIndian basketry

and

of basketry ornamentation (Fig. 324).

The

conical shapeisliighlypleasing

and

the designisthoroughlysatisfactory and,likealltheothers,isappliedina

way

indicative ofarefinedsense

Fig..324.Coiledbasket with geometric ornament composedof triangular figures. Obtained from theMcCloud RiverIndians,California--J.

ofthe decorative requirementsoftheutensil.

The

designiswliolly geometric, and,although variedinappearance,is

composed

almostex- clusively of

dark

triangularfiguresiipoiialightground.

The

general grouping^isinthree horizontal orencircling

bands

agreeing withor following the foundationcoil. Detailsare

governed by

the horizontal

and

the oblique structurelines.

The

verticalconstructionlines

have no

directpartinthe conformationofthedesign exceptingin so far as theyimpose a stepped character

upon

allobliqueoutlines.

Thesestudiescouldbecarried

through

allthetypesofprimitive textilecombination,butsuch a

work

seems unnecessary,for inall t-ascstill'flaliiirationindesign, relieved

and

colored,isalongsimilar lines,^isi;<ivri-ii(Ml

by

the

same

^classof forces,

and

reachesclosely cor- ivspiuidiiig results.

We have

observedthroughout theseries ofexamples presented a decidedtendency

toward banded

or zonal

arrangement

ofthe orna- mentation.

Now

eachofthese bandsis

made up

ofanviraber of units,

uniform

inshape

and

in size

and

joined or linked togetherin various suitable

and

consistentways. In coiitemiilating

them we

are led toinquireintothenatureoftheforces itnicenied intheac-

complishment

ofsuchresults.

The

questionarisesas tn exactly

how

222 TEXTILK AKT

IN

KELATION

TO

FORM AND OKNAMENT.

miic'lioftliesegregating

and

aggregatingforcesortendenciesbelongs tothetechniqixe oftheart

and how

muclitothedirect estheticsuper- vision of theluiiii,-niji-cnt.quostinnsas to idodi^'raphic influencebeing forthe present<iiiiitttM|. Thisisa(lifliciiltpnilileiu to deal with,

and

I sliallnot attempt

more

herethantnpoint out theapparentteach- ingsoftheexamplesstudied.

The

desiresofthe

mind

constitutetliemotive power,tlieforcethat gives rise toallprogressin art;the ajjpreciatiou ofbeauty

and

the desire toincreaseitarethecauseofallprogressinpurely decorative elaboration. Itappears,however, thatthereisinthe

mind

nopre- conceivedidea of

what

thatelaborationshouldbe.

The mind

isa

growing

thing

and

isledforward alongthe

pathways

laidout

by

environment. Seeking in art gratification of

an

esthetic kindit followsthelead oftechniquealong the channelsopened

by

suchof theuseftilarts as offersuggestionsofembellishment.

The

results reachedvary with the^arts

and

are imijortant in ])t()|Mirti()ntothe facilitiesfurnished

by

thearts.

As

I

have

already

amidy

shown, thetextileart possesses vastadvantages overall othei' artsinthis respect,asitisfirstinthefield,ofwidestapplication, full ofsugges- tionsofembellishment,

and

inexorablyfixedinits

methods

ofexpres- sion.

The mind

initsprimitive,mobile conditionis asclay inthe graspof techniqtie.

A

^closeanalysis of the forces

and

theinfluencesinherent inthe art willbeinstructive.

For

the sakeof simplicityI exclude

from

considerationallbut purelymechanicalornon-ideographicelements.

Itwillbe observed thatorder,uniformity,

symmetry,

are

among

til 3firstlessons ofthetextileart.

From

theverybeginning the

workman

findsitnecessarytodirect hisattention to these consider- ations inthepreparationof hismaterialaswellas inthebuildingof hisiitensils. Ifpartsem^jloyedinconstructionaremultiplethey

must

beuniform,

and

toreachdefiniteresults(presupposingalways ade-

mand

forsuchresults),either in

form

orornament,there

must

be a constantcountingof

numbers and

adjustingtospaces.

The

most fundamentaland constant elements

embodied

intextileart

and

avail- able foftl xpressionofembellislimciit are theminiiti'steps ofthe intersections or liindings;themost necessary

and

constanteondjina- tion oftheseelementsisincontinuouslines or inrowsof isolated figures;the

most

necessary

and

constantdirections for thesecombi- nationsarewiththe

web

and^IIn'woof,oi'withllieireomplenn^idaries, thediagonals. Iflar-e .neasai'ecoveriMlci'i-tainse|)aiatioH oraggre- gationoftheelements intcjlarger units ^is calhMltor.asotherwise absolute sameness

woidd

result.

Such

separation or aggregation conformstothe constructionlinesofthefabric,as

any

otherarrange-

ment would

beunnatural

and

difficultofaccomplishment.

When

theelementsor units

combine

incontinuouszones,bands, orrays theyareplacedside

by

sidein simjsle juxtapositionorareunited

noLME-s]

KKLATIUN OF

(iEOMETRIC

TO GRAPHIC CHARACTERS. 223

invariousways,always following the guidelinesof construction

through

simple

and complex

convolutions.

Whatever

isdoneisat thesuggestionoftechnique;

whatever

is

done

takes a

form and

ar-

rangement imposed by

technique. Kesultsare like in liketechniques

and

areunlikeinunlike techniques;they therefore vary with theart

and

with^itsvariations intime

and

character.

All thoseagenciespertainingto

man

that

might

besupposed im- portantin thisconnection

—

themusclesofthe

hand and

ofthe eye,the cellstructure ofthebrain,togetherwithallpreconceivedideas ofthe beautiful

—

areallbutimpotentinthepresenceoftechnique, and,so far asformsofexpressiongo,submit completelytoitsdictates. Ideas ofthebeautiful in lineargeometricformsareactually

formed by

tech- nique,

and

tasteinselectingasthe

most

beautiful certain

ornaments

producedinartisbut choosing

between

products thatin theirevolu- tion

gave

ititscharacter

and

powers,precisely astheanimalselectsits favoritefoods

from among

theproducts thatthroughoutitshistory constituteitssustenance

and

shapeitsappetites.

Now,

asprimitivejjeoples

advance from

savagerytobarbarism there

comes

a timeinthe historyofallkindsof textileproductsat

which

thenaturaltechnicalprogressofdecorativeelaboi-ationisin- terferedwith

by

forces

from

without theart. This occurs

when

ideas,symbolic or otherwise,

come

^tobeassociatedwith the purely geometricfigures,tendingtoarrestor

modify

theirdevelopment,or, again,itoccurs

when

theartistseekstosubstitutemythologicsulijects forthegeometricunits. This periodcannot be always welldefined, asthefirststepsin thisdirectionaresothoroughly subordinated to thetextile forces.

Between what may

be regarded aspurely technical,geometric

ornament and ornament

recognizably deline- ative,

we

find ineach

group

of

advanced

textile products aseries offormsof

mixed

oruncertainpedigree. These

must

receive slight attention here.

Fig. 335 representsalarge

and

liandsome basket obtained

from

the

X

FiQ.325.Coiledbasketornamented withdevices probalily very higlily eonveiitionalized mj-tholc.gical subjects. ObtainedfromtheApache—J.