Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art. Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-1883 — Edition Insights

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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

FORM AND ORNAMENT IN CERAMIC ART.

Introductory 443 Origin of form 445 By adventition 445 By imitation 445 By invention 450 Modification of form 450 By adventition 450 By intention 452 Origin of ornament 453 From natural objects 454 From artificial objects 455 Functional features 455 Constructional features 456 From accidents attending construction 457 From ideographic and pictorial subjects 457 Modification of ornament 457 Through material 458 Through form 458 Through methods of realization 459

FIG. 464.--Form derived from a gourd 446 465.--Form derived from a conch, shell 447 466.--Form derived from a stone pot 448 467.--Form derived from a wooden tray 448 468.--Form derived from a horn spoon 448 469.--Form derived from a bark vessel 446 470.--Form derived from basketry 449 471.--Form derived from basketry 449 472.--Form derived from a wooden vessel 449 473.--Coincident forms 451 474.--Form produced by accident 451 475.--Scroll derived from the spire of a conch shell 454 476.--Theoretical development of current scroll 455 477.--Ornament derived through modification of handles 455 478.--Scroll derived from coil of clay 456 479.--Ornamental use of fillets of clay 456 480.--Variation through, the influence of form 459 481.--Theoretical development of the current scroll 460 482.--Forms of the same motive expressed in different arts 461 483.--Forms of the same motive expressed in different arts 461 484.--Forms of the same motive expressed in different arts 461 485.--Geometric form of textile ornament 462 486.--Loss of geometric accuracy in painting 462 487.--Design painted upon pottery 463 488.--Theoretical development of fret work 464 489.--Theoretical development of scroll work 465

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF FORM AND ORNAMENT IN CERAMIC ART.

BY WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

For the investigation of art in its early stages and in its widest sense--there is probably no fairer field than that afforded by aboriginal America, ancient and modern.

At the period of discovery, art at a number of places on the American continent seems to have been developing surely and steadily, through the force of the innate genius of the race, and the more advanced nations were already approaching the threshold of civilization; at the same time their methods were characterized by great simplicity, and their art products are, as a consequence, exceptionally homogeneous.

The advent of European civilization checked the current of growth, and new and conflicting elements were introduced necessarily disastrous to the native development.

There is much, however, in the art of living tribes, especially of those least influenced by the whites, capable of throwing light upon the obscure passages of precolumbian art. By supplementing the study of the prehistoric by that of historic art, which is still in many cases in its incipient stages, we may hope to penetrate deeply into the secrets of the past.

The advantages of this field, as compared with Greece, Egypt, and the Orient, will be apparent when we remember that the dawn of art in these countries lies hidden in the shadow of unnumbered ages, while ours stands out in the light of the very present. This is well illustrated by a remark of Birch, who, in dwelling upon the antiquity of the fictile art, says that "the existence of earthen vessels in Egypt was at least coeval with the formation of a written language."[1] Beyond this there is acknowledged chaos. In strong contrast with this, is the fact that all precolumbian American pottery _precedes_ the acquisition of written language, and this contrast is emphasized by the additional fact that it also antedates the use of the wheel, that great perverter of the plastic tendencies of clay.

[Footnote 1: Birch: History of Ancient Pottery, 1873, p. 8.]

The material presented in the following notes is derived chiefly from the native ceramic art of the United States, but the principles involved are applicable to all times and to all art, as they are based upon the laws of nature.

Ceramic art presents two classes of phenomena of importance in the study of the evolution of æsthetic culture. These relate, first, to _form_, and second, to _ornament_.

_Form_, as embodied in clay vessels, embraces, 1st, _useful shapes_, which may or may not be ornamental, and, 2d, _æsthetic shapes_, which are ornamental and may be useful. There are also _grotesque_ and _fanciful shapes_, which may or may not be either useful or ornamental.

No form or class of forms can be said to characterize a particular age or stage of culture. In a general way, of course, the vessels of primitive peoples will be simple in form, while those of more advanced races will be more varied and highly specialized.