Read an Excerpt

Pictorial Encyclopedia of Historic Ornament

100 Plates, Including 75 in Full Color

Dover Publications, Inc.

Sources of Illustrations

PLATE 1. Egyptian: Painting and Ornament

1. Painting from a column of the temple at Denderah. 2, 3. Paintings from mummy cases. 4, 5. From a mummy case in the Louvre, Paris. 6. Painted border from sarcophagus. 7. Border from a mummy case. British Museum, London. 8. Ornament on a wooden sarcophagus. British Museum. 9. Border on a mummy case. British Museum. 10. Portion of a border. British Museum. 11. Painting on a sarcophagus. British Museum.

PLATE 2. Egyptian: Architecture and Painting

1. Pylon (entrance gate). Louvre, Paris. 2. Painted cornice from the great temple at Philae. 3. Capital from the temple at Luxor (representing papyrus). 1200 B.C. 4. Capital from a temple at Thebes (lotus bud). 5. Capital from a portico at Edfu (palm tree). 6. Capital from Thebes, 12 B.C. (lotus bud). 7. Mummy-case painting. 8, 9. Tile designs. Paintings from tomb chambers. Louvre, Paris.

PLATE 3. Assyrian: Painting, Polychrome Sculpture, and Pottery

1. Portion of a glazed brick from a palace at Khorsabad. 2-4. Painted bas-reliefs from Koyunjik. 5. Painted ornament from Nimroud. 6. Glazed brick from Khorsabad. 7-10. Painted ornaments from Nimroud. 11-12. Sacred trees. Painted bas-reliefs from Nimroud. 13. Painted ornament from Nimroud. 14. Enamelled brick from Khorsabad.

PLATE 4. Greek: Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture

1. Doric capital from Paestum (with painted ornament). 2. Ionic capital from the Erechtheum on the Acropolis, Athens. 3. Corinthian capital from the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, Athens. 4. Caryatid figure from the Erechtheum. 5, 6. Acroteria from stelae (sepulchral columns), Paris. 7-9. Anthemion decorations. 10, 11. Griffins. Portions of friezes. 12, 13. Trazephoroe in the National Museum at Naples. 15, 16. Trazephorœ in the British Museum, London.

PLATE 5. Greek: Polychrome Architecture

1. Polychrome cyma (ogee) with lion's head from Selinus. 2. Acroterium form a temple at Athens. 3-6. Painted cornices from the Propylaea, Athens. 7. Ornament from the temple of Theseus, Athens. 8. Ornament from a temple at Selinus. 9. Frieze of the temple of Jupiter, Aegina. 10. Cyma ornament from the Parthenon. 11. Ornament found at Palazzolo. 12, 13. Fret meanders. 14. Decoration of coffers, British Museum, London. 15. Panel of metopes of baked clay, found at Palazzolo. 16. Panel of coffers from the Propylaea.

PLATE 6. Greek: Pottery

1-9. Forms of Greek vases. 1. Amphora, vessel for oil, wine, etc. 2. Cylix, drinking cup. 3. Urn for ashes of the dead. 4. Oenochoe, wine pitcher. 5. Hydria, vessel for carrying water. 6. Deinos, crater, vessel for mixing wine and water. 7. Lecythus, vessel for anointing oil. 8. Cantharus, two-handled drinking cup. 9. Rhyton, drinking vessel. 10. Figure on an amphora in the National Museum at Naples. 11-17. Greek frets. 18. Wave borders. 20, 21. Rosette borders. 22, 23. Ivy buds. 24, 25. Anthemion borders. 26-29, 32. Palmette borders. 30, 31. Olive-leaf borders.

PLATE 7. Roman: Ornamental Architecure and Sculpture

1. Corinthian capital from the Pantheon at Rome. 2. Head of a candelabrum from the Vatican Museum. 3. Composite capital from a temple of Juno at Rome. 4. Fragment of a frieze from the villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, now in the Lateran Museum, Rome. 5, 7. Rosettes from the Vatican Museum. 6. Fragment of a frieze from Rome. 8, 11. Bases of columns from the later Roman period. 9, 10. Members of cornices from the ruins of the imperial palaces on the Palatine.

PLATE 8. Pompeian: Mosaic Floors

1. Mosaic frieze in the house of the Faun at Pompeii. 2, 3. Mosaic floors in the Palatine Museum at Rome. 4, 5. Mosaic floors from the Hunting Villa at Fliessem near Trèves. 6, 7. Mosaic floors from Pompeii. 8-10. Mosaic floor from the Thermae of Caracalla at Rome.

PLATE 9. Pompeian: Wall Paintings and Bas-Reliefs

1. Wall painting, representing a figure of Victory, from Pompeii. 2, 3. Colonnettes, in the Museum at Naples. 4, 5. Borders from Pompeii. 6. Frieze from Pompeii. 7-12. Borders from Herculaneum and Pompeii. 13, 14. Painted dados from Pompeii. 15-20. Painted stucco cornices, Pompeii.

PLATE 10. Pompeian: Bronzes

1. Bronze helmet with embossed figures, in the Museum at Naples. 1a. Accompanying piece of armor. 2, 3. Two lamps (lucerna), in the Museum at Naples. 4, 5. Great candelabra, in the Louvre. 6, 8. Great candelabra, in the Museum at Naples. 7. Side view of top of Fig. 6 (enlarged). 9. Candelabrum head, at Naples. 10. Two-armed small candelabrum with figure of Silenus, at Naples. 11. Bisellium, seat of honor for magistrates, in the Louvre. 12, 13. Tripods from Herculaneum, in the Museum at Naples. 14, 15. Bronze masks (fragments of decorations), at Naples.

PLATE 11. Chinese: Painting

1-5 and 9-13 borders; 6-8 continuous patterns of painted China vases—most in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (The yellow in 4, 6, and 10 is gold on the original objects.)

PLATE 12. Chinese: Painting, Weaving, Embroidery, and Enamel 1. Painted porcelain. 2. Painted border from a china vessel. 3. Painting from a small wooden chest. 4-6. Portions of bed curtains embroidered in silk and gold (15th c). 7-9. Patterns from woven stuffs. 10, 11. Enameled designs from an old copper vase. 12-23. Enameled ornaments on vases, bowls, and censers.

PLATE 13. Japanese: Lacquering

1-50. Designs for lacquer ware.

PLATE 14. Japanese: Weaving, Painting, and Enamel

1-7. Borders and patterns from silk stuffs. 8, 9. Paintings from an old porcelain vase. 10. Painting from an old cup-shaped vase. 11, 12. Borders from two faience vases. 13-19. Ornaments from cloisonné enameled vases.

PLATE 15. Indian: Metalwork

1. Vessel with damascened inlays. 2. Battle axe with etched decorations. 3. Battle axe with damascened work. 4. Shield of rhinoceros skin inlaid and mounted with metal. 5-8. Ornaments from damascened hookahs (water pipes). 9. Repousse decoration of a gilt copper can. 10. Repoussé decoration of a copper can. 11. Decoration from a damascened tin vase. 12. Damascened work on steel of a dagger sheath. 13. Neck decoration of a damascened tin cup. 14. From a copper plate in repoussé work. 15. From a tin plate in repoussé work.

PLATE 16. Indian: Embroidery and Weaving

1. Woven carpet of the 16th c. 2-6. Borders from silk embroideries. 7. Pattern embroidered in silk. 8, 9. Cotton carpets. 10. Mat of plaited rushes. 11, 12. Border patterns of Cashmere shawls.

PLATE 17. Indian: Metalwork, Embroidery, Weaving, and Painting

1. Ancus in chiseled iron. 2, 3. Pendants and button embossed in gold and chiseled. 4. Ancus, enameled and adorned with jewels. 5-9. Decorations from enameled arms. 10. State parasol with rich gold embroidery. 11-13. Embroidered fans. 14. Covering for the foot, woven in gold and embroidered in silk with pearls. 15. Embroidered table cover. 16. Border from a saddle cloth. 17. Embroidery on black stuff. 18. Border from an embroidered velvet carpet. 19-22. Flowers from silk embroidery. 23. Woven shawl (showing Persian influence). 24. Border from woven stuff. 25, 26. Patterns from silk and gold weavings. 27. Lacquer painting. 28. Portion of a book cover in lacquer painting. 29, 30. From illuminated manuscripts.

PLATE 18. Indian: Inlays in Marble

1-9. Marble marquetry from mausoleums of Shah Jehán and Begum Mumtâz-i-Mahall.

PLATE 19. Persian: Architecture

1. Upper part of a minaret from the mosque Mesdjid-i-Chah. 2-5. Bases and capitals of columns. 6. Wall border from the portal building of the mosque Mesdjid-i-Chah. 7. Decorated cavetto from the same. 8. Pierced stone window frame (belonging to Fig. 12). 9. Wall border. 10, 11. Spandrels from the College or Medresseh Maderi-Chah-Sultan-Hussein. 12. Pierced stone window head. 13. Entablature from the Pavilion Tchehel-Soutoun. 14. Stalactite vault from the Pavilion of the Eight Paradise Gates. 15-17. Dome finials. (All the above are from Ispahan.)

PLATE 20. Persian: Pottery

1-5. Ancient Rhodian faience plates in the Musée Cluny at Paris. 6, 7. Borders from walls wainscoted with faience.

PLATE 21. Persian: Weaving and Illumination

1. Persian carpet, 16th c. 2. Weaving patterns from old Persian book of ornaments in Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 3. Illumination from a Koran.

PLATE 22. Persian: Metalwork

1, 2. Helmet with accompanying shield. 3. Damascened border. 4-8. Decorations on metal vessels. (1-8 are from the Royal Landesgewerbemuseum, Stuttgart.) 9-12. Knife and dagger handles.

PLATE 23. Arabian: Ceramic Decoration 16th c. wall lining in mosque of Ibrahim Agha, Cairo.

PLATE 24. Arabian: Weaving, Embroidery, and Painting

1. Woven carpet of the 16th c., preserved in the church at Nivelles. 2. Embroidered appliqué work, 18th c. 3. A portion of the richly painted ceiling of the mosque el Burdêni at Cairo, 17th c.

PLATE 25. Arabian: Wood and Metal Ornaments

1. Enriched door panel. 2, 3. Latticework. 4-15. Metalwork decorating the doors of mosques.

PLATE 26. Arabian: Manuscript Illumination

1. Decoration from an Arabian Koran, 14th c. 2, 3. Decorations from an Arabian Koran, 6th c. 4, 5. Decoration from a Moorish Koran, 18th c. 6, 7. Decorations from an Arabian Koran, 16th c. 8-10. Decorations from an Arabian Koran, 17th c. 11, 12. Decorations from a Moorish Koran, 18th c.

PLATE 27. Arabian-Moorish: Architectural Ornaments

1. Panel from the Alhambra. 2. Stone decoration above a door in Cairo. 3, 4. Base and capital of a column from Cairo. 5, 6. Base and capital of a column from the Alhambra. 7, 8. Stalactites from Cairo. 9, 10. Corbels from Cairo. 11-15. Crested battlements from Cairo.

PLATE 28. Arabian-Moorish: Mosaics and Glazed Tiles

1, 3, 4. Wall lining of glazed tiles from the Alhambra. 2. Wall lining of glazed tile from the mosque of the Shêkhûn at Cairo. 5-7, 9-11. Marble wall lining inlaid with colored stuccoes from Cairo. 8. Marble wall liuing inlaid with colored stuccoes from Damascus.

PLATE 29. Moorish: Architectural Ornaments

1. Column in the Alhambra, Spain. 2-10. Painted stucco moldings and walls, the Alhambra.

PLATE 30. Turkish: Glazed Ceramic Architectural Ornaments

1, 2, 5-7, 9. From the mosque of Yéchil-Djami at Brûsa. 3, 4, 8. From the Yéchil-Turbey tomb of Sultan Mohammed I. 10, 11. From the tomb Mourahdieh. 12. Stone frieze from the mosque of Yéchil-Djami at Brûsa.

PLATE 31. Celtic: Manuscript Illumination

1-5. 7th c. 6, 7. 8th c. 8. 9th c. 9-11. 10th c. 12. 11th c.

PLATE 32. Byzantine: Glass Mosaic, Enamel, and Illumination

1. Glass mosaic from tomb of Galla Placidia at Ravenna. 2. Glass mosaic from the walls of St. Mark's, Venice. 3. Glass mosaic from one of the semidomes of Sta. Sofia, Constantinople. 4. Glass mosaic from the vault of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni in Fonte at Ravenna. 5-9. Cloisonné enamel from cloister church at Comburg near Schwäbisch Hall. 10, 11. Illuminations from Gospels of the 10th and 11th c. in the Imperial Library at St. Petersburg. 12, 13. Ornaments from a 13th-c. manuscript in the public Museum at Moscow.

PLATE 33. Byzantine: Enamel and Mosaic

1. Book cover of gilt bronze decorated with encrusted enamel and stones, 12th c., in the Museo Civico, Venice. 2, 3, 5. Marble mosaics from floors in S. Alessio, Rome. 4. Marble mosaics from floors in S. Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. 6. Marble mosaics from floors in S. Vitale at Ravenna. 7. Glass mosaics from S. Maria in Aracoeli at Rome. 8. Glass mosaics from S. Alessio at Rome. 9, 10. Glass mosaics from the Duomo at Messina. 11-13. Glass mosaics from the Duomo at Monreale. 14-16. Glass mosaics from the facade of the Cathedral of Orvieto. 17, 18. Marble mosaic bands from capitals in St. Mark's at Venice. 19, 20. Marble mosaic bands from the walls of Sta. Sofia, Constantinople.

PLATE 34. Byzantine: Weaving and Embroidery

1. Embroidered purple robe in the cathedral treasury at Bamberg. 2. Figured silk on the tunic of Heinrich II in the National Museum at Munich. 3, 4, 7. Embroidered borders from the imperial alb in the treasury at Vienna. 5, 6. Embroidered borders from an imperial tunic at Vienna. 8. Embroidered borders on the German emperor's mantle in Imperial Treasury at Vienna. 9. Embroidery on the German emperor's mantle, Vienna. 10, 11. Patterns painted on garments from tombstones in church of S. Lorenzo fuori-le-mura at Rome.

PLATE 35. Russian: Manuscript Painting

1. From a Gospel of the 14th c., Imperial Public Library, St. Petersburg. 2, 3, 12, 13. From Psalters in the library of the Trinity Monastery, near Moscow. 4, 5. From Psalters in the Imperial Public Library. 6, 7. From Gospels in the Rumjantzoff Museum, Moscow. 8. Book ornament from Rostov, 15th c. 9, 15. From a prayer book in the Monastery of Miracles, Moscow. 10, 11. Portions of alphabetical characters. 14th c. 14. From a prayer book in the Bjeloserski Monastery. 15th c. 16. From a Gospel in the Monastery of Mary's Glorification near Novgorod. 17. From a Psalter of the 15th c.

PLATE 36. Russian: Architectural Ornaments and Wood Carvings

1. Church cupolas at Jaroslav. 17th-18th c. 2, 3. Gilt wood carvings of the baldachin of the Imperial chair in the Nikolay church. Jaroslav. 17th c. 4. From a baldachin in Museum of the Imperial Academy of Arts. 5, 6. Carved roses, altar, church of St. John, near Rostov, 17th c. 7-10. Window frames of wooden houses in the Vologda district. 11-13. Gable ornaments in the same district. 14, 15. Ornamental boards on sills, etc. 16-19. Roses on the wings of doors, made of small panels from Samara. 20, 21. Portions of such roses.

PLATE 37. Russian: Enamel, Majolica, Paintings, and Japanned Woodwork

1-4. Wall paintings on a spiral staircase in the Cathedral of the Annunciation at Moscow. 15th c. 5-7. Ornaments on vaults in a house of Moscow. 17th c. 8, 9. Majolica pilaster as window frame at the Terem (Palace of the Empresses) in the Kremlin, Moscow. 10-14. Portions of encaustic stoves made in the market town of Ustjug. 17th c., in Museum of the Imperial Society for the Promotion of Art, St. Petersburg. 15. Edge of a gold dish in the treasury of the Kremlin, Moscow. 16-18. Veil from the portrait of a saint of the 17th c. Enamel on silver. From Museum of the Imperial Society for the Promotion of Art, St. Petersburg. 19-21. Japanned wooden spoons and top of a footstool-articles made by peasants in the district of Novgorod.

---

Excerpted from Pictorial Encyclopedia of Historic Ornament by H. DOLMETSCH. Copyright © 2003 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---