Chapter I: Preface

I would like to take the opportunity which a Preface affords to thank those friends who have helped me in the preparation of this little book. Most of them will find their names mentioned somewhere in the text. It is also my pleasant duty to heartily acknowledge the kindness I have everywhere experienced when collecting the materials on which these studies are based. On many occasions I have entered a museum in Britain or abroad, not knowing any one on the staff. On explaining my object every facility was at once offered, cases were opened, specimens were handed to me, and various conveniences arranged; often, too, help was rendered me at the time, not only by curators and assistants, but also by museum porters and _gendarmes_. It is particularly gratifying for a stranger to be received as a colleague, and to find that museum authorities everywhere recognise that the collections put under their charge serve their end best when they are utilised by students.

A word of apology may be needed for the copious extracts which have been made from the works of other writers. My object in this has been to show that there has been quite a considerable number of investigators who have approached the subject of decorative art from a similar point of view to that elaborated in the present essay. A quotation brings one more face to face with the author than does a mere abstract, and personally I like to feel the comradeship of similar studies. We all contribute our mites, and the only pity is we cannot all be personally known to one another.

It would afford me great pleasure if this book leads to new students entering upon this important and intensely interesting field of inquiry, and I shall always be pleased to correspond with those who are or who desire to be fellow-workers.

ALFRED C. HADDON.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1

THE DECORATIVE ART OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA:
AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE METHOD OF STUDY 11

I. Torres Straits and Daudai 13
II. The Fly River 26
III. The Papuan Gulf 29
IV. The Central District 42
V. The Massim District 47
VI. Relation of the Decorative Art to the Ethnology
of British New Guinea 59
VII. Note on the Scroll Designs of British New
Guinea 67

THE MATERIAL OF WHICH PATTERNS ARE MADE 74

I. The Decorative Transformation and Transference
of Artificial Objects (Skeuomorphs) 75

1. _Transformation of a Solitary Object_ 76
2. _Transference of Fastenings_ 84
3. _Skeuomorphs of Textiles_ 89
4. _Skeuomorphic Pottery_ 97
5. _Stone Skeuomorphs of Wooden Buildings_ 114
6. _Skeuomorphic Inappropriateness_ 116

II. The Decorative Transformation of Natural
Objects 118

1. _Physicomorphs _ 118
2. _Biomorphs; A. Representation of Abstract
Ideas of Life; B. Phyllomorphs: The
Lotus and its Wanderings; C. Zoomorphs;
D. Anthropomorphs; E. Biomorphic
Pottery_ 126
3. _Heteromorphs_ 192

THE REASONS FOR WHICH OBJECTS ARE DECORATED 200

I. Art 200
II. Information 203
III. Wealth 222
IV. Magic and Religion 235

1. _Sympathetic Magic_ 235
2. _Totemism_ 250
3. _Religion_ 267
4. _Religious Symbolism; A. The Meaning
and Distribution of the Fylfot; B. The
Psychology of Symbolism_ 275

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF STUDYING DECORATIVE
ART 306

I. Application of Biological Deductions to Designs 308
II. The Geographical Distribution of Animals and
of Designs 319
III. General Remarks on the Method of Study 331

INDEX 357

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGS.

1. Bamboo tobacco-pipes; one-tenth natural size. Torres
Straits. Drawn by the author from specimens in the British
Museum.

2. Rubbing of the handle of a wooden comb; one-half natural
size. Torres Straits. In the author’s possession.
(Original.)

3. Drawings of animals by the natives of Torres Straits; about
one-quarter natural size. (Original.)

A. Jelly-fish; B. Star-fish; C. Hammer headed shark
(_Zygæna_); D. Group of two sharks (_Charcarodon_) and
a turtle; E. Eagle-ray (_Aëtobatis_); F. Sucker-fish
(_Echineis naucrates_); G. Tree-frog (_Hyla cœrulea_); H.
Two snakes on a tobacco-pipe, between them is the hole
in which the bowl is inserted; I. Crocodile (_Crocodilus
porosus_), with footprints; K. Cassowary (_Casuarius_)
pecking at a seed, and footprints, cf. Fig. 4; L. Dolphin
(_Delphinus_); M. Dugong (_Halicore australis_) spouting,
and indications of waves; N. Native dog (_Canis dingo_); O.
Man with a large mackerel-like fish.

A, B, G, H, L, occur on bamboo tobacco-pipes; C, E, I, K, M,
N, O, on drums; D, F, on pearl shells.

A, B, H, I, L, N, O, British Museum; C, E, K, Cambridge; G.
Oxford; D, F, Berlin.

4. Drum from Daudai; 37½ inches long. Sketched by the author
from a specimen in the Cambridge Museum. (Original.)

5. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a bamboo tobacco-pipe,
probably from the mouth of the Fly River; one-third natural
size, in the Liverpool Museum. In the original the lines
show dark on a light ground.

6. Series of arrows from Torres Straits, collected and
sketched by the author, and presented by him to the
Cambridge Museum; one-third natural size. (Original.)

7. Snake arrow from Torres Straits (cf. Fig. 6). (Original.)

8. Rubbing of one side of the decoration of a drum from the
Fly River, in the museum at Rome; one-fourth natural size.
(Original.)

9. Rubbing of part of the carved border along a canoe from
near Cape Blackwood. Taken by R. Bruce, 1894. One-sixth
natural size.

10-19. Rubbings of carved wooden belts from the Papuan Gulf;
one-fourth natural size—10. Cambridge Museum; 11. Glasgow
Museum; 12. Kerrama, Berlin Museum; 13. British Museum;
14. British Museum; 15. Toaripi (Author’s Collection); 16.
Berlin Museum; 17. Maiva, Berlin Museum; 18. Edinburgh
Museum; 19. Museum of the London Missionary Society.

20. A. Drawing of Tabuta, a Motu girl, by Rev. W. Y. Turner,
M.D. (from _Journ. Anth. Inst._, vii., 1878, Fig. 4,
p. 480). B. Back view of the same. (The hair of this girl
is incorrectly drawn, it should be frizzly and not wavy.)

21. A. Design on a lime gourd from Kerepunu; B. Part of the
decoration of a pipe from Maiva; C. Detail on a pipe from
Kupele, in the Berlin Museum; D-I. Designs on pipes—G. from
Kupele (Berlin); H, I. from Koiari (Berlin). All the Figs.
are to different scales. (Original.)

22. Part of the decoration of a pipe in the Cambridge Museum;
one-sixth natural size. (Original.)

23. Clay pot, with an incised pattern from Wari (Teste Island),
after a sketch by Dr. H. O. Forbes.

24. Rubbing of the half of one side of the handle of a spatula
in the author’s collection; one-third natural size.

25. Rubbings of both sides of a float for a fishing-net;
one-half natural size.

26. Rubbing of upper two-thirds of the decoration of a club in
the Glasgow Museum; one-third natural size.

27-30. Rubbings of part of the decoration of clubs; one-third
natural size. 27, 28, D’Entrecasteaux, Edinburgh Museum;
29, 30, Cambridge Museum.

31. Rubbing of the pattern round the upper margin of a
betel-pestle in the Cambridge Museum; one-third natural
size.

32. Rubbing of part of the carved rim of a wooden bowl from the
D’Entrecasteaux Islands; one-third natural size.

33. Rubbing of the handle of a turtle-shell spatula from the
Louisiades, in the British Museum; one-half natural size.

34. Rubbing of the decoration of one side of a club; one-third
natural size. The block is turned round to show the pattern
more clearly, the zigzag bands in reality run across the
club.

35. Rubbing of the handle of a spatula in the British Museum;
one-third natural size.

36. Rubbings of the three sides of the handle of a spatula from
the d’Entrecasteaux, in the Dublin Museum; one-half natural
size.

37. A. B. Sketches of two stages of the “bird bracket” of two
spatulas, probably from the Woodlarks, in the author’s
collection; C, D, analogous details from canoe carvings—C.
from a photograph; D. from a specimen in the Edinburgh
Museum. (Original.)

38. Rubbing of the decoration of a club in the Dublin Museum;
one-third natural size.

39. Rubbing of the decoration of a club in the Dublin Museum;
one-third natural size.

40. Rubbing of the central longitudinal band of a club from the
d’Entrecasteaux in the Edinburgh Museum; one-third natural
size.

41. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a club from the
d’Entrecasteaux in the Edinburgh Museum; one-third natural
size.

42. Bird and crocodile designs, Massim Archipelago. A. Canoe
carving from Wari (Teste Island), about two-ninths natural
size; B. Handle of a paddle in the Cambridge Museum,
one-half natural size; C. Handle of a spatula in the Leiden
Museum, three-sevenths natural size; D. Handle of a spatula
from Tubutubu (Engineer Group) in the Cambridge Museum,
three-sevenths natural size; E. Handle of a paddle in the
Cambridge Museum, three-sevenths natural size. (Original.)

43. Rubbing of the decoration of a Maori flute in the Natural
History Museum, Belfast; one-half natural size. (Original.)

44. Turtle-shell ornaments worn in Torres Straits. The ratio of
size of the illustrations to the originals is as 4 : 15;
A. Ordinary fish-hook, made of turtle-shell; B-L. Series
of ornaments, probably derived from fish-hooks, made of
turtle-shell. All in the British Museum, from a photograph
by Mr. H. Oldland, of the British Museum.

45. Sketches of two axes from the South-east Peninsula of New
Guinea, in the possession of the author; about one-tenth
natural size. (Original.)

46. Mangaian symbolic adze in the Copenhagen Museum; from Dr.
C. March.

47. An erect drum, _Kaara_, surmounted by the head of a god
from Java, in the Copenhagen Museum; from Dr. C. March.

48. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a Tongan club in the
Norwich Museum; one-third natural size. (Original.)

49. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a Tongan club in the
Norwich Museum; one-half natural size. (Original.)

50. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a Tongan club in the
Norwich Museum; one-half natural size. (Original.)

51. Sketches of tapa belts from Kerepunu, British New Guinea;
about three-quarters natural size. (Original.)

52. Designs derived from _uluri_ (women’s covering); A, B, C,
Bakaïri tribe, Central Brazil; D, Auetö tribe, Central
Brazil. After Von den Steinen; greatly reduced.

53. Iroquois bark vessel; after Cushing.

54. Rectangular or Iroquois type of earthen vessel; after
Cushing.

55. Clay nucleus in base mould, with beginning of spiral
building; a stage in the formation of a Zuñi vessel; after
Cushing.

56, 57. Variations in a motive through the influence of form.
Pueblo pottery; after Holmes.

58. A. Freehand form; B. Form imposed by fabric. Forms of the
same motive expressed in different arts; after Holmes.

59. Design of Fig. 60; after Holmes, from Mason.

60. Ancient Pueblo vase, Province of Tusayan. The height and
width of the vase are fourteen inches; after Holmes, from
Mason.

61. “Unit of the Design” of Fig. 60; after Holmes, from Mason.

62. Modern Moki rain symbol; after Holmes.

63. Decorative detail from an ancient Pueblo medicine-jar;
after Holmes.

64. Rain-cloud tile of the South House in a Tusayan ceremony;
after Fewkes.

65. Zuñi prayer-meal-bowl; after Cushing.

66. Tracing of a landscape etched on a bamboo tobacco-pipe in
Berlin; three-eighths natural size. (Original.)

67. Sketch of Mer (Murray Island) by the author, from the
south-west-by-west, showing the hill Gelam.

68. Pueblo water-jar; after Cushing.

69. Design based on a palmito leaf, Bakaïri tribe, Central
Brazil; after Von den Steinen.

70. Rough sketch of the Egyptian lotus (_Nymphæa lotus_); after
original drawings by Professor Goodyear.

71. Sketch of the Indian lotus (_Nelumbium speciosum_); after
_Description de l’Egypt: Histoire Naturelle_, from Goodyear.

72. Lotus flowers and bud painted on the coffin of a mummy from
the Necropolis of Thebes, Twentieth Dynasty; after Prisse
d’Avennes.

73. Lotus flower with two leaves, on a vase, from the
Necropolis of Memphis, Fourth to Fifth Dynasties; after
Prisse d’Avennes.

74. Lotus border; from Goodyear, after Prisse d’Avennes.

75. Lotus scroll detail on a Melian vase; from Goodyear, after
Conze.

76. Pattern from the ceiling of a tomb, Necropolis of Thebes.
Eighteenth Dynasty; from Coffey, after Prisse d’Avennes.

77. Pattern from the ceiling of a tomb, Necropolis of Thebes,
Eighteenth to Nineteenth Dynasties; from Coffey, after
Prisse d’Avennes.

78. Pattern from the ceiling of tomb No. 33, Abd-el-Kourneh,
Thebes; Seventeenth to Twentieth Dynasties; from Coffey,
after Prisse d’Avennes and Goodyear.

79. Pattern from the ceiling of a tomb from Thebes, Seventeenth
to Twentieth Dynasties; from Coffey, after Prisse d’Avennes.

80. Anthemion and astragal moulding from the Lât at Allahabad;
from Birdwood, after Fergusson.

81. Saracenic Algerian detail; from Goodyear, after Ravoisié.

82. Ionic capital of the eastern portico of the Erechtheium.

83. Early form of Ionic capital from Neandreia; after Clarke.

84. Lotus design from a “geometric” vase from Cyprus; after
Goodyear.

85. Lotus derivative on a vase of the seventh century B.C.,
from Melos; from Goodyear, after Conze.

86. Compound flower based on the lotus, Thebes, Eighteenth to
Twentieth Dynasties; from Goodyear, after Prisse d’Avennes.

87. Lotus pendant from an Egyptian necklace of the Nineteenth
Dynasty; from Goodyear.

88. Anthemion from the Parthenon.

89. Hypothetical derivation of the “egg-and-dart” moulding,
from a lotus pattern according to Goodyear. A. Lotus
anthemion on a vessel from Rhodes, after Salzmann; B, C.
Lotus anthemia on pottery from Naukratis, after Flinders
Petrie; D. Egg-and-dart moulding from the Erechtheium; E.
Degraded egg-and-dart pattern painted on a Grecian vase.

90. Horses etched on an antler from La Madelaine; from Taylor.

91. Conventional alligator from the “lost colour” ware of
Chiriqui; after Holmes.

92. Simplified figure of an alligator from the “alligator” ware
of Chiriqui; after Holmes.

93. Alligator design, Chiriqui; after Holmes.

94. Alligator delineation, greatly modified, Chiriqui; after
Holmes.

95. Highly conventionalised alligator derivative, Chiriqui;
after Holmes.

96. Series of derivatives of the alligator, showing stages of
simplification, Chiriqui; after Holmes.

97. Series of alligator derivatives showing modification
through use in narrow zones, Chiriqui; after Holmes.

98. Scroll derived from the body-line of the alligator,
Chiriqui; after Holmes.

99. Fret derived from the body-line of the alligator, Chiriqui;
after Holmes.

100. Series of alligator derivatives showing modification
through use within a circular area, Chiriqui; after Holmes.

101. Pattern composed of alligator derivatives from a clay drum
painted in the style of the “lost colour group,” Chiriqui;
after Holmes.

102. Patterns of the Karaya, Central Brazil; after Ehrenreich,
A. Lizards; B. Flying bats; C. A rattlesnake; D. A snake,
A. Incised on a grave-post; B, C, D. Plaited on the handles
of combs.

103. Patterns from Central Brazil; after Von den Steinen.
A. Bakaïri paddle; B-E. _Mereschu_ (fish) patterns of
the Auetö; F. Locust design, Bakaïri; G. Fish-shaped
bull-roarer, Nahuquá; H. _Sukuri_ (snake) and ray patterns;
I. _Jiboya_ (snake); K. _Agau_ (snake); H-I. Bakaïri tribe.

104. Patterns derived from bats; after Von den Steinen, A.
Bakaïri; B, C. Auetö.

105. Bird design, Bakaïri, Central Brazil; after Von den Steinen.

106. Rubbing of part of the carved rim of a wooden bowl in
the author’s collection. Probably from the Woodlarks or
Trobriands, British New Guinea. One-third natural size.

107. Gourd; after Holmes.

108. Clay vessel made in imitation of a gourd, from a mound in
South-eastern Missouri; after Holmes.

109. Clay vessels imitated from shells, from the mounds and
graves of the Mississippi Valley; after Holmes.

110, 111. Modified human figures on the shaft of a cross at
Ilam, near Ashbourne; after Browne.

112. Pictograph of a lasso, Dakota Winter Count, 1812-13; after
Mallery.

113. Alaskan notice of a hunt; from Mallery, after Hoffman.

114. Pictograph of starving hunters, Alaska; after Mallery.

115. Lean-Wolf’s Map, Hidatsa; after Mallery.

116. Ivory carving with records, Alaska; after Mallery.

117. Blossom of an Ixora; from Stevens.

118, 119. Magic combs of the Orang Sĕmang; from Stevens.

120. Diagram of the uppermost pattern of Fig. 119, with
rectification of that pattern; from Stevens.

121. Magical pictograph of the Orang-hûtan against the slings of
scorpions and centipedes; size of original, 9¾ inches;
from Stevens.

122. Magical device of the Orang Bĕlendas against a skin
disease; size of original, 19 inches; from Stevens.

123. Rain-charm of the Orang Bĕlendas; size of the original, 10½
inches; from Stevens.

124. Stretching-cleat of a drum from Mangaia, in the Berlin
Museum; from March, after Stolpe: two-thirds natural size.

125. Rubbings from the handles of symbolic adzes from the Hervey
Islands. A. Free Library Museum, Belfast; B, C. Belfast
Natural History Museum; one-third natural size. (Original.)

126. Rubbing of part of the decoration of a Mangaian symbolic
paddle, Norwich Museum; natural size. (Original.)

127. Rubbing of part of the carving of the handle of a symbolic
paddle from the Hervey Islands in the Natural History
Museum, Belfast; one-half natural size. (Original.)

128. Rubbing of “part of the terminal of a paddle-shaped
implement in the Vienna Museum”; from March, after Stolpe;
two-thirds natural size.

129. Hut-shaped ossuary; from I. Taylor, _Origin of the Aryans_.

130. Various forms of Fylfot or Svastika. A. Whorl from
Hissarlik (1987), 7 m., third city, The Burnt City or
Ilios; B. Do. (1861), 3½ m., fifth city; C. Do. (1990),
4 m., fifth city; D. Do. (1873); E. Detail from whorl (1993),
5 m., fourth city; F. Lotus derivative on a large amphora,
with “geometric” decoration, Cyprus; G. Solar goose and
lotus design on a Rhodian vase, from Salzmann, _Nécropole
de Camire_; H. Coin from Selge, Pamphylia; I. Symbols on
Lycian coins; K. Triskelion on a Celtiberian coin; L. On a
silver bowl, Etruria; also on Chinese ware; M. Coin from
Cnossus, Crete; N. Ancient Indian coin; O. On coin from
Ujjan, Central India; P. Foot-print of Buddha (so-called),
Amarávati Tope, India; R. Thibetian symbol; S. Roman altar
at High Rochester, dedicated to Minerva, by Lucius Cæcilius
Optatus; T. Roman altar at High Rochester, dedicated to the
standards of the faithful of the Varduli by Titus Licinius
Valerianus; U. Celto-Roman altar at Birdoswald, dedicated
to Jupiter Optimus Maximus (IOM), apparently by Dacians
garrisoned in Ambloganna; the four-rayed wheels were solar
symbols among the Gauls; W. Ogham stone, Aglish, County
Kerry; X. Ancient Scandinavian symbols; Y. Legend on church
bell, Hathersage, Derbyshire, 1617. A-E, P. H. Schliemann,
_Ilios_; F, G. Goodyear, _Grammar of the Lotus_; H, L, O,
X. R. P. Greg; _Archæologia_, xlviii., 1885; I, K, M, N,
R. Count Goblet d’Alviella, _The Migrations and Symbols_;
S, T, U, W, Y. H. Colley March, _Trans. Lanc. and Cheshire
Ant. Soc._, 1886. For further details the reader is
referred to these authors.

SOURCES OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGS. 9-19, 24-30, 33-36, 38-41, 67 were generously placed at my
disposal by the Council of the Royal Irish Academy.

All the Figures from 1 to 41 (except Figs. 3, 21, 37), and
Figs. 42, 44, 51, 66, 67, 106, are either the originals or
copies of illustrations which have appeared in the author’s
“The Decorative Art of British New Guinea,” _Cunningham
Memoir_, x., _Royal Irish Academy_, 1894.

20, 46, 47, 124, 128 were kindly lent by the Council of the
Anthropological Institute. (Fig. 20 is from the _Journ.
Anth. Inst._, vii., 1878, p. 480, and the others from _loc.
cit._ xxii., 1893, Plate XXIII.)

52, 69, 103-105 are copied by the kind permission of the
author and publisher from _Unter den Naturvölkern
Zentral-Brasiliens_, by Professor Dr. Karl von den Steinen.
Berlin, 1894, Dietrich Reimer.

53-63, 65, 68, 107-109, 112-116 are copied by permission from the
_Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1882-83,
Washington, 1886, and Figs. 91-101 from the _Sixth Annual
Report_, 1884-85 (1888).

59-61 are from Otis T. Mason, _The Origins of Inventions_, 1895;
after Holmes.

64 is from the _Journal of American Ethnol. and Arch._, ii.,
1892, p. 112.

70, 71, 74, 75, 81, 85-87 are copied from Professor Goodyear’s
_The Grammar of the Lotus_. Special permission was kindly
granted by Messrs. Gilbert and Rivington to copy Figs. 87,
130 F, which are original illustrations in the _Grammar_.

72, 73 are traced from Prisse d’Avennes, _Histoire de l’Art
Egyptien d’après les Monuments_, Paris, 1878.

76-79 are from tracings kindly lent by Mr. G. Coffey (_Journ.
Roy. Soc. Ant., Ireland_, Dec. 1894; after Prisse
d’Avennes).

80 is from Sir G. Birdwood’s _Industrial Arts of India_, ii.,
Fig. 20, p. 167.

82 is from Ryley’s _Antiquities of Athens_, 1837; after Stuart.

84 is from _The Architectural Record_, iii., 1894. “The
Lotiform Origin of the Greek Anthemion,” p. 274.

90, 129 are from Canon Isaac Taylor’s _Origin of the Aryans_.

102 is copied by permission from Dr. P. Ehrenreich.

110, 111 are from some plates specially prepared to illustrate
the Disney Lectures of Professor C. R. Browne, Lent Term,
Cambridge, 1889.

117, 120-123 are from the original drawings which illustrated
Professor Grünwedel’s account of H. Vaughan Steven’s
investigations. _Zeitschr. für Ethnol._, xxv., 1893, xxvi.,
1894. These were courteously lent to me by Professor
Grünwedel and the Redactions Commission. Figs. 118, 119 are
from Plate II., vol. xxv.

Count Goblet d’Alviella was good enough to permit me to copy the
table on p. 299, from the English edition of _The Migration
of Symbols_, 1894, A. Constable & Co., Westminster.

All the figures not mentioned above are original.

Plates I.-VIII. were very generously placed at my service by my
friend Dr. H. Colley March; they previously illustrated
“The Meaning of Ornament, or its Archæology and its
Psychology,” _Trans. Lancashire and Cheshire Ant. Soc._,
1889.

EVOLUTION IN ART.