Chapter II: Part 2

Expert workmanship in the treatment of the surface may lead not only to evenness but also to the development of patterns. In adzing the form of the object to be smoothed will determine the most advantageous direction of the lines in which the adze has to be carried. In a large Bella Bella canoe, the body of the canoe is adzed in horizontal lines, while prow and stern show vertical lines. The wolf carved on the bow of the same canoe shows surface patterns on its body and limbs (fig. 18). Decorative use of adzed lines, is also found on a rattle (fig. 19). In this specimen there is no technical need for the alternation in the direction of the groves, and the fields on the top of the rattle can the explained only as determined by the pleasure felt by the variation of the simple activity in novel and more complicated ways.[23]

[23] See also page 41.

In chipping of flint zig-zag lines are produced by the meeting of two lines on a ridge (fig. 20).

Technical experience and the acquisition of virtuosity have probably led to the general prevalence of the plane, the straight line and regular curves such as the circle and the spiral, for all of these are of rare occurrence in nature, so rare indeed, that they had hardly ever a chance to impress themselves upon the mind.

Plain surfaces are represented by crystals, by the cleavage of some kinds of rock, or by the surface of water during a calm. Straight lines by the shoots and stems of plants or by the sharp edges of crystals; regular curved lines by the shells of snails, by vines, bubbles on water or by smooth pebbles, but there is no obvious motive that would induce man to imitate these particular abstract forms, except perhaps in those cases in which regularly curved shells are worn as ornaments or employed as utensils.

On the other hand, the straight line develops constantly in technical work. It is a characteristic form of the stretched thong or cord and its importance cannot be ignored by the hunter who hurls a lance or flies an arrow. The technical use of the straight shoot may well have been important in its derivation. Plants like the bamboo or the reed may thus have helped man to discover the value of the straight line.

More essential than this seems to be the possession of a perfect technique, which involves great accuracy and steadiness of movement. These in themselves must lead necessarily to regular lines. When the uncertain wobbling of the cutting tool is eliminated, smooth curves will result. When the potter turns the pot he is making and his movements are quite regular the pot will be circular. Perfectly controlled coiling of basketry or of wire will lead to the formation of equidistant spirals.

A number of other characteristic features may be observed in the art of all times and all peoples. One of these is symmetry. Symmetrical forms are found even in the simplest forms of decorative art. The tribes of Tierra del Fuego[24] decorate their faces and bodies with designs, many of which are symmetrical. Vertical lines on both sides of the body or a series of symmetrically arranged dots running from ear to ear across the nose are of this kind (fig. 21). They also use symmetrically decorated boards with which they adorn their huts (see fig. 7, page 23). The Andaman Islanders like to decorate their bodies with symmetrical patterns (Plate II). Many of the designs of the Australians are symmetrical (fig. 22) and in paleolithic painting geometrical forms occur that exhibit bilateral symmetry (fig. 23). In a few cases the elements arranged symmetrically are so complex that the symmetry can have been attained only by careful planning. Examples of this kind are necklaces of Indians in British Columbia in which we find as many as eighteen beads of different colors irregularly arranged, but repeated in equal order right and left.[25]

[24] W. Koppers, Unter Feuerland-Indianern, p. 48, Pl. 7.

[25] See Gladys A. Reichard, American Anthropologist, N. S., Vol. 24 (1922) p. 191.

Andaman Islander.]

The causes that have led to the widespread use of symmetrical forms are difficult to understand. Symmetrical motions of the arms and hands are physiologically determined. The right and left are apt to move symmetrically and the motions of the same arm or of both arms are often performed rhythmically and symmetrically from right to left and from left to right. I am inclined to consider this condition as one of the fundamental determinants, in importance equal to the view of the symmetry of the human body and of that of animals; not that the designs are made by right and left hand, rather that the sensation of the motions of right and left lead to the feeling of symmetry.

In by far the greatest number of cases symmetrical arrangements are to the right and left of a vertical axis, much more rarely above and below a horizontal one.

The prevalence of horizontal and the rarity of vertical symmetry is presumably due to the absence of vertically symmetrical movements,—except in those rhythmic movements in which the arms are alternately raised and lowered,—and in the rarity of natural forms that are vertically symmetrical.

In nature we see generally more fundamental differences in vertical direction than in horizontal layers. In animals, legs, body and head are on different levels. In landscapes, earth, trees, mountains and sky follow one another in vertical succession. On the other hand, we are liable to find in horizontal sequence sameness or variations of analogous form. This may be one of the reasons why there are found in ornamental art frequent arrangements in a series of horizontal bands that differ fundamentally in pattern, while in each horizontal band we find either symmetry, rhythmic repetition, or variations of similar forms (figs. 24, 25, 26). Exceptions however, occur, for instance in the decorations of Melanesian houses (Plate III).

Other causes may contribute to the development of symmetrical patterns. In the making of coiled pottery or coiled basketry symmetry results from the process of manufacture. By regular turning of the pot or basket a circular form is produced. The process of winding twine around a holder may have the same effect. In two-handed implements, such as the bow of the bowdrill, symmetrical forms also develop, but implements of this type are not by any means numerous and their occurrence is no adequate explanation of the general occurrence of symmetry.

We must leave it undecided whether the circumstances here referred to are adequate to account for the symmetry of form of such implements as lance heads, arrow-heads, baskets and boxes. We must be satisfied with the establishment of their general occurrence and the knowledge that they have an esthetic value wherever they are found. Examples of symmetrical arrangements are very numerous. The boxes from British Columbia (fig. 274, p. 263), neckrests of the Kaffers (fig. 9, p. 23), Melanesian shields and paddles (fig. 10, p. 25), and the painted rawhides of the Sauk and Fox (figs. 13-15, pp. 27, 28) may serve as exemples. A special type of symmetrical design is found in our heraldic style with its animals rampant on each side of a central field. It is interesting to note that the same arrangement is very ancient. It occurs on the Lions’ Gate of Mycenae. It has also developed independently in prehistoric Peru (fig. 27).

Decorated House, Northern New Guinea.]

On objects that are frequently seen from different sides are found forms that are symmetrical both ways, when seen right and left and when seen up and down. Examples of this are the Australian shield fig. 22 (p. 33), and the parfleches of the North American Indians (fig. 89, p. 97). On objects of similar character made by the same technical processes and by the same tribe, such as rawhide bags (fig. 28) double symmetry may also occur.

In circular forms the diameter is often the axis of symmetry. In other cases symmetrical fields are radially arranged and there may be a number of repetitions. The circumference takes the place of the horizontal, the radius that of the vertical (fig. 29).

In a number of cases we find instead of normal symmetry an inversion of the two symmetrical halves so that what is above to the right, is below to the left. Arrangements of this type are, however, less numerous than true symmetry. Such forms occur in New Guinea. They are due to the decorative development of the two branches of a double spiral (fig. 30). This form results sometimes from circular rhythmic repetitions in which the whole circle is filled by two or more units. This is found for instance, in pottery from the southwestern Pueblos (fig. 31) and also quite commonly in Central America.[26]

[26] See, for instance S. K. Lothrop, Pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, New York, 1926, Plates 39, 46, fig. 195.

Other figures resulting from rotation, that is from a decorative pattern applied rhythmically in the same direction, as for instance the swastika and S shaped figures occupying the center of a decorative field, present the same type of inverted symmetry. The same treatment is found in the art of ancient Scandinavia (fig. 32).

A curious development of this decorative device is applied in the art of ancient Peru. On many fabrics we find patterns consisting of a diagonal arrangement of squares or rectangles. In each diagonal the same design is repeated, while the next diagonal has another type. In each diagonal line the design is shown in varying positions. If the one faces the right, the next faces the left. At the same time there is an alternation of colors, so that even when the form is the same, the tints and the color values will not be the same. A characteristic specimen of this type will be described later on (p. 47).

The plan of one of these designs is illustrated in fig. 33.[27] There are eight rectangular fields with two designs (1 and 2); those right and left of the middle line and those above and below the horizontal middle line are symmetrical in regard to form. In color, 1 corresponds to 1^b and 1^a to 1^c; also 2 corresponds in color to 2^b and 2^a to 2^c. The colors being in all these cases, on the whole, reversed. 1, 2, and 1^b, 2^b have a yellowish background and a red field surrounding the tree shaped design; 1^a, 2^a and 1^c, 2^c have a light red background and a greenish field surrounding the tree shaped figure. The whole field, consisting of four sections, is followed in the whole decorated stripe by another set of four sections in form like the preceding one. In this the background of 1 and 2, 1^b and 2^b is blue, of 1^a, 2^a and 1^c, 2^c yellowish. The field surrounding the tree shaped figure is yellowish in 1 and 1^b, greenish in 1^a, and 1^c. Taken as a whole, the right side is practically the same as the left, turned upside down. The order of fields on the left from the top downward and for the right side from below upward, is according to the color of the background, abbreviating, r red, y yellow, b blue:

r r y y / y y b b / r r y y / y y
b b / r r y y / y y b b / r r y y /.

[27] Walter Lehmann, Kunstgeschichte des alten Peru, Berlin 1924, Plates 3 and 4.

A second example is shown in fig. 34. In this specimen the diagonally arranged fields marked 1, _a_, 2, _b_ [28] have the same color scheme.

[28] These remarks refer also to the fields marked as 1′, 1″ etc.

The larger fields in 1 are yellow, the lesser black. The larger fields in 2 are pink, the lesser grey. The background in _b_ is grey, the scroll purple. The background in _a_ is dark grey, the scroll light purple.

Another fundamental element of decorative form is rhythmic repetition. Technical activities in which regularly repeated movements are employed lead to rhythmic repetition in the direction in which the movement proceeds. The rhythm of time appears here translated into space. In flaking, adzing, hammering, in the regular turning and pressing required in the making of coiled pottery, in weaving, regularity of form and rhythmic repetition of the same movement are necessarily connected. These rhythmic movements always produce the same series of forms. Examples of rhythmic surface forms determined by perfect control of a technique are found in many industries and in all parts of the world. Exquisite regularity of flaking is found in the Egyptian flint knives (see fig. 5, p. 21). It is not so frequent in the flaking of American Indians. The adzed boards of the Indians of the North Pacific Coast bear chipping marks of great regularity that give the appearance of a pattern (figs. 6, p. 23 and 18, p. 30). On surfaces that are to be painted these marks are often polished off with grit-stone or shark skin, while on unpainted parts they are kept, presumably on account of their artistic effect. In Oriental metal work the strokes of the hammer are so regular that patterns consisting of flat surfaces originate. Other examples of the artistic effect of the regularity of movement are found in the prehistoric corrugated pottery of the North American South West. The coils are indented by pressure of the fingers and a series of indentations form a regular pattern on the surface (fig. 35). The effect of automatic control is seen nowhere more clearly than in basketry, matting and weaving. It has been pointed out before (p. 20) that evenness of surface results from regularity of movement. The rhythmic repetition of the movement leads also to rhythmic repetition of pattern. This is most beautifully illustrated by the best examples of California basketry.

The virtuoso who varies the monotony of his movements and enjoys his ability to perform a more complex action, produces at the same time a more complex rhythm. This happens particularly in weaving and related industries such as braiding and wrapping with twine. Skipping of strands,—that is twilling (see fig. 17, p. 30) is the source of many rhythmic forms and twilling is undertaken by the virtuoso who plays with his technique and enjoys the overcoming of increased difficulties.

In many cases rhythmic complexity is clearly the result of careful planning. I have referred before to the rhythmical arrangement on fringes of the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, (p. 29).

Another good example (fig. 36) is a double necklace in which the rhythmic series is—

black, red, yellow, green, blue, green,

both in the inner and outer lines while the connecting links have the order

black, red, yellow, green, red, blue.[29]

[29] In this specimen (see American Anthropologist, N. S., Volume 24, 1922, p. 188), the connecting links between the two strings have been misplaced, the inner string of beads being shifted three units to the right, i. e. the central connecting link is attached to the first yellow bead to the left of the red center; the others being shifted correspondingly. They have been corrected here so as to bring out the arrangement which was evidently planned.

Dr. Reichard[30] has discussed a number of other examples from the same region which have similar characteristics. In one example the arrangement of the fringe elements is more complex than in the one previously described. Designating different colors by numbers and dentalia shells by D, we find the order

1 2 3 D 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 D 3 2 1[31]

[30] American Anthropologist l. c., pages 198-199.

[31] Owing to a probable error the arrangement of the beads, the order of the last five beads to the right is

D 2 3 2 1 instead of 2 D 3 2 1.

The change of D and 2 makes the arrangement symmetrical. The same result might be obtained by changing the first five beads from 1 2 3 D 2 to 1 2 3 2 D and leaving the right end undisturbed.

Other examples of complex rhythms from this region have been given by Dr. Reichard in the essay previously referred to.

In some instances the rhythms are not so distinct, but nevertheless discernible. As an example may serve a neckband consisting of a double string in which beads of various colors are interspersed among red beads in the following order

-r- r--r---r --- r----r---r--r-
/ / / / | \ \ \ \
-r--r--r- -r---rrr---r----r---r--r-

In Eastern Siberia similar conditions occur.[32]

[32] See W. Jochelson, The Koryak, Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. VI, pp. 688 et seq.; and in the publication previously referred to by Dr. Reichard.

A fairly simple sequence is shown on an embroidered strip (fig. 37 a) consisting in regular sequence of squares followed by three narrow strips; the middle strip is a little wider than the two lateral strips.

A more complex rhythm is shown in figure 37 b. The long fringe which is caught in the seam near the upper border of the embroidery is repeated at regular intervals. An embroidered strip near the upper part of the design is interrupted and the black bars on the central white strip are omitted at these places. A division of the upper row of embroidery, between the sets of fringes, into three parts of unequal length will be noticed. Just under the breaks in this row are two groups of tufts of seal fur, a little wider below than on top, and these are set off more definitely by the arrangement of groups of white lines on the lower two rows.

Still more complex are a number of borders embroidered in colored yarn. In these we may distinguish between the rhythm of form and of color (fig. 38). The arrangement is one combining symmetry with rhythmic complexity. On one of these strips (fig. 38 a) some of the rectangles with rhombic checkerwork have a white background; in these there are two rows of blue or purple diamonds at each end and two rows of red diamonds in the centre (design 1). Other rectangles have a yellow background with red diamonds at the sides and blue ones in the middle (design 2). Besides these there is one with red background and black diamonds (design 3). The colors of the crosses are irregularly arranged. There are four with predominating red and white (design 4) and others with predominating yellow and blue (design 5). The most symmetrical arrangement of this strip requires a yellow rectangle in the middle of the front. One end of the stripe, as shown in the illustration, has three short blue bars on a red background (design 6). The peculiar cut at this end fits into a corresponding cut at the other end and shows that the stripe as it is has been taken from a garment. The general impression of the design is that the rhythm and symmetry of the crosses is subordinated to the symmetry of the rectangles. For this reason I have placed the crosses in the following arrangement in the upper line, the rectangles in the lower line.

Crosses 4 5 5 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 6
Rectangles 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 3 1
Front Back

The embroidery on figure 38 b consists of four distinct elements; a flower with leaves on each side (design 1); one branch with curved leaves (design 2); one branch with terminal flowers (design 3). Besides these there is one other element which occurs only once on the back of the coat. It is marked design 4. The embroidered stripe is not sewed symmetrically to the coat but has evidently been placed in such a way that the arrangement in the front of the coat corresponds to the sequence:—

2 3 2 1 _3_ 1 2 3 2

while the back is occupied by three designs (3). The small design (4) is found on the back. The whole arrangement of the small designs on the back being

2 2 4 2

Another specimen (fig. 38 c) consists of a double leaf design on a plain background alternating with another design consisting of three crosses. This pair of designs occurs in regular succession five times, but under the left arm it is interrupted by the two patterns shown on the right hand side of the figure.

In still another coat (fig. 38 d) we find the same series of designs in symmetrical arrangement on the front and back. The middle is occupied by a cross and the other designs follow as indicated. Under the right arm appears an additional design, consisting of a central cross and rhomboidal fields with central dots; while under the left arm a single field is added differing in color from all the others but related to them in form.

An interesting feature in this series is the overlapping of form and color. This condition appears even more clearly in designs from ancient Peru. I observed the occurrence of this rhythmical form a number of years ago and called the attention of Mr. Charles Mead to the phenomenon.

He described[33] a number of designs of this type which show a rhythmic arrangement of six units, sometimes the same in form but different in color. Sometimes with a double rhythm, one of form and one of color.

[33] Charles W. Mead, Six-Unit design in Ancient Peruvian Cloth, Boas Anniversary Volume, New York 1906, pp. 193 et seq.

Plate IV, fig. 1 represents a border of vicuna wool, consisting of a series of diagonal bars all of the same pattern. The sequence of color is:

1. Bright red (1) with brown (7) dots.
2. Blue (2) with pink (1*) dots.
3. Dull yellow (3) with brown (7) dots.
4. White (4) with pink (1*) & brown (7) dots.
5. Dark green (5) with red (1) dots.
6. Red (1) with green (2) dots.

The triangular patterns (Plate IV, fig. 2) have the following sequence:

1. Background white figures red spots dark blue.
2. — dark blue — red — dark yellow.
3. — yellow — red — dark blue.
4. — brown — red — yellow.
5. — light blue — red — dark yellow.
6. — dark yellow — red — light blue.

The quadruple bird head pattern (Plate IV, fig. 3) has the following colors for the background, bird, and bird’s eye:

1. Background pink 1 bird: yellow eye: pink.
2. — yellow 2 — red — yellow.
3. — dark yellow 3 — light yellow — yellow.
4. — dark red 1^a — yellow — pink.
5. — yellow 2^a — dark red — yellow.
6. — dark yellow 3^a — light yellow — light yellow.

Peruvian Textiles.]

A large cloak from Ica is embroidered with designs representing a man with a bow and headdress (fig. 39). The figures are the same all over, except that the position and the objects they hold alternate right and left. The color scheme, however, varies: there are six distinctive types. Considering only the colors of coat, legs and face we may arrange them in the following order:

Coat. Legs.
1. Yellow dark blue
2. purple red
3. red dark blue
4. blue dark yellow
5. black dark blue
6. dark blue black

Face, above. Face, below.
1. dark yellow black
2. yellow white
3. brown dark yellow
4. blue red
5. brown dark yellow
6. dark yellow light yellow

The fifth and sixth type correspond in the rest of their color schemes to the third and second types.

The general arrangement of these types is as follows:

1 2 3 4 1 2 3a 4 1 6 5a 4 1
3 4 1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3 4
2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3
4 1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3 4 1
3 4 1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 1 6b 5 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
4 1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3 4 1
2 3 4 1 6 5c 4 1 2b 3c 4 1 2 3
1 2 3 4 1 6 5 4 1 2 3 4 1

In the actual arrangement there are apparently three mistakes. In the first horizontal line, the two figures marked with the note _a_ have been exchanged. In line six and line eight the two figures marked with the note _b_ have been transposed and in line eight the two figures with the note _c_ have been exchanged. It will be seen that when these transpositions have been effected the diagonal lines running from the first row down to the left, follow a regular alternation of types. Type 6 is clearly related to 2, and type 5 to 3. Since in quite a number of woven garments regular diagonal sequences may be observed, it seems likely that these were particular determinants of the style. There are in all, six different types, but if we imagine the lines continued, it would be found that the same order will occur after twelve lines. The embroidery does not represent a regular six-unit design but is rather a four unit design of two distinct types—1 2 3 4 and 1 6 5 4,—in which the former type is repeated twice and the latter once.

Similar observations may be made on the fabrics illustrated in Reiss and Stübel’s “Necropolis of Ancon”. I have selected a few specimens that illustrate the rhythmic repetition of color. Figure 40[34] represents a band with red background on which are animal figures in the following sequence:

_purple_, yellow, _green_, yellow, _white_, yellow, _green_, yellow

in other words a sequence of eight units consisting of one purple and one white design interrupted by the symmetrical color sequence yellow, green, yellow. The yellow designs are surrounded by a heavy black border.

[34] Reiss and Stübel, Necropolis of Ancon, p. 67 b, fig. 3.

In figure 41[35] we have another band which consists of diagonal patterns framed by red lines except in one place where a black frame is found. As on the preceding specimen the black serves to separate the red and yellow. The design is the same all through, and the order of the elements as follows:

[35] Ibid, p. 67, fig. 6.

yellow red yellow brown yellow
black frame black zig-zag red frame red zig-zag red frame

blue-green yellow purple
red zig-zag red frame red zig-zag

In other words the essential sequence is yellow, red, yellow, brown, yellow, blue-green, yellow, purple; a series of eight elements.

In figure 42 we find a border of simple interlocking S shaped designs in the order, white, dark blue, light blue, yellow, brown; a series of five elements which are repeated regularly.

Figure 43 represents a part of a design on a poncho in which, from above downward we have a series of six pairs of a fret design in the following arrangement:

green, red
yellow, blue
white, purple
yellow, brown
light red, black

the sixth line repeats the color sequence of the first.

Figure 44 is a somewhat complicated design which is not completely shown in the section here represented. The principle of the pattern is illustrated in figure 44_b_. The sequence of color of the S shaped head design is purple, yellow, green, on a red background.

In figure 45 we have a decorative band with the color sequence yellow, green, yellow, green, light yellow, white, yellow, green, yellow; obviously a series of six units. The designs on the background of these colors are all in red.

In figure 46 a border is shown which has the color arrangement, from left to right:

pink—black,
red—yellow,
light gray—dark gray,
black—pink,
yellow—red,
dark gray—light gray.

In this specimen there is a systematic inversion of color values; what is light in the first set of three is dark in the second three. This tendency is quite marked in a considerable number of cases. We have for instance, a series of

white, red, yellow;—gray, pink, yellow,

where the white corresponds to the dark gray and the red to the light pink.

The tendency to this repetition of colors is shown very clearly in Mexican codices. For example in the Codex Nuttall, p. 82 (fig. 47), we find in the figure in the left hand lower corner a base in which stepped triangles are used with the sequence: yellow, red, black, yellow, purple, reddish brown. On the same page, the feather fringes on the coats of the figures represented are in the same order. Quite a number of feather dresses may be found in which the same order is preserved, as for instance on page 81 of the same Codex. The order in which these colors are given runs sometimes from left to right; sometimes from right to left, as for instance in the feather dress of the lowest left hand figure, page 81. Sometimes a different set of colors is used. On the feather headdress of a figure, page 75, we find the order:

white, red, yellow, blue, purple, brown,
white, purple, yellow, blue, red, brown (twice),

and the latter order is repeated in figures found on page 67 in the left hand lower corner on a base; in reverse order on page 67 on a feather coat and also on page 62 in stripes on the figures in the lower right hand corner. It seems that in this codex the order of colors is quite definitely fixed.

Remarkable rhythmic repetitions are found also on bead work from the Zambesi. On quite a number of specimens the following order of colors is regularly repeated:

_Black_ white red yellow _green_ yellow red white. Or written in another way: _Green_ yellow red white _black_ white red yellow.

These occur on a belt, a woman’s apron, a necklace, and on two mats[36]. In a number of places blue is substituted for green, and brown for red.

[36] Muller et Snelleman, L’industrie des Caffres dans le sud-est de l’Afrique. Pl. XIX figs. 3, 5, 7. Pl. XXIV figs. 1, 2.

The rhythmic repetition and symmetry appears most clearly when we substitute numbers for colors. I designate

White 1, Red 2, Yellow 3, Brown 3′, Blue 4, Green 4′, Black 5.

According to the description of the belt first mentioned, as given by the authors, there is a regular repetition in the following order:

1 2 3 | _4_ | 3´ 2 1 | _5_ | 1 2 3 | _4´_ | 3 2 1 | _5_ |
1 2 3 |4´|

The same order is found on the handle of an axe which is decorated with colored zig-zag lines[37].

[37] _Ibid._, plate XI, fig. 1.

On a pouch[38] there is a lower field arranged in rows of diamonds, followed by a middle field consisting of zig-zag bands, and an upper field consisting again of diamonds.

[38] _Ibid._, plate XXIV, fig. 3.

In this the order is from below upward

2 1 _5_ 1 2 3 _4_ 3 2 | 4 3 5 1 5 3 5 1 |
diamonds zig-zags
2 3 _4_ 3 2
diamonds.

Like symmetry, rhythmic repetition runs generally on horizontal levels, right and left, although not quite as preponderantly as symmetry.

Piling up of identical or similar forms occurs in nature as often as lateral symmetry. Plants with their vertical succession of leaves, branches of trees, piles of stones, ranges of mountains rising behind one another, may suggest vertical arrangements of similar elements. However, much more common are repetitions in horizontal bands; of simple arrangements of single strokes in rows; and of complicated successions of series of varied figures that recur in regular order (fig. 48, Plate V).

It follows from what has been said before that the forms here discussed are not expressive of specific emotional states and in this sense significant.

This conclusion may be corroborated by a further examination of decorative forms.

Kumiss Goblets of the Yakut.]

We have already indicated that the artistic value of an object is not due to the form alone, but that the method of manufacture gives to the surface an artistic quality, either through its smoothness or through a patterning that results from the technical processes employed. However, the treatment of the surface is not controlled solely by technical processes. We may observe that in the art products of people the world over other elements occur that are due to the attempt to emphasize the form.

The application of marginal patterns is one of the most common methods employed for this purpose. In many cases these are technically determined. When, for instance, a woven basket is finished off, it is necessary to fasten the loose strands and this leads generally to a change of form and surface pattern in the rim. The strands may be turned down, wrapped and sewed together, they may be braided, or woven together and left standing as a fringe. In a bark basket the rim must be strengthened by a band, to prevent splitting of the bark, and the band and the sewing set off the rim from the body. A thin metal disk may have to be strengthened by rolling in the outer rim.

The birchbark basketry of western North America and of Siberia presents an excellent example of a marginal pattern originating through technical necessity and regularity of motor habits. Necessary protection of the rim is obtained by sewing on a hoop. The grain of the bark runs parallel to the rim and if the stitches were all passing through the same grain the whole rim of the basket would tear off. It is therefore necessary to make the holding stitches of different lengths. This is done in the most effective way by beginning with a short stitch which passes through the bark immediately under the strengthening hoop, by making the next stitch a little longer and the following still longer. In this way the distance from the first short stitch has become long enough to permit a repetition of the new short stitch and by continuing in this way a marginal pattern of right triangles develops. The same result may be attained by alternating a few short stitches with a few long ones. From this results a different type of pattern. The same method is used by the Golds of southeastern Siberia (fig. 49[39]).

[39] See for a fuller description the remarks by F. Boas in James Teit “The Shuswap”, Publications of the Jesup North Pacific expedition, Volume II, page 478-487.

In woodwork, pottery and in most kinds of metal work these technical motives are not present. Nevertheless marginal patterns are widely distributed, although they cannot be explained on the basis of technical considerations. It would be quite arbitrary to claim that all these marginal patterns were primarily suggested in those types of technique in which a distinctive treatment of the margin is a necessity, for these are relatively few in number and of highly specialized character, while rim patterns are well nigh universal. It is instructive to observe that in coiled pottery the whole body of the vessel is generally polished off and that sometimes the impressions of the modelling fingers are left on the rim. There is no technical, compelling reason that requires this mode of treatment, but it is intelligible as an attempt to emphasize the form. Examples of this mode of treatment are very numerous. Rows of small pellets, moulded rims or incised lines along the rim of pots (fig. 50), small marginal curves along the rim of bronze disks, lines accompanying the rims of flat dishes and spoons such as are used by the Alaskan Eskimo, incised lines on the rim of a soapstone pot of the Hudson Bay Eskimo, and on their ivory combs (fig. 51), the spur line decoration of all the Eskimo tribes (see fig. 78, p. 86), the jutting out of the rims of dishes from Oceania, or on pots from ancient Europe are of this kind. As F. Adama van Scheltema has justly pointed out, we cannot reduce this world-wide tendency to any other ultimate cause than to a feeling for form, in other words, to an esthetic impulse that prompts man to emphasize the form of the object that he has made.

In a number of cases the form is not so much accentuated as rather set off, closed in and separated from the surrounding space by a formal limitation, a marginal line, thickening of the rim or a sharp crest, by which means the individualization of the object is attained. Quite often these limiting bands develop into decorative fields and serve the double purpose of limitation and of decoration. They may attain an individuality of their own.

When the surface itself is decorated, these lines or ornamental bands serve the additional purpose of limiting and closing the decorative field. Examples of this kind are very numerous. We find them in borders of our rugs, in architectural decoration, when the corners and roof lines of a building are formed by ornamental stone work, in book binding,—in short in practically all forms of modern decorative art, but no less in primitive art. Blankets of the Alaskan Indians (see figs. 269 et seq., pp. 259 et seq.), bronze work of ancient Scandinavia, prehistoric pottery of Europe and of Central America, gable boards of New Zealand houses, belts from New Guinea, baskets from British Guinea (fig. 81, p. 90) and wooden cups from the Congo region illustrate this tendency (fig. 52).

There are, however, many cases in which the decoration is so closely adapted to the form of the object that the stimulus for developing a closing outline is not felt. The decoration of the field appears as a picture fitted into the object. In still other cases the smooth, undecorated marginal field serves as a border setting off the central ornamented area. In basketry with radial decoration, we find often a lack of border designs and a tendency to let the ornament run right up to the rim where it seems cut off.

Another characteristic trait of decorative art must be mentioned. Not only is the general form emphasized and limited, but its natural divisions are determining elements in the application of decorative patterns and bring it about that the decoration is arranged in distinct fields. This is very apparent in pottery in which a neck is set off from a body or in which the body is divided by a sharp angle into an upper and a lower part. Such types are found in prehistoric European art as well as in America (fig. 53).

On pouches of American Indians (fig. 54) body and flap are treated as separate units. In moccasins, the uppers form a field separate from the rim (fig. 55). In clothing, the patterns on collars, pockets or sleeves are often considered as separate units. Wissler has called attention to the influence of the structure of garments upon their decoration[40].

[40] Clark Wissler, Structural Basis to the Decoration of Costumes among the Plains Indians, Anthrop. Papers Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 17, pp. 93 et seq.

The tripartite division of the decorative field of Alaskan woven blankets is determined by the position of the blanket. The wider middle field is on the back of the wearer, the narrower, lateral fields are in front of the body (see figs. 269 et seq., pp. 259 et seq.).

In garments made of single pieces of fabric, or in sewed basketry (fig. 56) we find the seams sometimes decorated so that the seam becomes a decorative element. In other cases seams are accompanied by decorative bands. In leggings and shirts of American Indians the seams are often emphasized by the attachment of fringes.

In other objects prominent places are elaborated by the addition of decorative elements.

In clay pots, the handles are so treated (fig. 57). On shields the central knob becomes an object of decoration. The handles of canes or other knob-like terminations are often elaborated as decorative elements.

Sometimes fields without natural breaks, such as wall surfaces, are treated as units. Examples of this kind are our modern wall papers, or the painted walls of ancient Egyptian buildings. Often the tendency to break up the decorative field is so strong, that even where a natural division is not given it may be broken up into smaller parts. We may notice particularly that the marginal lines which emphasize or limit the form, develop exuberantly and thus encroach more and more upon the body of the object. In baskets from the interior of British Columbia the marginal pattern has grown to such an extent that it occupies the whole upper half or even more of the basket and is itself subdivided into a number of fields that follow the outline of the margin (fig. 58). Similar conditions are found on the margins of blankets of the New Zealanders (see Plate VIII, p. 182) and on the bronze work of ancient Scandinavia.

Thus we reach the conclusion that a number of purely formal elements, some of which are more or less closely connected with technical motives, others with physiological conditions of the body and still others with the general character of sense experience are determinants of ornamental art. From this we conclude that a fundamental, esthetic, formal interest is essential; and also that art, in its simple forms, is not necessarily expressive of purposive action, but is rather based upon our reactions to forms that develop through mastery of technique. The same elements play also an important role in highly developed art forms. If it is true that these elements are in part not purposive, then it must be admitted that our relation to them is not essentially different from those we have towards esthetically valuable phenomena of nature. The formal interest is directly due to the impression derived from the form. It is not expressive in the sense that it conveys a definite meaning or expresses an esthetic emotion.

It might be thought that this condition prevails only in the domain of decorative art, and that representative art, dance, music, and poetry must always be expressive. This is to a great extent true so far as representative art is concerned, for the term itself implies that the art product represents a thought or an idea. It is also necessarily true in poetry, in so far as its materials are words that convey ideas. Nevertheless a formal element may be recognized in these also, a form element quite analogous to the one we found in decorative art. It determines certain aspects of the characteristic style. So far as representative art is ornamental, the formal principles of decorative art enter into the composition and influence the representative form. In dance, music and poetry, rhythm and thematic forms follow stylistic principles that are not necessarily expressive but that have objectively an esthetic value. We shall discuss these questions more fully at another place[41].

[41] See p. 301.

REPRESENTATIVE ART

While the formal elements which we have previously discussed are fundamentally void of definite meaning, conditions are quite different in representative art. The term itself implies that the work does not affect us by its form alone, but also, sometimes even primarily, by its content. The combination of form and content gives to representative art an emotional value entirely apart from the purely formal esthetic effect.

If has been customary to begin the discussion of representative art with a consideration of the simple attempts of primitive people or of children to draw objects that interest them. I believe that the art problem is obscured by this procedure. The mere attempt to represent something, perhaps to communicate an idea graphically, cannot be claimed to be an art; just as little as the spoken word or the gesture by means of which an idea is communicated, or an object,—perhaps a spear, a shield or a box,—in which an idea of usefulness is incorporated, is in itself a work of art. It is likely that an artistic concept may sometimes be present in the mind of the maker or speaker, but is becomes a work of art only when it is technically perfect, or when it shows striving after a formal pattern. Gestures that have rhythmical structure, words that have rhythmic and tonal beauty are works of art; the implement of perfect form lays claim to beauty; and the graphic or sculptural representation has an esthetic, an artistic value, when the technique of representation has been mastered. When a tyro attempts to create a work of art, we may recognize and study the impulse, but the finished product teaches only his vain efforts to master a difficult task. When man is confronted with a new problem like the building of a house of new, unfamiliar material, he is apt to find a solution, but this achievement is not art, it is a work adapted to a practical end. It may be that the solution is intuitive, that is, that it has not been found by an intellectual process, but after having been solved it is subject to a rational explanation.

Just so when man has to represent an object, he is confronted with a problem that demands a solution. The first solution is not an artistic but a practical achievement. We are dealing with a work of art only when the solution is endowed with formal beauty or strives for it. The artistic work begins after the technical problem has been mastered.

When primitive man is given a pencil and paper and asked to draw an object in nature, he has to use tools unfamiliar to him, and a technique that he has never tried. He must break away from his ordinary methods of work and solve a new problem. The result cannot be a work of art,—except perhaps under very unusual circumstances. Just like the child, the would-be artist is confronted with a task for which he lacks technical preparation, and many of the difficulties that beset the child beset him also. Hence the apparent similarity between children’s drawings and those of primitive man. The attempt of both are made in similar situations. A most characteristic case of this kind was told to me by Mr. Birket-Smith. He asked an Eskimo of Iglulik to draw with a pencil on a piece of paper a walrus hunt. The native was unable to accomplish this task and after several attempts he took a walrus tusk and carved the whole scene in ivory, a technique with which he was familiar.

The contrast between representation for the sake of representation and representation as a work of art appears clearly in many cases. I select a few examples. The Indians of the mountains of northwestern Mexico wear beautifully embroidered or woven clothing, the designs of which are largely based on Spanish motives. Heraldic patterns and isolated animal figures combined with geometrical forms are the constituent elements (fig. 59 _a_). Besides these embroidered and woven fabrics, which are of excellent workmanship, we find small embroidered rags (fig. 59 _b_), which are attached to arrows and serve the purpose of representing a prayer to a deity. A roughly outlined figure of a child expresses a prayer for the health of the child; that of a deer, a prayer for success in hunting. The arrows with the attached rags are stuck into the thatched roof of a temple where they are allowed to decay. They are not intended as works of art but only as representations that serve a temporary purpose; hence the disregard of form and of exactness of workmanship.

Shaman’s Dress, Amur River.]

Quite similar observations may be made on the clothing of the Amur tribes. The skin clothing worn by the people, particularly on festive occasions, is beautifully ornamented in appliqué, or by painting. The ornaments are in part geometrical, in part representative. Figures of birds and fish abound (fig. 60). On the other hand the painted dresses of shamans are roughly executed (Plate VI). They represent mythological concepts and have a value solely on account of their meaning. The interest does not center in the form. As compared to wearing apparel they are crudely done, for the beauty of execution is of minor importance.

A third example is found among the North American Indians of the Great Plains. Their representative art, in the strict sense of the term, is almost entirely confined to a crude form of picture writing. They have not developed a high technique of painting and the forms of horses, men, buffaloes and tents are merely reminders of incidents in the life of the people. The figures (fig. 61) are in no way ornamental and bear no relation to the object on which they are depicted. They are made for the purpose of representation only. They are not art in the rigid sense of the term. Judging from the character of the figures and their use we may safely say that the artistic interest is entirely absent. We may even apply this observation to the picture writing of the ancient Mexicans (fig. 62), which, as compared to their sculpture, is of inferior value. The importance of communicating ideas outweighs the artistic interest. We shall see later on that nevertheless there is a definite relation between artistic style and the forms of inartistic painting (see p. 164).

Incidentally it may be remarked here that the difference in interest sometimes leads to contrasting art styles, provided the representative work is also executed in a perfectly controlled technique. Thus the Northwest Americans who have a very characteristic style of art sometimes make carvings that are intended to deceive by their realism. In one of their ceremonies a person is apparently decapitated and after the decapitation the head is shown held by the hair. This head is carved in wood and done with great care in a most realistic fashion. It is entirely free of the stylistic characteristics of Northwest coast carving and painting (see fig. 156, p. 185).

We revert now to a consideration of the simple, crude representative drawings. The most important inference that may be drawn from the study of such representations, graphic as well as plastic, is that the problem of representation is first of all solved by the use of symbolic forms. There is no attempt at accurate delineation. Neither primitive man nor the child believes that the design or the figure he produces is actually an accurate picture of the object to be represented. A round knob on an elongated cylinder may represent head and body; two pairs of thin, straight strips of rounded cross section, arms and legs; or in a drawing a circle over a rectangle may suggest head and body; straight lines, arms and legs; short diverging lines at the ends of arms and legs, hand and feet.

The break between symbolic representation and realism may occur in one of two ways. The artist may endeavor to render the form of the object to be represented in forceful outline and subordinate all consideration of detail under the concept of the mass as a whole. He may even discard all details and cover the form with more or less fanciful decoration without losing the effect of realism of the general outline and of the distribution of surfaces and of masses. On the other hand, he may endeavor to give a realistic representation of details and his work may consist of an assembly of these, with little regard to the form as a whole.

An excellent example of the former method is the Filipino wood carving, fig. 63 _a_. Head and chest show the concentration of the artist upon the delimiting surfaces and an utter disregard of detail. The same method is used in the figure of a harpist belonging to the ancient art of the Cyclades (fig. 63 _b_).

In fig. 64, an African mask, the surfaces of forehead, eyes, cheeks and nose are the determinants of the form which has been treated decoratively with the greatest freedom. There are no ears; the eyes are slits with geometrical ornaments; the mouth a circle enclosing a cross. In fig. 65, representing a painted carving from New Guinea, the outline of the face, emphasized by the hair line, eyes, and mouth, is easily recognized, but all the other parts are treated purely decoratively.

The opposite method is found, for instance, in Egyptian paintings and reliefs in which eyes, nose, hands, and feet are shown with a fair degree of realism, but composed in ways that distort the natural form and which are perspectively impossible (fig. 66). A still better example is the drawing, fig. 67, an attempt of one of the best Haida artists from Northern British Columbia to illustrate the story of an eagle carrying away a woman. The face of the woman is evidently intended as a three-quarter view. Facial painting will be noticed on the left cheek; the left ear only is shown as seen in profile; the mouth with teeth is placed under the nose in mixed full profile and front view, and has been moved to the right side of the face. In the lower lip is a large labret shown _en face_, for only in this view was the artist able to show the labret with its characteristic oval surface. The nose seems to be drawn in profile although the nostrils appear _en face_.