The Textile Blog | Sheila's Corner Studio

Persian Postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor and pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

According to Owen Jones in The Grammar of Ornament, Persian ornament is much less pure, and in great want of elegance. His chapter on it is rather short. Throughout, he is comparing Persian designs to those of the Arabs and Moors.

I think he did a great disservice to the designs of the Persian people. Whether that was due to a lack of knowledge, or simply a lack of interest, I am not sure. From the book; The culture of Persia may have seemed very exotic to the Victorian public, but the same could not be said of its political status. The British empire was at its height.

There are six plates included in the chapter. Each flooded with floras. Lavish and curly cue. Bold geometric tiles with abstracted floral motifs. Simple single stem repeats.

This card highlights designs from a Persian manufacturer’s Pattern-Book. Jones helped pioneer modern color theory. I am a little baffled that he could not find more to talk about on these designs. While some of them do remind me of “country cottage” they are flooded with warm, earthy color, and many are quite complex. Maybe it is the over abundance of feminine flowers that didn’t quite appeal to Jones.

The Textile Blog does not have an article on Jones’ Persian chapter. I am including links to some of the others.

Owen Jones and the Renaissance
Owen Jones and the Ornament of Savage Tribes

I have also found Illuminated Books has scans of some of the original pages from the book. Animation Resources has full color scans of the plates in the book, but the site’s authors have made their own comments on the content. They have laid it out on one page, and you can quickly scroll through it.

I am so glad for the new friends I have made in this challenge. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog and to share your opinion. I am glad that so many of you are enjoying these postcards I have created. Now I know that the recipients will enjoy them as well.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Chinese postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor, pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

I can not take credit for how pleasing this is. There is no credit given to the artist in The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones. In fact in his first book, he has almost nothing good to say about Chinese ornamentation at all. Regarding their design abilities he said, “they do not appear to have gone beyond that point which is reached by every people in an early stage of civilization; their art such as it is, is fixed… they are totally unimaginative, and all their works are accordingly wanting in the highest grace of art,”

Huh?

The book was first published in London in 1856 and was huge success. Owen was a product of his time, and his opinion was shared by many. This attitude can be attributed to a lack of knowledge and exposure, as travel to the Far East was still quite hazardous and limited.

Jones later published a volume entirely dedicated to Chinese ornament (1867), The Grammar of Chinese Ornament. I guess there was grace and imagination to be found after all.

I am thrilled to tell you, that much of the book is available for viewing online. I have followed John Hopper’s The Textile Blog for at least a couple of years. But I only just discovered the articles on this subject. You really need to visit this blog if it is new to you. Each article is loaded with information. A look at the Article Index, well let me just say It is a dangerous thing. If you are a creative, you will find yourself pulled in by a force stronger than the lure of Tom Selleck in beach shorts, handing you a box of chocolates!

Owen Jones and Chinese Ornament
Owen Jones Reappraisal of Chinese Decoration
Owen Jones and Egyptian Revival