82 FLORA OF THE 



every composition should have some deep meaning. 

 As the comical artist was ever introducing motives 

 that tickled his fancy, without any further meaning, so 

 the serious artist must have frequently used motives — 

 whether figures or trees, or flowers — drawn from all 

 sources, for the purpose of composing a decorative 

 group, often being quite innocent of giving them any 

 particularly deep philosophical meaning. 



We see Oriental artists of the present day doing 

 exactly the same thing. The goldsmiths of Trichi- 

 nopoly, in making bracelets, necklaces, etc., use their 

 gods simply as motives of ornamentation, without there 

 being the slightest intention of any deeper meaning. 

 In Benares, the brass-workers do the same thing. On 

 the bronze dishes of Assyria we find similar ornaments, 

 taken from Assyrian Mythology, and used in exactly 

 the same way as those of Benares. 



Dr. Tylor supposes the rosette of the group in 

 question to be the crown of a date tree seen from 

 above ; Mr. Goodyear would see in it the stigma of 

 a lotus. It is, however, not like the crown of date 

 leaves ; it is not like the stigma of a lotus, but it is 

 very much like a daisy, and therefore it would seem 

 justifiable to look upon that composition as nothing 

 but an ornamental group, without any particular 

 meaning whatever. 



We do not seem to realize that the decorative artist, 



