1880.] 071 Ornament. 449 



tlio adaptation ; thns tbo characteristic little break in the stalk, at A, 

 Fig. 3-i, is preserved in the inlay at A, and so is the fact that the two 

 sides of tlic leaf do not spring from the base of its rib quite opposite 

 each other, but one a little higher than the other. It is the preserva- 

 tion of such little incidents, even in highly conventionalized work, 

 which gives character to an ornament derived from nature. But the 

 attempt, sometimes made in very costly work, to imitate in inlaid 

 stones and other such material the colours and natural irregularity 

 and fragile appearance of flowers and other vegetation, is a mere tour de 

 force, never really successful, only causing surprise that it can be 

 accomj^lishcd in any degree. In such a material as needlework, how- 

 ever, even if symmetrical repetition be adopted, it is best to avoid 

 bi-lateral repetition, because in such a material this can never bo 

 accomplished with entire success, and it leads to an impression that 

 something has been attempted which is only imperfectly done. Such 

 a pattern as that in Fig. 40 may be repeated with good effect, with 

 alternate leaves and flowers of the same grouping ; but there is no 

 bi-lateral symmetry in it, and even the rejietition of the groups will 

 inevitably have a certain variety from the mere variations of the hand 

 in working them. 



The relation of conventionalism to nature may be further illus- 

 trated by another example. Take the nasturtium (Fig. 41), a flower 

 which for some reason has been little used in ornament, though it is 

 a very suggestive one. Part of the character of the blossom consists 

 in the manner in which, when seen in front, each petal overlaps its 

 neighbour on one side and is in turn overlapped on the other side, 

 thus producing a partially spiral effect ; and i)art of the character of 

 the leaf consists in the radiation of the ribs from a point within the 

 surface of the leaf, but not in its centre. In Fig. 42, which we may 

 suppose a design for tiles, these characteristics are ignored, the flower 

 is shown on one tile without the spiral growth, the leaf on the other 

 with the ribs radiating from the centre ; and the feature B (Fig. 41), 

 which gives so much of the character to the side view of the flower, 

 is in this design separated from the flower and introduced as an 

 independent feature in the interstices of the circles.* All this is bad 

 conventionalism, because it ignores the character and construction of 

 the flower. In Fig. 43 these spiral and eccentric characteristics of 

 blossom and leaf are preserved, and the aj^pearance of the leaves 

 collectively in nature, as discs overlapping each other, is suggested. 

 The dark band round the blossom would be necessary to throw out its 

 colour and give it the requisite force for tile design. The side view of 

 the blossom balanced on its stalk is too light and fragile in appearance 

 for tiles, but is introduced in the needlework border (Fig. 44) ; and in 

 this and the last-named sketch the highly characteristic aspect of the 



* This is no exaggeration of the kind of system pursued by some conventional 

 designers, who seem to think the way to use flowers in ornament is to pull them 

 to pieces and re-arrange them on a sort of Chinese puzzle principle. 



Vol. IX. (No. 72.) 2 h 



