PRIMITIVE ART 



37 



A comparison of the decorative designs exhibited in Case 15 

 with the designs on ceremonial objects which will be found in 

 Cases 1 3 and 14, shows a marked difference between the two styles. 

 The execution of the purely ornamental objects is careful, — the 



designs are regular in outline, and the conventionalism in inter- 

 pretation and in form is strong. The decoration on sacrificial 

 objects, on the other hand, is, on the whole, crude ; it is throughout 

 pictographic in character. The crudeness of these designs is 

 partly due to lack of skill in the use of the brush and of the carv- 

 ing-tool, and in the application of bead-work by means of wax, — 

 an art which is undoubtedly a survival of the ancient turquoise 

 mosaics. All carved and painted designs of the Huichol In- 

 dians seem to be crude, and many of the embroidered designs 

 on sacrificial objects are also poorly executed ; but this may be 

 partly due to their temporary 

 character. A few of them, 

 however, are carefully woven ; 

 but their designs are picto- 

 graphic, not geometrical. The 

 interpretation of the conven- 

 tional decorative designs of the Huichol is, on the whole, in line 

 with the ideas expressed on their ceremonial objects. Their con- 

 stant thought is the need of rain for their crops ; and the water- 



t^m 



