LAUFER, THE DECORATIVE ART OF THE AMUR TRIBES. 23 



parts in the real image and its counterpart are designated by the same letters. 

 The head of the cock a, for instance, is expressed by the spiral a ; the oval 

 b corresponds to the portion b , somewhat more extended, and connected with the 

 body c . The tail-feathers d and e are reproduced below in a scroll d , with 

 a semicircle c attached to it. 



Fig. 5, Plate vu, represents an ornament on the upper part of the leg of a 

 pair of boots from the Orochon on Ussuri River. These boots are made of elk- 

 skin. The decorated section consists of two fields, the upper ornaments being 

 painted on fish-skin in red, blue, yellow, and black ; those below being cut out of 

 fish-skin dyed black, and attached with red, yellow, and blue thread to a piece of 

 cloth, which is sewed to the elk-skin. There are two combatant cocks standing 

 upright in the lower design, and, what is most remarkable, they even have spurs 

 in the form of a brace, which is rarely found on other patterns. On the paint 

 ings the same picture is reproduced, showing the cocks also with spurs and 

 a spiral and some strange figures in the body, the latter of which may perhaps be 

 traced back in part to the design of a spur. 



Fig. 6, Plate vn, is an embroidery-pattern cut out of paper, and is used on 

 the upper of a woman s shoe. It shows the cocks, Type A, in a nearly heraldic 

 attitude, the heads treated merely ornamentally, the wing-feather as a scroll, and 

 the tail as a fish-tail. Fig. 7 is a paper pattern for embroidering gloves, the 

 larger portion on the right being used on the back, and the other for the thumb, 

 the motive being exactly the same as in the foregoing figure with slight modifi 

 cations in form. These show how the same pattern is assimilated to an altered 

 space, additions and omissions being made according to the variation in the space 

 to be filled. In this way on the larger design the forms of the body, tail, and wings 

 have been correspondingly enlarged. On the smaller piece the comb has been 

 omitted on account of lack of space, and the two-lobed wattle of the larger 

 cocks has shrunk into one small knob. In both groups, fishes are attached to 

 the wing-feathers : on the right side of the pattern a little fish is clinging to the 

 outer line of the scroll, whereas in the smaller cocks it lies inside of the scroll, and 

 forms its starting-point. In both figures the cocks lean toward a wave-line, having 

 on the under part curved prongs agreeing in form with the cock s tail-feathers. 

 In Fig. 6, where the same motive occurs, we see a close connection between this 

 part and the cock itself, so that they form a real unit. In Fig. 7, however, the 

 cock itself has a highly developed tail-feather immediately adjoining its body, so 

 that we meet with two tail-feathers, one above the other, on these designs. The 

 question arises, Does the under tail-feather suggest the existence of another, 

 strongly conventionalized cock, or is it merely an ornamental addition ? 



Figs, i and 2 on Plate vm represent embroideries designed for trimming the 

 pocket of a shirt. Here two combatant cocks are grouped around a central ver 

 tical axis. In the one figure, head, eye, body, wing and tail feathers, are clearly 

 to be distinguished. The feet are missing, and on the body of each bird is a con 

 ventionalized fish, the head and tail of which are discernible as separate parts. 



