JAPANESE ART INDUSTRY IN GENERAL. 321 



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and prismatic shapes, seem peculiar to Chinese and Japanese art 

 industry. In the ethnographical collections of Europe they are 

 known only from these sources. The Romans, it is true, had pris- 

 matic glass bottles on a quadrangular, hexagonal, or octagonal 

 base, these angles disappearing rapidly toward the top in a short, 

 wide cylindrical throat (the square prismatic being urns for holding 

 the ashes of the dead), but in the ceramics of antiquity such forms 

 it appears were not imitated. Whatever may resemble them in 

 Indian and Persian art industry is most likely of Chinese origin. 



In the art industry of the Aryan nations — Indians, Persians, 

 Arabs, Greeks and Romans, and in Christendom also — symmetry 

 and proportion seem to be the first principles of ideal beauty. 

 They form the ruling feature of true artistic execution in all these 

 countries. In their patterns style rules, i.e., they show in both 

 decoration and form an ideal stamp that may often diverge widely 

 from the natural object which first suggested it. Especially is this 

 true of decorations which the Aryan artist generally evolves from 

 his own thoughts and mostly without paying any strict heed to 

 nature. The contrast to this in the prevailing decoration of the 

 Japanese and Chinese is very great, especially where the style of 

 the Indians, Persians and Arabs is in question. The motifs of 

 these Eastern Aryans are only exceptionally taken from nature, 

 and even then are conventionalized beyond all recognition. The 

 straight line plays with them only a subordinate part. Curves and 

 flourishes of every sort, combined in every possible way, but still 

 symmetrical and orderly, distinguish their work. Their principal 

 charm is in this harmonious arrangement — the charm of all con- 

 ventional decoration. This peculiar adaptation is not entirely 

 wanting in Japanese art industry, but it falls into the background 

 in comparison with the realistic side. It goes by the name of 

 Kara-kusa, i.e. China weed, among them. 



In the realistic exact copying of natural forms, especially of 

 plants, birds, insects and sea animals, also various quadrupeds, such 

 as monkeys, rabbits, rats, and in the representation of clouds, rocks, 

 and water scenes, the Japanese have great skill and remarkable 

 execution. The drawing answers sharply and definitely to the 

 pattern in expression and action, and fascinates the beholder with 

 its exactness no less than by the ease and delicacy of the perfect 

 execution. This is the principal charm of the productions of 

 Japanese art industry. In all surface decoration, the use of 

 arabesques and other ideal curved ornamentation falls far behind 

 the conventionalizing of straight lines. The Vitruvian curve with 

 the Gammadion and Hook-cross (Chin. Man-tse, Jap. Man-ji) 

 and geometric figures play a conspicuous part. The first of these 

 is never found in the subjects of Indian and Perso- Arabian art 

 industry, and the last named only in exceptional cases. 



No symbolic design was so much used in ancient times as the 

 Hook-cross. It is found on Scandinavian, Celtic and Gallic 

 II. Y 



