158 



ON COLOUR. Paet I. 



which could not very successfully be combined without it, 

 either in a pattern or a ground. {See pp. 17, 106.) 



PI. xxiii., " Italian cinque-cento embroidered silks," the 

 green ground is not disagreeable, though the colours upon it 

 might be better chosen, and have a more harmonious effect. 



In PI. xxiv. fig. A, " linen scarf of Morocco or Tunis work," 

 is a very good combination of colour, and a pleasing design ; 

 but the ground is ill suited to it, and poor in colour. 



In PL xxix. " the modern Indian silk carpet " is far from 

 agreeable ; the red is here too dominant, ill according with an 

 undecided green, and the whole has a heavy appearance, 

 destitute of harmony and beauty. 



In PI. xxxi., " an Indian gold tissue scarf," the border is 

 graceful, but rather thin and poor ; in the centre the green 

 and gold, and the red and gold, are rich ; but from the gor- 

 geous effect of these gold tissues their colours do not come 

 under the same category as they would if combined without 

 the gold ground ; and they are therefore no guide for the ordi- 

 nary arrangement of the colours they contain ; nor in any case 

 would the colours of a ground appear the same in relation to 

 the others, if interlaced with them in the proportion they 

 should have in a design. 



The colours too in shawls and various tissues used for 

 dresses are subject to other conditions from those employed for 

 ornamentation, and admit of less decided contrasts ; and how- 

 ever beautiful the manufacture and splendid the appearance 

 of Indian shawls, they will not always serve as models for the 

 arrangement of colour. Nor does the mode of wearing gar- 

 ments in India generally offer that combination of hues, or 

 arrangement of drapery, which constitute good taste in cos- 

 tume ; and the constant occurrence of orange, green, and 

 other grounds little suited for dress, shows a want of judg- 

 ment in their selection. Many are more creditable to the 

 manufacturer than the wearer. 



