460 



FORM AND ORNAMENT IN CERAMIC ART. 



seeing these forms already endowed with symbolism, begin at what I 

 conceive to be the wrong end of the process. They derive the form of 

 symbol directly from the thing symbolized. Thus the current scroll is, 

 with many races, found to be a symbol of water, and its origin is attrib- 

 uted to a literal rendition of the sweep and curl of the waves. It is more 

 probable that the scroll became the symbol of the sea long after its de- 

 velopment through agencies similar to those described above, and that 

 the association resulted from the observation of incidental resemblances. 

 Tbis same figure, in use by the Indians of the interior of the continent, 

 is regarded as symbolic of the whirlwind, and it is probable that any 

 symbol-using people will find in the features and phenomena of their 

 environment, whatever it may be, sufficient resemblance to any of their 

 decorative devices to lead to a symbolic association. 



Fig. 481. — Theoretical development of the current scroll. 



One secret of modification is found in the use of a radical in more than 

 one art, owing to differences in constructional characters. For exam- 

 ple, the tendency of nearly all woven fabrics is to encourage, even to 

 compel, the use of straight lines in tlie decorative designs applied. 

 Thus the attempt to employ curved lines would lead to stepped or 

 broken lines.. The curvilinear scroll coming from some other art would 

 be forced by the constructional character of the fabric into square forms, 

 and the rectilinear meander or fret would result, as shown in Fig. 4S2, 

 a being the plain form, painted, engraved, or iu relief, and b the same 

 idea developed in a woven fabric. Stone or brick- work would lead to 

 like results, Fig. 483; but the modification could as readily move in the 



