HOLME.;.] LIFE FORMS I\ VASK PALXTIXG. 171 



peculiar s(|uii'ivl-lil<c cliai'a.cter sliown in the figurines ali-cady i;'i\fn. 

 The uiii(|ih' liii^cc >;i\fii in Kin'. ■.'•M; i-epresents a short, cIiimi^n Icinale 

 figure witli a si;uii'i'<'l fai'f, carrv iiig a vessel upon her back li}' uiuaus 

 of a head strap, which is held in place by the hands. The mouth- 

 piece of the whistle is in the right elbow and one sound hole is in 

 the middle of the breast and the other in the left side. The eostunii' 

 and some of the details of anatomy are indicated by red and blaek 

 lines in the original. Its notes are the same as those presented Avitli 

 Fig. -,'49. 



LIFE FORMS IN VASE PAINTING. 



This section is t<j be devoted to a short study of the decorative sys- 

 tem of the ancient Chiriquians, and more especially to a considera- 

 tion of the treatment of life forms in vase painting. Many of the 

 finest examples of these designs, so far as execution and effect in em- 

 liellishment are conccnit'd. have already been given ; but it is desir- 

 able now t(i select and aiaange a series to illustrate origins and pro- 

 cesses of growth nr lundilication. 



Elements of ornament flow into the ceramic art from a number of 

 sources, but chiefly in two great currents : the one from art, and con- 

 sisting chiefly of technical or mechanically produced phenomena, and 

 hence geometric, and the other from nature, and carrying elements 

 primarily delineative, and hence non-geometric. When once within 

 the realm of decoration the various motives or elements are subject 

 to modification by two classes of influences or conditioning forces : 

 the technical restraints of the art and the esthetic forces of the hu- 

 man mind. Mechanical and geometric elements, although born 

 within the art or its associated arts, are modified in the processes of 

 adaptation to the changing requirements and conditions of the art 

 and through the tendency towards elaboration under the guidance 

 of the esthetic forces ; left by themselves they remain, throughout 

 all changes of use and modification of form, purely geometric. Imi- 

 tative elements tend, under the same influences, to move in the di- 

 rection of the unreal or geometric. In this way the realistic forms 

 undergo marked changes, gradually assuming a geometric character 

 and finally losing all semblance of natiire. 



Now it must be noted that the decorations of any group of art 

 products may embody both classes of elements or they may be re- 

 stricted rather closely to either. This fact enables us to account for 

 many of the strongly marked distinctions observed in the decorative 

 systems of different communities, races, and times. In a recent study 

 of ancient Pueblo art I traced the decoration to a mechanical origin, 

 mainly in the art of basketry, and thus accounted for its highly geo- 

 metric character. Chiriquian art presents a strong contrast to this, 

 as the great body of elements are manifestly derived from nature by 

 delineative imitation. It was further observed in Pueblo art that as 



