HOLMES.I ■ LIFE FORMS IN VASE PAINTING. 183 



therefore reiireseiit the markings of the creatui'e's l)ody, altliough they 

 may originally have been derived from the iigaire of the whole or a 

 part of the animal rather than from the markings of the skin. In 

 other examples still more highly conventional figures are found to 

 hold the same relation to the plastic representation of the extremities 

 of tlie creature. They include the meander, the scroll, the fret, and 

 the guilloche. We find that in the stone metates of many parts of 

 Central America, nearly all of which are carved to imitate the pvima, 

 the head and tail of the creature are connected by bands of similar 

 devices that encircle the margin of the mealing plate (see Fig. !»). 

 The alligator form is therefore not necessarily the originator of all such 

 devices. It is probable that any animal form extensively used by such 

 lovers of decoration as the ancient inhabitants of Central America 

 would be found thus interwoven with decoration. These considera- 

 tions will serve to widen our views upon the origin and development 

 of especial devices. As it now stands we are absolutely certain that 

 no race, no art, no motive or element in nature or in art can claim the 

 exclusive origination of any one of the well known or standard con- 

 ventional devices, and that any race, art, or individual uk it i \-e is cjqiable 

 of giving rise to any and to all such devices. Nothini^- i-.in In- more 

 absurd than to suppose that the signification or symbolism attaching 

 to a given form is uniform the world over, as the ideas associated with 

 each must vary with the channels through which they were developed. 

 Other classes of geometric figures, derived chiefly from scale or skin 

 markings, are given in the fifth series. In more realistic phases of rep- 



31^ ^ITJi 



y<\ /^^ 



Fig. 283. Conventional figiu-es derived from the markings of the bodies of animals. 



resentatiou the dentate and dotted devices are ranged along the body 

 of the creature, as in nature, but as convention progresses they are 

 used independently to fill up spaces, to form the septa of panels, &c. 

 Many illustrations appear in the preceding pages and additional ex- 

 amples are given in Fig. 38.3. It is possible that these devices come 

 fi'om delineations of a number of distinct animal forms ; but in the 

 higher stages of convention confusion cannot be avoided, and must 

 have existed to some extent in the mind of the decorator ; they serve, 

 however, to illustrate the stages of simplification throiigh which all 

 forms extensively used for a long period must pass. The laws of 

 derivation, modification, and ai)plication in art are the same in all. 



