BOLMES.I GEOMETKUITY OF SUPERfONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS. 229 



what closely by method of execiitimi di- a])]>li(,-ation to the t'altric. as 

 stitched, inserted, drawni, ciit. a]>])li(Ml. and aiipeiided. It will lie seen 

 that, althouii-h thcsr devices an- I., a -iv.-it cxtmt of the iiatmvof 

 needlework, all ,-aiiiH.t 1,,. ,-lassr,l uii.jr,- i l,is h..,,!. 



Before needles eaiiie into use the dee(.rati\e features were inserted 

 and attached in a variety of ways. In open work nothing was needed 

 Init the end of the fillet or part inserted; again, in close work, jier- 

 forations were made as in leather work, and the threads wei'e inserted 

 as are the waxed ends of the shoemaker. 



The importance of this class of decorative devices to primitive 

 peoples will be apparent if we but call to mind the work of our own 

 Indian tribes. What a vast deal of attention is paid to tliose classes 

 of embroideries in which beads, feathers, quills, shells, seeds, teeth, 

 &c. , are employed, and to the multitude of novel applications of tas- 

 sels, fringes, and tinkling pendants. The taste for these things is 

 universal and their relation to the development of esthetic ideas is 

 doubtless very intimate. 



Needlework arose in the earliest stages of art and at first was em- 

 ployed in joining parts, such as leaves, skins, and tissiies, for various 

 iiseful purposes, and afterwards in attaching ornaments. In time 

 the attaching media, as exposed in stitches, loops, knots, and I he like, 

 being of bright colors, were themsehes utili/.ed as einliillisliinent. 

 and margins and apertures were beautified by \-arious Ijindings and 

 borders, and finally patterns were worked in contrasting colors'upon 

 the surfaces of the cloths and other materials of like nature or use. 



No other ai-t so constantly and decidedly sngucsted embellishment 

 and called for the exercise of taste. It waslhe natural habitat for 

 decoration. It was the field in which teclini([ue and taste witc most 

 frequently called upon to work hand in hand. 



With the growth of culture the art w^as expanded ami perfected, 

 its wou(hM'ful eapaeity for exiiression leading;' tmni ni.M-e bin. linns to 

 pretentious Ix.r.lei-s. t.. patterns, to the in1 rodiict ion ot ideooiaplis. to 

 the representation of syndiols and inytlioj.iyic sulijects. an<l tnan 

 the.se to the delineation of nature, the presentation of historical and 

 purely pictorial scenes. 



And now a, few words in i-i'gard to the character of the work and 

 its bearing upon t he i;eoine1 fir system of decoration. As purely con- 

 structive ornanuMitation has already been presented, I-will first take 

 up that class of superconstructive work most nearly related to it. In 

 some varieties of basketry certain bindings of the warp and woof are 

 actually left imperfect, with the idea of completing the construction 

 by subsequent processes, the intersections being gone over stitch by 

 stitch and lashed together, the embroidery threads passing in regular 

 order through the openings of the mesh. This process is extremely 

 convenient to the decorator, as changes from one color to another 

 are made without interfering with construction, and the result is of a 



