108 
THE ORIGIN OF DECORATIVE ART. 
May, 1890 . 
Occasionally, however, a departure from realism, or 
“ portraiture,” is seen, as when, for example, the handle of a 
dagger made of reindeer horn has been carved into a repre¬ 
sentation of some animal. In this case it was often necessary 
to distort the animal’s attitude in order to adapt its form to 
that of the handle ; and this form of representation, though 
fairly accurate so far as is compatible with the strained 
attitude, must be classed as conventionalized for purposes of 
ornament, thus differing from the incised sketches which must 
for the most part be placed in the category of portraits, or 
purely realistic art. Many of the implements exhibit decora¬ 
tion of a purely conventional character of a very simple 
nature, such as chevrons, plain lines, and notches ; but, 
nevertheless, we must regard the characteristic art of the 
“ Cave Period ” as “ realistic.” Realistic art is characteristic 
of nearly all those savage peoples which lead the nomad life, 
and depend chiefly upon the products of the chase for their 
food supply. 
At a later period, during the age known as the “Neolithic,” 
or “New Stone Age,” we lose sight of the bold realistic 
representation so characteristic of the “ Cave Period.” Such 
carvings as may be classed as realistic are for the most part 
both rudely executed and poor in design, and moreover rarely 
found at all. The greater part of the artistic skill of this 
period seems to have been lavished upon the shape and finish 
of the implements of stone, which are often of very beautiful 
form and frequently highly polished all over. 
Although the art of design of the Neolithic period was 
inferior to that of the cave period as regards the realistic 
style, or life studies, still, in conventional or fanciful decora¬ 
tion, a great advance is observed. The art of this age was 
lavished rather in embellishing and beautifying useful objects 
than in, so to speak, sketching from nature. Its “school” 
was a very different, but by no means an inferior one. 
Even the implements of flint, such as daggers, works of art 
in themselves, were sometimes ornamented with zig-zag lines 
laboriously chipped upon their surfaces, showing how complete 
was the mastery over this hard and difficult material. 
We are still very much in the dark as to the implements 
of softer nature of this period (those of wood and liovn), these 
having perished almost entirely, and we can only suppose 
that these were frequently embellished with carving more 
elaborate, no doubt, than that bestowed upon the harder 
materials. 
I need not pursue any further the subject of our know¬ 
ledge, or, perhaps, rather our ignorance, of the art of the 
