90 
The Garden Magazine, October, 1923 
the somewhat frivolous flamboyancy of the French ornament 
immediately following. 
Though Syrian merchants had made their way to Paris in the 
8th century, it was not until after the Edict of Nantes that the 
French weavers, with their headquarters at Lyons, 
became in the 17th century masters of their 
craft with a developed taste and distinc¬ 
tive style. Less vivid than the Span¬ 
ish but still brilliant, the fabrics of 
Lrance were patterned with much 
finicking detail. Familiar to us 
all are the little pots of flow¬ 
ers, the garlands, nosegays, 
and scrolls, gay and colorful 
against the satins of Ma¬ 
dame de Pompadour’s day. 
And, by the way, this 
“ pot-of-flowers ” motif is 
one of the most ubiquitous 
and persistent of garden 
themes, being found in 
widely varying types of 
ornament in widely sepa¬ 
rated climes and times. A 
very primitive instance of it 
is seen on fragments of an¬ 
cient Egyptian grave-clothes— 
a solitary central stalk bearing a 
leaf on either side. The 18th century 
Polish scarf (below) shows a sophis¬ 
ticated elaboration of considerable 
loveliness. 
RADUALLY as the small island 
of England became the garden¬ 
ing centre of the world, her crafts re¬ 
flected this increased contact with the 
kingdom of beauty until to-day we 
turn to her for many of our finest 
handblocked linens and decorative 
chintzes with a wide range of fruit and 
flower themes, a generous inheritance 
from Europe and the Orient enriched 
by new motifs of her own—the Colum¬ 
bine, a very susceptible subject in 
deft hands and yet only rarely found 
in earlier Italian and Spanish em¬ 
broideries, the Campion, the Canter¬ 
bury-bell, Turk’s-head Lilies, Tulips, 
Strawberries, even Pansy and Pear— 
things come upon in a morning stroll 
through almost any old-fashioned gar¬ 
den. 
Among modern American textile de¬ 
signers are those like Mr. Harry 
Wearne, President of the Art-in-Trades 
Club, who draw their inspiration chiefly 
from traditional sources of which they 
have a thorough knowledge and pro¬ 
found appreciation. Of necessity, such 
patterns (page 88-89) bear the stamp 
of age-old sophistication, are usually 
elaborate and sometimes very beauti¬ 
ful. There is no question of their 
authenticity of feeling and purpose, 
and as much of our architecture is still 
distinctly continental in character there 
are many homes which such patterns 
suitably embellish. However, we are moving slowly toward a 
definitely national and therefore more genuine expression in all 
the arts and it is, we believe, through such individual sallies 
into the great field of hitherto untouched plant motifs as Anna 
Heyward Taylor’s that the true future of Ameri¬ 
can design lies. Certainly the sparkling ve¬ 
racity of Miss Taylor’s batiks (see pages 87, 
89) carry conviction and by their spon¬ 
taneity and freshness of theme delight 
the lover of plants. 
Fortunately for us all, the crea¬ 
tive instinct keeps bubbling up 
in unexpected places and this 
land, too, given over for the 
most part to “business pur¬ 
suits” hasitsquotaof patient 
devotees delving after an¬ 
other sort of treasure. The 
peasant art of various coun¬ 
tries has had its vogue with 
usand now we are beginning 
to realize that we have a 
“peasant art” of our own. 
Back in the hills of Pennsyl¬ 
vania and of the Carolinas, wom¬ 
en have for generations passed 
on their patterns (see page 88) 
and their simple processes of weav¬ 
ing to receptive daughters; men have 
taught their sons to spin a potter’s 
wheel in the fashion brought out of 
Staffordshire by great grandsires. 
Hooked rugs from New England too 
are slowly trickling into the shops, as 
well as sturdy-bodied vases from the 
South (page 317, July Garden Maga¬ 
zine, “Pottery that Plays a Part,” by 
Mr. and Mrs. Colton) in soft tones of 
silvery gray, deer brown, dull blue, or 
burnt orange; and very welcome they 
are to the owners of summer homes and 
country cottages built with the simple 
distinction of line that pleased our Co¬ 
lonial forebears and best fits our land¬ 
scape. 
Less primitive but equally straight¬ 
forward are the hand-woven products 
of the Davenport Looms at New Hope, 
Pa., and of the Elizabeth Fisk Looms at 
Fisk, Vt. Both Mrs. Fisk and Mrs. 
Davenport interpret old motifs in new 
manner; less subtle than that of the 
Oriental craftsman, less intricate than 
the European, their work has a candid 
flavor very charming and somehow elo¬ 
quently bespeaking the American spirit. 
Nor is their ingenuity devoted solely to 
interpretative renderings for, being en¬ 
thusiastic gardeners, both of these 
women are quick to appreciate and 
seize upon fresh usages proffered by 
the flowers at their own doorsteps. 
Artists of to-day and to-morrow with 
a practically unexploited bounty con¬ 
stantly being added to by hybridizers 
and plantsmen need never “go stale” 
since decoration is, after all, but “na¬ 
ture seen through temperament.” 
TRADITIONAL MOTIFS 
The Carnation and Wild Hyacinth beloved of Near 
Eastern artisans is richly rendered (upper photograph) 
in cherry red, Persian blue, and subdued green against 
gold. Magnificent in coloring and woven double so 
that each side shows a fresh face, this 18th century 
Polish scarf is unexpectedly arresting, and shows an 
ornate treatment of the antique little pot-of-flowers 
theme. (Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art) 
