"Adapted from historical items dating back to antiquity, such as jewelry, tiles, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, and ceramics, these ornamental designs [from 'Racinet's 'L'Ornement Polychrome'] encompass a wide range of cultural aesthetics including classic Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan motifs, Asian and middle-Eastern patterns, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century." [source]
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
detail from full plate
All the above images are details extracted from the full chromolithographic plates found in the German edition of Racinet's 'L'Ornement Polychrome' ['Das Polychrome Ornament']. Thanks to flickr user esbenr for allowing me to sample his scans.
The complete set of 153 Charles Auguste Racinet plates are available from esbenr's flickr set. He retrieved the volumes from a container destined for landfill!
- The Dover edition of 'L'Ornement Polychrome'.
- 'L'Ornement Polychrome' at NYPL.
- Racinet’s 'Le Costume Historique' - The Complete Costume History.
- The Treasury of Ornament : One - Two - Three.
- Décorations Polychromes.
- Thanks (again) to Will from AJRMS.
7 comments :
Incredible beauty in design - thank you for bringing them to me in your wonderful blog.
I absolutely love your blog, visit in more frequently than a person should :)
I recently visited Iran, those pictures remind me so much of the mosques particularly the first picture with the phoenix. The tomb of Saadi has some really similar tile façades.
I have some photos if you're interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buttonandtiny/sets/72157623414965129/
Thanks PC. That set is great. One day I hope to make it to Isfahan.
Coincidentally, a link to a big set of Islamic architecture pics in Spain just hit my feedreader: Casselman Archive at U Wisconsin (my favourite digitial repository of all, just by the by).
Now that I have found you when will I have time to paint? Wow! I'm impressed!
I kept thinking Grammar of Ornament but no (close, though).
(obviously the fact that there was ID at the top didn't stick with me as I wandered down the page)
Bliss.
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