Treasury of Historic Folk Ornament in Full Color

Helmuth Theodor Bossert

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780486290942
• eBook ISBN: 9780486155661
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Historic ornament and design is an area of perennial interest in artists and illustrators seeking inspiration from the past or actual art that can be used without a permission fee. The present volume offers just such a rich collection of attractive, usable folk motifs spanning a broad range of periods and cultures, from ancient Egypt to early-twentieth-century Japan.
Over 700 full-color designs, reprinted from a rare portfolio, include examples of decorative artwork derived from textiles, pottery, clothing, tapestries, and other original sources. Magnificently displayed are delicate florals and foliated designs, intriguing geometrics and graceful spirals, skillfully executed images of animals, and a host of other unusual design elements. Accompanying captions include dates and identify cultures from where the ornamental art was taken.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Folk art is the art of the people, as opposed to the highly sophisticated art of a ruling elite or intelligentsia. Long ignored by scholars, its diverse beauties began to gain a wide appreciation in the nineteenth century, in part because of the spread of nationalistic movements throughout Europe.

Later, attention was directed toward non-European societies, including those of Africa and Oceania, although a distinction is frequently drawn between folk art and the art of preliterate societies.

There are some characteristics that help to define the nature of folk art. It is generally applied to utilitarian articles—furniture, tools, clothing. Motifs tend to incorporate floral and animal themes. Materials used are those available locally that are most workable. Tradition plays a major role; the artist is not an innovator. Special attention is devoted to items used for ceremonies or festivals, religious art forming a distinct category.

The plates reproduced in this work originally appeared in Das Ornamentwerk: eine Sammlung angewandter farbiger Ornamente und Dekorationen, by Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889-1961), published in Berlin...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• PUBLISHER’S NOTE