Ornament not in pure where sculpture was introduced, as in the Parthenon, and temple of Theseus, the order had yielded up much of ancient and solid grandeur for more slender and delicate proportions, in harmony with these adventitious appendages. 70. Ornament therefore in the most noble, and specimens. dignified specimens, has no part in Architecture. This noble art, however, is not austere throughout; Architecture will sometimes bend her stately neck to the curve, and deck her apparel with flowers; the difficulty, however, is to do this well. Ornament is, perhaps, more adapted to interior Architecture, than to exterior, and such is the beauty in workmanship, and execution of some specimens of carving, that it would be a loss to art to reject them, however they may interfere with the bolder, and more dignified contour of some exterior specimens of building. Ornament scarcely belongs to 71. As ornament can display but little use, its painciples of composition will more properly be considered this essay in a future essay; it is only at present necessary to consider, what in accordance to the motto of this essay is fitting to be used upon other principles of propriety besides those of utility: here we have an its variety, endless field of variety to search in; and as ornaments generally represent both natural, and imaginary objects, the endless variety of nature and fancy would alone circumscribe our researches: as yet there are numberless beautiful objects, that have never found their way into a design; and as leaves, buds, flowers, tendrils, seeds, fruits, &c. in the vegetable kingdom; griffins, lions, birds, oxen, heads, &c. in the animal kingdom; and vases, lyres, shells, and chimeras, ina nimate objects, besides the representation of historical events, are quite infinite, it would be useless to attempt to classify them. should be 72. All that can be decided upon, as desirable, is, Ornament that we should take care to choose forms, that give agreeable. some agreeable association of ideas: it may be very well for a Hogarth to give us a new order of Architecture composed of periwigs, and three-cornered hats; but this will not do in practice. For the sake Four kindsof some kind of arrangement I shall divide all ornaments into four kinds, the formal, the diffuse, the simple, and the mixed. ornament. 73. By formal ornaments may be understood such Formal as are strictly speaking uniform, and formal in their construction, the most common of which are the serpentine or wavy, as fig. LI., the volute ornament as fig. LII., and the guilloche in a succession of complete or apparent circles, as fig. LIII. and LIV., of all which there are great varieties: besides these there are many others in all styles of Architecture; we may observe a great many in Gothic Architecture by referring to Sir James Hall's essay on that style, plate 32, where a copious selection is presented to us. ornament. 74. By diffuse ornament may be understood such Difuse as is not regularly disposed, such as sprigs, festoons, &c. &c. It would be unnecessary to give examples of these, as they are too numerous and too well known to require it. ornament. 75. By simple I would be understood to mean such Simple as are composed of one thing only, as sprigs, or festoons of leaves without fruit or flowers attached, animals without any accompaniments, &c. Mixed ornament. Taxis in ornament. 76. Mixed ornament will be readily understood to mean such as are the reverse of the last, being composed of any, the most intricate variety. 77. However luxuriant ornament may be, it is still desirable, that it should be governed, as much as possible, by the rules of taxis, and that in those parts, whether ornamental or not, which are unavoidably more conspicuous than the rest, no member should be introduced without full and sufficient reason, nor without making that full and sufficient reason evident by a vigorous display of utility. END OF THE FOURTH ESSAY. |