UID:
kobvindex_INT0000716
Format:
157 pages, 100 plates :
,
richly illustrated (chiefly colour) ;
,
34 cm.
Edition:
Reprint.
ISBN:
9781850070726 (hbk.)
,
1850070725 (hbk.)
Content:
MACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY NOTE: "Through his work at the Great Exhibition, Jones developed a close working relationship with the civil servant Henry Cole (1808-1882) who went on to become the first director of the South Kensington Museum (later to become the V&A.) Through his contact with Cole, Jones was able to present his theories on decoration, ornament and polychromy via a series of lectures at the Society of Arts and at the Government School of Design, whose headmaster was the artist Richard Burchett, and which was administered by the newly formed Department of Practical Art at Marlborough House. Jones also advised on the formation of the teaching collections at Marlborough House (much of it acquired from exhibits at the Great Exhibition) which were collated together as the Museum of Ornamental Art, and which later became the foundation collections for the South Kensington Museum. Both Jones and Cole were concerned that these collections would encourage students to simply copy examples of ornament, rather than be inspired to examine the underlying decorative principles behind the objects. Furthermore, the location of the collections in London made it difficult for students at the provincial Schools of Design to gain access to them. These two factors would undoubtedly have been significant catalysts in motivating Jones to publish what is possibly his longest-lasting legacy: his seminal design sourcebook, The Grammar of Ornament, published in 1856. Through his articles and lectures, Jones had been formulating what he considered to be key principles for the decorative arts, and indeed these principles provided the new educational framework for the Government School of Design at Marlborough House. Jones expanded his propositions to create 37 "general principles in the arrangement of form and colour in architecture and the decorative arts" which became the preface to the 20 chapters of The Grammar of Ornament. The first 19 chapters of the Grammar present key examples of ornament from a number of sources which were diverse both historically and geographically - examining the Middle East in the chapters on Arabian, Turkish, Moresque (Alhambra) and Persian ornament. The final chapter, titled 'Leaves and Flowers from Nature' acknowledges the underlying principle that dictates the design of ornament around the world, which is the form found in nature: "in the best periods of art, all ornament was based upon an observation of the principles which regulate the arrangement of form in nature" and that "true art consists of idealising, and not copying, the forms of nature". Christopher Dresser, Jones's best known protégé, contributed one of the plates in this final chapter, and he was concurrently presenting theories on natural-form ornament in his famous botanical lectures at the Government School of Design in the mid-1850s. This last chapter raises some critics about the inability to produce new ornamental design since repetition is a common factor among nature, and Jones describes this as "going back to nature like the ancients did" but his own response to this issue evolves around the fact that nature has a great variety of line and form, and is based in geometry which gives an enormous amount of freedom to the designer to follow and idealize the form of nature as a basic element while creating something that society has never seen before. Jones gathered together all these samples of ornament as 'best' examples of decoration in an attempt to encourage designers to follow his lead in examining the underlying principles contained within the broad history of ornament and polychromy. The Grammar was influential in design schools in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and is still in print today."
Content:
MACHINE-GENERATED NOTE ABOUT AUTHOR(S)/EDITOR(S): "Owen Jones (15 February 1809 - 19 April 1874) was an English-born Welsh architect. A versatile architect and designer, he was also one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century.[1] He helped pioneer modern colour theory, and his theories on flat patterning and ornament still resonate with contemporary designers today. He rose to prominence with his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra, and the associated publication of his drawings, which pioneered new standards in chromolithography. Jones was a pivotal figure in the formation of the South Kensington Museum (later to become the V&A) through his close association with Henry Cole, the museum's first director, and another key figure in 19th century design reform. Jones was also responsible for the interior decoration and layout of exhibits for the Great Exhibition building of 1851, and for its later incarnation at Sydenham. Jones advised on the foundation collections for the South Kensington museum, and formulated decorative arts principles which became teaching frameworks for the Government School of Design, then at Marlborough House. These design propositions also formed the basis for his seminal publication, The Grammar of Ornament, the global and historical design sourcebook for which Jones is perhaps best known today. Jones believed in the search for a modern style unique to the nineteenth century, radically different from the prevailing aesthetics of Neo-Classicism and the Gothic Revival.[4] He looked towards the Islamic world for much of this inspiration, using his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra to develop theories on flat patterning, geometry and abstraction in ornament. [...] **Decorative design** Jones was able to disseminate his theories on pattern and ornament through his work for several of the key manufacturers of the period, thus facilitating public consumption of his decorative visions in a number of diverse contexts. During the 1840s, having been inspired by the tilework at the Alhambra, Jones became known for his designs for mosaics and tessellated pavements, working for firms such as Maw & Co., Blashfield and Minton. He designed wallpapers for several firms from the 1840s until the 1870s including Townsend and Parker, Trumble & Sons and Jeffrey & Co. Jones was also prolific in the field of textiles - designing silks for Warner, Sillett & Ramm and carpets for Brinton and James Templeton & Co. Jones also immersed himself in a number of decorative schemes for domestic interiors, most notably working in collaboration with the London firm Jackson & Graham to produce furniture and other fittings. **Architectural projects and other commissions** Jones was well known for his work as an architect. Many of his built projects have been demolished or destroyed, including the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. His most important building was St James's Hall between Piccadilly and Regent Street; for almost fifty years it was London's principal concert hall. He was also responsible for two grand shopping emporiums: the Crystal Palace Bazaar and a showroom for Osler's, the glassware manufacturer, both in the West End. These three buildings all opened within a few years of each other, between 1858 and 1860, but had all been demolished by 1926. Their sumptuous polychromed interiors of cast iron, plaster and stained glass were monuments to leisure and consumption. One of the earliest examples of Jones's decoration as applied to architecture (and one of the few examples to exist today, albeit restored) was his work on Christ Church, Streatham, built in 1841 by James Wild (1814-1892), who became Jones's brother-in-law. Jones was responsible for the interior decoration, but would most probably have also contributed to the design of the exterior which exhibits brick polychromy and architectural details with Byzantine and Islamic influences. During the early 1860s, Jones was commissioned to design the South Kensington Museum's Indian Court and Chinese & Japanese Court, collectively known as the Oriental Courts. The V&A also holds design drawings by Jones for a speculative 'Alhambra' Court, which presumably would have housed exhibits of Islamic art - but this scheme was rejected in favour of his designs for the Chinese & Japanese Court. By the early twentieth century, the Oriental Courts were closed, but 1980s conservation work showed that much of Jones's decoration survives beneath the modern paintwork. Also in the 1860s, Jones designed luxurious interiors for wealthy clients, in collaboration with firms such as Jackson & Graham (for furniture) and Jeffrey & Co. (for wallpapers.) For example, for the art collector Alfred Morrison, Jones designed the interiors for his country house at Fonthill (1863) and his London town house at 16 Carlton House Terrace (1867). He designed interiors for the palace of the Viceroy of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, in Cairo (1864), both using Arab and Moorish design principles."
Note:
PREVIOUS EDITIONS NOTE: original edition published 1856 by Day & Son, London ; this edition first published 1986. -- Title page verso.
Language:
English
Keywords:
Handbooks and manuals
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