A Study of the Textile Art in its Relation to the Development of Form and Ornament | Page 3

with them.
In addition to these features of form we observe others of a more
decidedly superfunctional character, added manifestly for the purpose
of enhancing the appearance.
In very primitive times when a utensil is produced functional ideas
predominate, and there is, perhaps, so far as its artificial characters are
concerned, a minimum of comeliness. But as the ages pass by essential
features are refined and elements of beauty are added and emphasized.
In riper culture the growing pressure of esthetic desire leads to the
addition of many superficial modifications whose chief office is to

please the fancy. In periods of deadened sensibility or even through the
incompetence of individual artists in any period, such features may be
ill chosen and erroneously applied, interfering with construction and
use, and thus violating well founded and generally accepted canons of
taste. In respect to primitive works we may distinguish four steps in the
acquisition of esthetic features of form, three of which are normal, the
fourth abnormal: First, we have that in which functional characters
alone are considered, any element of beauty, whether due to the artist's
hand or to the accidents of material, construction, or model, being
purely adventitious; second, that in which the necessary features of the
utensil appear to have experienced the supervision of taste, edges being
rounded, curves refined, and symmetry perfected; third, that in which
the functionally perfect object, just described, undergoes further
variations of contour, adding to variety, unity, &c., thus enhancing
beauty without interfering with serviceability; and, fourth, that in which,
under abnormal influences, beauty is sought at the sacrifice of
functional and constructive perfection.
[Illustration: FIG. 286. Mat or tray exhibiting a minimum of esthetic
attributes of form. Moki work--1/8.]
The exact relations of the various classes of forces and phenomena
pertaining to this theme may be more fully elucidated by the aid of
illustrations. Woven mats, in early use by many tribes of men and
originating in the attempt to combine leaves, vines, and branches for
purposes of comfort, are flat because of function, the degree of flatness
depending upon the size of filaments and mode of combination; and in
outline they are irregular, square, round, or oval, as a result of many
causes and influences, embracing use, construction, material, models,
&c. A close approach to symmetry, where not imposed by some of the
above mentioned agencies, is probably due to esthetic tendencies on the
part of the artist. The esthetic interest attaching to such a shape cannot
be great, unless perhaps it be regarded, as all individuals and classes
may be regarded, in its possible relations to preceding, associated, and
succeeding forms of art. The varied features observed upon the surface,
the colors and patterns (Fig. 286), pertain to design rather than to form
and will receive attention in the proper place.

[Illustration: FIG. 287. Tray having decided esthetic attributes of form.
Obtained from the Apache--1/2.]
In point of contour the basket tray shown in Fig. 287 has a somewhat
more decided claim upon esthetic attention than the preceding, as the
curves exhibited mark a step of progress in complexity and grace. How
much of this is due to intention and how much to technical perfection
must remain in doubt. In work so perfect we are wont, however
unwarrantably, to recognize the influence of taste.
[Illustration: FIG. 288. Pyriform water vessel used by the Piute
Indians--1/8.]
A third example--presented in Fig. 288--illustrates an advanced stage in
the art of basketry and exhibits a highly specialized shape. The forces
and influences concerned in its evolution may be analyzed as follows:
A primal origin in function and a final adaptation to a special function,
the carrying and storing of water; a contour full to give capacity,
narrow above for safety, and pointed below that it may be set in sand;
curves kept within certain bounds by the limitations of construction;
and a goodly share of variety, symmetry, and grace, the result to a
certain undetermined extent of the esthetic tendencies of the artist's
mind. In regard to the last point there is generally in forms so simple an
element of uncertainty; but many examples may be found in which
there is positive evidence of the existence of a strong desire on the part
of the primitive basketmaker to enhance beauty of form. It will be
observed that the textile materials and construction do not lend
themselves freely to minuteness in detail or to complexity of outline,
especially in those small ways in which beauty is most readily
expressed.
Modifications of a decidedly esthetic character are generally suggested
to the primitive mind by some functional, constructive, or accidental
feature which may with ease be turned in the new direction. In the
vessel presented in Fig. 289--the work of Alaskan Indians--the margin
is varied by altering the relations