ACCOMPANYING PAPERS.
The present volume contains papers the subject matter of which may be classified under the grand divisions of Technology, Philosophy, Sociology, and Ethnography.
They are all prepared by experts of recognized authority in their several lines of research and are illustrated to the degree required by the text for full understanding, the number of figures presented being 548, besides ten full page plates. Special mention of each of these papers follows in their order as printed.
ANCIENT ART OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIRIQUI, COLOMBIA, BY
WILLIAM H. HOLMES.
The archæology of Chiriqui should be studied, not only for comparison with that of the territory comprised in the present political divisions of North America, but because geographically the province should be considered as a part of the North American continent. Until recently this isthmian region was little known, the explorations for railroads and canals having furnished the first valuable accounts of its modern inhabitants and the relics left by former occupants.
The National Museum now contains a large and precious collection of archæologic material from the province, chiefly obtained by Mr. J. A. McNiel during years of enthusiastic labor. The information derived and the lessons to be learned from this collection, together with all particulars relating thereto gathered from other sources, are now presented in this paper by Mr. W. H. Holmes. His work in the classification of the immense number of objects and in the elucidation of their functions, material, construction, forms, and decorations has been careful and comprehensive. His manifest success has been owing to his artistic insight and skill as well as to his archæologic training. His ability in both fields can be appreciated by an examination of the 287 illustrations in his paper, considered not only as to their number, but as to their instructive arrangement in his text.
The objects of ancient art found in Chiriqui are, as elsewhere in North America, derived almost entirely from graves. The cemeteries, apart from their contents and the mode of sepulture, constitute in themselves topics of interest which are discussed and illustrated in the paper. Another curious feature is that the objects buried generally appear to have been manufactured for mortuary purposes and not for use by the living. A general review of the contents of the graves shows that the ancient inhabitants were skillful in the manipulation of stone, gold, copper, and clay, and tombs of undoubtedly great antiquity yield evidence of long continued culture.
It also appears that, while the art of the old peoples of the isthmus can in some respects be connected with that of adjacent regions in North America, in others it is remarkable for individuality. Ornaments of stone were seldom used by them and those of gold and copper were common. The articles of gold which the graves have yielded in large quantities to explorers during the last quarter of a century, and for which only they have until recently been searched, have generally been considered to be mere ornaments, but they probably had a fetichistic origin.
It is remarkable that no weapon, tool, or utensil of metal has been noticed. The objects were generally formed by casting in molds, which was done with considerable skill, and gilding, or at least plating, was practiced. The art of alloying also appears to have been understood.
The use of metals does not appear early in the order of technology, and an advanced degree of culture is generally attained before the casting of any metal is attempted. Without allowing too much weight to any argument based upon the surprising skill of these people in plating and alloying, the evidence of technical skill in general, together with the conceptions embodied in their art, proves conclusively that it was the product of a long period of experiment and progress.
The pottery of Chiriqui is to be noted for the perfection of its technique, its high specialization of form, and its conventional use of a wide range of decorative motives. Its forms present many striking analogies to the wheel made ware of the Mediterranean, regarded as classic.
The mythologic stage of the builders of these graves is shown by the fact that in their ceramic art there is no attempt to render the human face or figure with accuracy. The personages of their religious philosophy were zoömorphic and some of their forms may be discerned by a skillful analyst in or on all the ornaments and vessels. On each of the latter all decorative devices and delineations have some reference to the mythic creature associated with the vessel and its functions.
Mr. Holmes has made an important discovery in the evolution of decoration in Chiriqui from which are deduced instructive generalizations of wide application. All the decorations originate (doubtless under the influence of the stage reached in mythologic philosophy) in life forms of animals, none being vegetal. Coming from mythologic concepts they are significant and ideographic, and coming from nature they are primarily imitative and non-geometric. Nevertheless the agencies of modification inherent in the practice of art through its mechanical conditions are such that the animal forms early employed have changed into conventional decorative devices, among which are the meander, scroll, fret, chevron, and guilloche.
That this was the course of evolution of the classic forms of ornaments is not asserted; indeed, it is not necessary to form such a hypothesis, as by the interacting principles, well classified by Mr. Holmes, the course by which the same result was accomplished may have been wholly diverse. It is, however, shown that this was in all probability the particular and independent course in one region of America, being in that respect in distinct contrast to other art regions, such as that of the Pueblos, where the rise of geometric figures through technologic channels is equally obvious. It follows that in seeking to divide peoples by the criteria of their decorative arts the examination must embrace what is far more fundamental than a mere comparison of their finished products: these may be and are markedly similar without any evidence of transmission, and when in fact by deeper study the ascertained separate courses of development preclude such transmission.
A STUDY OF THE TEXTILE ART IN ITS RELATION TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF FORM AND ORNAMENT, BY W. H. HOLMES.
For several years Mr. Holmes has been engaged in the study of the ancient and existing art of the North American Indians, and has published in the annual reports of this Bureau a number of elaborate essays upon the art of specified peoples and regions.
In the present paper he submits the comprehensive results of his studies in one great branch, the textile art, and treats chiefly of its esthetic relations as distinct from those of construction and function, so far as they can be separately discussed.
He has been fortunate in the character of the material studied. In America there is yet found a great body of primitive, indigenous, and independent art, almost uncontaminated by the complex phenomena, processes, and conditions which elsewhere obscure its origin and development. To a knowledge of American art acquired by long study Mr. Holmes adds a mental equipment exceptionally qualifying him for its philosophic discussion. His conclusions therefore, presented with ample evidence and explained by illustrations, are to be received as those of a recognized authority, although they may disturb some sentimental and metaphysical fancies concerning abstract beauty in form, color, and design.
It is not contended that the earliest concepts of beauty originated with textile art. On the contrary, it is probable that the first esthetic attempts were in the line of personal decoration, such as paints on the skin and pendants and feathers disposed about the person. But as the textile art appears early and widely in culture it is believed that the association of esthetic concepts with it very generally preceded their association with other arts. Having thus the start in the field, its nature was full of suggestions of embellishment, while it was fixed in its method of expression. The technique therefore shaped and directed the esthetic concept and became the parent of much geometric ornament.
Mr. Holmes gives an instructive analysis of the forces and influences inherent in the textile art, the first lessons of which are order, uniformity, and symmetry; he shows how the necessities of technique determine ideas of the beautiful in linear geometric forms and how taste in selecting certain ornaments as the most beautiful is simply choosing that product which in the evolution of art gave it character and power.
The influence of textile ornament upon other forms of art, such as architecture and sculpture, is discussed, as also the manner in which extrinsic decorative elements are remodeled in accordance with the rules of textile combination. The paper, however, does not undertake to cover the whole field of the development of form and ornament, being confined to the relation of the textile art thereto, and similar studies in all other grand divisions of art must be made before the relative importance of all their forces and tendencies can be estimated. But the laws of evolution in all art closely correspond, and the present paper is eminently instructive to all students of the esthetic.