§ 1.—THE ELEMENTS OF DECORATION.

The chief impelling Motives which have caused that treatment of objects which is now termed Decorative, have been:

(a) That necessitated by the Usage, which is FUNCTIONAL;

(b) That resulting from the Instinct to please the eye, which is ÆSTHETIC;

(c) That arising from the Desire to record or to teach, which is the DIDACTIC motive;

The ÆSTHETIC instinct of the early peoples was gratified by:

(a) The forms of their weapons or tools;

(b) The patterns with which they are decorated;

(c) The imitation of the surrounding animals, e.g. the Deer scratched on the horn at the British Museum.

Imitation was afterward applied to the vegetable creation; and much of what is termed Ornament was derived from that class of elements.

The ELEMENTS OF DECORATION are the material used by the Artist. They might be considered to include everything that is visible; but since Decoration is a result of the æsthetic instinct, the field is narrowed to such as are pleasing at the first glance. And the selection is further limited to such as are suitable to the shape and size of objects.

They may be classified according to their relative Dignity, as follows: