F. Ornament on Gauntled Sword, damascened with gold, Indian.
character of cast work should be plastic, and if the original pattern is the result of carving, care should be taken to impart the desired feeling, the pattern being merely a means to the end.
Much depends upon the final finish; if this is to be bright, surface modelling should be a secondary consideration to surface interest resulting from contrast of textures. It, however, becomes of proportionate importance as the work is dull or toned, and therefore is subject to the ordinary conditions of Light and Shade.
CHAPTER VIII
MYTHOLOGY AND SYMBOLISM
TRADITIONAL ornament is replete with forms and details that were originally invested with meaning, though in the later employment this was disregarded, being used for the sake of variety and their æsthetic value.
Such details as the festoons, wreaths, tripods and altars as appear in the Renaissance ornament were originally associated with victory, sacrifice and religious observance.
Early Symbolic Ornament
It has previously been suggested that the early employment of natural types was symbolic in the Egyptian treatment of the Lotus and Papyrus, which, providing material for woven fabrics and for manuscripts, were therefore esteemed.
These details associated as they frequently are with the zigzag line, are symbolic of the fertilizing of the land resulting from the periodical inundation of the Nile.