'Examples of Chinese Ornament Selected from Objects in the South Kensington Museum and other Collections'
Date
1867
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
(13 1/8 x 9 inches; 334 x 230 mm.)
Creator
Jones, Owen: Owen Jones was an architect, designer, illustrator and printer who, in his lifetime, was one of the most influential theorists of art and design. Involved in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the founding of the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) including designing the so called 'Oriental Court' he is perhaps best known for his publication The Grammar of Ornament (1856). Lesser known publications include Examples of Chinese Ornament and Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra with drawings by Jules Goury and Owen Jones. These publications in the new technique of chromolithography were hugely influential for contemporary designers. The designers and stitchers at the Royal School of Art Needlework were also influenced and used Jones's patterns on occasion (see RSN/MS 136.8 - item 46), his books formed part of the school's library and paint room reference library.
Scope and content
Seen by contemporaries as a kind of sequel to Owen Jones's hugely successful The Grammar of Ornament, Examples of Chinese ornament selected from objects in the South Kensington Museum and other collections was published 11 years later in 1867. It included six intertextual illustrations and 100 chromolithographic plates, including the chromolithograph title-page and this first edition version has a red leather cover embossed with gold.
As a 'sequel' it demonstrated Jones's increased appreciation of Chinese Art, in the wake of military aggression from Britain and France, Chinese objects were increasingly available to view in international exhibitions and European museums. (See Horsefall Turner Owen Jones and the V&A) Jones had in The Grammar of Ornament been primarily interested in the use of colour in Chinese design but his project decorating the 'Oriental Court' for the South Kensington Museum (1863-5), and increased access to Chinese objects, had increased his admiration of a its formal qualities. Jones's work shows many of the prejudices and assumptions common to the mid nineteenth century understanding of other cultures and a limited understanding of China typical of this period. For designers and manufacturers, including those in the field of needlework, this influx of new Chinese objects now in the hands of collectors and museums and Owen Jones's ornamental analysis of their design and pattern were a new source of inspiration.
The influence can be seen in a number of RSAN designs for example plate LV. (55) dragon illustration can be seen in the design card D1/597
First edition. Spine missing, front and backboards detached, whole volume disbound. Plates 1, 22, 59 missing.
For full digital version from Philadelphia Museum of Art Library see https://archive.org/details/examplesofchines00jone
As a 'sequel' it demonstrated Jones's increased appreciation of Chinese Art, in the wake of military aggression from Britain and France, Chinese objects were increasingly available to view in international exhibitions and European museums. (See Horsefall Turner Owen Jones and the V&A) Jones had in The Grammar of Ornament been primarily interested in the use of colour in Chinese design but his project decorating the 'Oriental Court' for the South Kensington Museum (1863-5), and increased access to Chinese objects, had increased his admiration of a its formal qualities. Jones's work shows many of the prejudices and assumptions common to the mid nineteenth century understanding of other cultures and a limited understanding of China typical of this period. For designers and manufacturers, including those in the field of needlework, this influx of new Chinese objects now in the hands of collectors and museums and Owen Jones's ornamental analysis of their design and pattern were a new source of inspiration.
The influence can be seen in a number of RSAN designs for example plate LV. (55) dragon illustration can be seen in the design card D1/597
First edition. Spine missing, front and backboards detached, whole volume disbound. Plates 1, 22, 59 missing.
For full digital version from Philadelphia Museum of Art Library see https://archive.org/details/examplesofchines00jone
Reference code
Books/Jo6
