Ornament - 8000 Years: An Illustrated Handbook of Motifs Book

	Preface	8
	Introduction	11
1	Spirals, scrolls, meanders and key patterns	27
	Spirals, scrolls and meandering motifs in the art of neolithic farming communities	33
	Spirals and scrolls in Mediterranean Bronze Age art	37
	Spirals and scrolls in the European and Scandinavian Bronze Age	42
	Meander and key patterns in Greek and Roman decoration	44
	The swastika and other 'rotating' motifs	47
2	Animals and mythological and imaginary creatures as motifs in ornament	51
	The bull, the lion, and other real or imaginary creatures in the art of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean	58
	Motifs from mythology and legend in Greek and Roman decorative art	62
	A new style of ornament with animal motifs in northern Europe	67
	The signs of the zodiac, bestiaries, fables and heraldry	76
	The taotie mask and the dragon-like kui motifs in Bronze Age China	81
	The 'animal style' in the art of the nomadic cattle herders on the Eurasian steppes	84
	The Chinese dragon, 'phoenix' and Dog of Fo	87
	The animal art of the 'Chilkat dancing blanket'	93
3	Three motifs from ancient Egypt: the lotus, the papyrus and the lily	97
	The Egyptian lotus motif	101
	The papyrus motif	104
	The 'lily of the South' motif	105
	Egyptian plant-like motifs in the art of the ancient Near East and the Aegean	107
	The lotus motif in Greece	108
	The egg-and-dart mouldings of the Ionic order	110
4	The palmette	113
	Rising lobes and supporting spirals: the Minoan contribution?	118
	The palmette in Greek, Etruscan and Roman art	120
5	Leaf borders, leaf scrolls and the acanthus	125
	Laurel, olive, vine and other realistic leaf borders in Greek ornament	132
	The vine scroll and the tree in Christian art	135
	The acanthus	136
	The all-purpose leaf in the East and the 'arabesque'	138
6	The Indian lotus	143
	The Indian lotus motif in Buddhist art	147
	The Chinese flower scroll and the fantastic flower of Islam	149
7	The Celtic scroll	153
	The Celtic scroll motif in Continental Europe	156
	The Celtic scroll motif in the British Isles	158
	The revival of Celtic art in Ireland	162
8	The rosette and intersecting circles motif	165
	The Rosette and star motif in the ancient Near East	169
9	Twists, plaits, interlace and geometrical constructions	173
	Geometrical constructions as a basis for ornament	183
	Motifs based on geometrical constructions and interlace in Roman, early Christian and Medieval art	186
	Geometric interlace in Islamic art	193
	The interlacing and geometrical art of the Kuba	195
	Notes on the illustrations	197
	Illustration Acknowledgements	202
	Selected sources	202
	Index	205