RECONSTRUCTION OF ORNAMENTS

Year: 2001 Authors: Ljiljana Radovic

Core claim

Ornamental designs can often be reconstructed from parts by symmetry or modular modules, and many ceramic ornaments may have originated as textile patterns.

Topics

symmetry, modularity, ornamental reconstruction, textile-to-ceramic transfer

Domains

symmetry, antisymmetry, colored symmetry, modular structure, ornamental art, carpet design, interlaced ornaments, ceramic ornament

Methods

archaeological reconstruction, symmetry analysis, modular composition, comparative ornament study

Media

carpets, ceramics, textiles, bone and stone fragments

Paper text

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BRIDGES Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science

RECONSTRUCTION OF ORNAMENTS

Ljiljana Radovic Faculty of Engineering Beogradska 14 18000 Nis E-mail: liki@masfak.masfak.ni.ac.yu Yugoslavia

This session will examine the relationship between symmetry and modularity at one, and ornamental art, carpets and interlaced ornaments on the other side. In many cases, working with archaeological material, it is necessary to make a reconstruction of complete ornaments from their parts preserved on bone, stone, ceramics or textile. One of the possible ways is to use symmetry (antisymmetry, coloured symmetry). The other approach to such a reconstruction could be based on the modularity. As the modularity we consider the use of few basic elements (modules) for constructing a large collection of different (modular) structures. As an example of modular reconstructions, we are giving the reconstruction of an antisymmetry carpet ornament from Pirot (Serbia). Having in mind the similarity of such carpet ornaments with the Neolithic ceramic ornaments, we will try to prove their same technological origin: the production of textile designs that are later transferred to ceramics. The other modular reconstructions are based on the study of ornamental carpets from Turkey and Serbia. Knowing that weaving and matting are some of the oldest technologies in the history of mankind, we will try to show that many ornaments originated from textiles, and after that they are transferred to other media (e.g. ceramics).