Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Owen Jones placed the chapter concerning Persian Ornament between those on Moresque and Indian Ornament, nearly half way through his 1856 publication of The Grammar of Ornament. Jones compares Persian ornament and architecture unfavourably with that of Cairo, which he had personally visited. It must be noted however, that he never actually visited Persia, modern day Iran, so perhaps this second hand view and critique of Persian decoration and his first hand appraisal of the decorative work of Cairo, somewhat coloured his interpretation of the different design and decorative styles of the two Islamic cultures.
Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Jones did note that Persians seemed much more flexible concerning the Islamic ruling on representative art, and did in fact actively interpret the world around them through both art and craft. Jones thought that the inclusion of floral work in particular, within Persian ornamentation and decoration, might well have had the reasoning of a mixture of Arabic and Turkish influences. Persia was a nation and culture that lay between the general Arabic culture of the Middle East and that of the largely Turkish culture of Central Asia, and while this may well be a generalisation of the situation, it does make some sense as far as ornamentation and decoration are concerned.
Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Jones also saw this mixed style being widely used throughout northern India, where Persian influence was at its strongest outside of Persia itself. It can be no coincidence that Indian Ornament was the following chapter to that of the Persian, and the British influence in India in the nineteenth century would have led to some first hand knowledge of Persian decorative styles, if only from imported goods from British India that Jones might well have seen first hand.
Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
There is a mixture of illustrations within the Persian Ornament chapter dealing with both geometrical and floral work, one following the other, giving the impression that Jones had placed the illustrated plates within an order showing initial Arabic influence followed by that of the less structured Turkish, and that he definitely saw both cultural styles as forming a distinctive influence on that of the Persian.
Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Jones interpretation of areas of decoration around the world was definitely coloured by his own definition of purity and pedigree. He was not overly keen on mixtures or overlapping influences within decoration and the less contamination of a distinctive style, the happier he was. The fact that no culture or decorative style is ever truly isolated and pure is not a failing or reason to place that culture as secondary to another. All are at the same time interdependent and independent. Human culture and decoration are part of an overall mosaic of interactive influences that produces cross-pollination of artistic and creative developments in styles and genres that makes the larger and more general human culture stronger, not weaker.
Illustration: Persian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
Further reading links:
Islamic Decoration and Ornament as seen by Owen Jones
Grammar of Ornament: A Monumental Work of Art
The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
The Grammar of Ornament
Persian Ceramic Designs (International Design Library)
Persian Designs and Motifs for Artists and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Persian Designs (Design Source Book)
Persian Textile Designs (The International Design Library)
A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present; Volume VIII: Plates 258-510 Architecture of the Islamic Period Plates 511-555 Its Ornament
The Arts of Persia
Persian Painting
Golden Age of Persian Art
Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Painting
Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources
Persian Ceramics: From the Collections of the Asian Art Museum
Art of The Persian Courts
