Reviews

The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones

wetdryvac's review against another edition

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5.0

Expect some nomenclature of the era, but the ornament itself is lovely.

redheadreading's review against another edition

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4.0

As a reference book for artists, this is brilliant. From a text point of view, Jones' approach to the different cultures in this is peak Victorian, that is to say the Greeks are the pinnacle of learned achievement, Polynesian art is treated in a very 'noble savages' way and apparently Chinese art holds very little value at all. As a modern reader, I side-eye those conclusions! But from a visual reference point, I think it is very useful to have a compendium of patterns and principals on hand to refer to.
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