File:Studies in the decorative art of Japan (1910) (14774980691).jpg

Identifier: decorativeartjapan00pigg (find matches)
Title: Studies in the decorative art of Japan
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Piggott, Francis Taylor, Sir, 1852-1925
Subjects: Decoration and ornament Design
Publisher: London : B.T. Batsford
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Getty Research Institute

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the eye of right doctrine, communicated orally by Buddhabefore his death to his disciple Maha Kashiapa ; and that it was usually placedon the heart of Buddha, whence it came to be called hearts seal, as containingwithin it the whole mind of that divinity. But all this leaves the creation of the symbol and the artistic developmentsbased on it untouched, and concerns more its subsequent spreading throughthe world. It throws its origin into a remote past; but the fact of itsappearance, which the evolution of the diapers demonstrates, and which tothe devotees of a mystic religion would be looked upon almost as a super-natural creation, merely sets back the origin of the pakwa symbol to a stillmore remote period. 98 STUDIES IN THE DECORATIYE ART OF JAPAN I must now revert to the diapers, and have at once to note yet anotherspontaneous appearance of the svastika in a somewhat curious fashion. Thediaper, fig. 20, has already been given on plate 5, fig. 9, in order to shew itsartistic effect.
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Fig. 20. Its construction must now be studied. The element of which it is com-posed, shewn under the diaper, is the same as fig. 16 broken into mosaics ; andthe diaper itself is the same as the diaper fig. 17, but with its lines set at anangle, and the whole of it, both element and space-shape, is in mosaic. Theresult is that a fillet of space is left running round each fragment. Now thisfillet produces, as shewn in the outlined portion of the figure, the svastika atregular intervals, in the same way as it is produced in fig. 19. It is in fact theoutline of the figure produced in fig. 17 by the contact of the protuberances ofthe elements, the special featnre of that diaper to which I have already calledattention. The importance of the idea which suggested the moving inwards ofthe returned end of the pakwa element as shewn in fig. 16, thus becomesmanifest. I referred in connexion with fig. 19, to a complete section of the diaperas having been given in outline. The meaning of that expre

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