An Homage to "The Grammar of Ornament"

Introducing the Victorian Foliate Jacquard Shawl, a versatile accessory designed to elevate any look year-round. This roomy wrap, which can be styled in multiple fashions, boasts a lurex-blend base for a touch of shimmer, while the fil coupé, or "cut threads," jacquard technique around the border enhances the garment without adding unnecessary bulk for a light and luxurious wear.

Defining the shawl is a lush pattern that evokes Chandos (ca. 1873), a rare textile by the architect, design innovator, and theorist Owen Jones (British, 1809–1874). 

Fewer than 30 of Jones’s textiles have known whereabouts, and Chandos is one of only three in the Museum’s holdings. These precious surviving fabrics exemplify Jones’s vision of a strong design, which includes formal, repeating patterns inspired by motifs from around the world.

Jones’s thoughts and theories on design, however, are preserved by the multitude in his book The Grammar of Ornament. 

Published in 1856, this guide of design principles and international decorative motifs was developed for Britain’s first design school, the newly established Government School of Design (now the Royal College of Art), and maintained significant influence throughout the second half of the 19th century. Over 170 years later, the sourcebook remains in print.

Considering a global range of artistic styles, Jones developed a series of what he called propositions, or rules, firmly rooted in the ethos that nature should ultimately inform design. 

As each of his propositions were derived from the natural laws that govern organic forms, Jones believed that his principles are universal and could be applied equally to the art of any culture or era.

Jones was well versed in international design—at the age of 23, he traveled to Italy, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Spain, where he vigorously studied the Moorish decorations embellishing the magnificent Alhambra Palace. From the hundreds of drawings and plaster casts he made to record the exquisite details adorning the citadel, he published Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra (1842–45), regarded as one of the most influential publications on Islamic architecture ever written. In an effort to faithfully capture the colorful ornamentation defining the Alhambra, Jones employed a then-pioneering method of chromolithography to emphasize the fabulous hues of the tilework. 

The kaleidoscopic Sultan (ca. 1870–74)—another one of Jones’s textiles in The Met collection—illustrates Jones’s color theory proposition in which he suggests that ornament and background of strong colors should be separated by an outline of a lighter color to help the eye read the two elements separately. In this case, the palmette and rosette elements are outlined in solid yellow-gold to separate these patterned foliate designs from the background design of colored dashes.

Jones’s preoccupation with color ignited a meaningful discussion about polychromy not only in architecture, but ancient art as well, long—and erroneously—thought to have favored pure white marble. 

The Met’s Thomas J. Watson Library, one of the most comprehensive art libraries in the world, houses many of Jones’s drawings for The Grammar of Ornament and beyond. 

Jones’s influence likewise echoes in the work of his esteemed disciple Christopher Dresser (British, 1834–1904), regarded as the first industrial designer. Dresser’s design drawings and realized creations for major British manufactories such as Mintons exhibit a similar fascination with global design, and are well represented at the Museum. 

Shop the Victorian Foliate Jacquard Shawl in-store and online, where you’ll find an extensive selection of scarves, neckerchiefs, and other accessories celebrating The Met collection.