File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17539312193).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo04amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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PRIMITIVE ART 23 of the people appear frequently in their interpretations of their designs. Purely animal forms are, comparatively speaking, rare; while geographical features,—such as mountains, valleys and rivers,—tents, parts of the body and plant designs occur very frequently. Case 17 c. Interpretation of Blackfoot Designs.—Among the Blackfoot we find the same type of decorative designs as among the Arapaho, triangles and diamonds being the most important elements, but they are purely decorative, without sym- bolic significance. These geometric forms, however, have pattern- names as constituent elements of the complex designs, for example: the diamond - shaped figures are known as " spavin" patterns. The idea is, not that the design repre- sents a "spavin," but that it resembles this affection as it appears upon a horse's foot. Cases 24, 25. Interpretation of Sioux Designs.—The decorative art of the Siouan tribes comprises geometrical designs in bead-work, and pictographic designs in paintings. The geometric designs are both symbolic and decorative. The pictographic designs are usually symbolic. Most of the geometric designs are made by the women; the pictographic, by the men. The art of the women is especially interesting, because we find them using simple geometrical forms as design elements, for example: all triangular designs of a certain size are known as "tent" patterns; all rectangular designs are known as "bag" patterns; all small triangular designs are known as "point" patterns, or "leaf" patterns; diamond-shaped de- signs are known as " arrow-point" patterns. Complex geometri- cal designs are built up from these simple elements, and the names given above are the technical names for these designs. The complex designs are best represented in the decoration of tobacco-pouches, as illustrated in Case 25 a.

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