Decorative Arts

I

Introduction

Decorative Arts, categories of useful yet decorative objects, generally intended for the home. These objects include furniture, eating utensils (see flatware), jewelry, and clothing (see Fashion). Objects classified as decorative arts differ from other useful objects in their design, artisanship, and beauty. The field of decorative arts is vast, covering not only ancient crafts, such as weaving and pottery, but also some products of modern industrial design, such as teakettles, toasters, and other small domestic appliances. People who study the decorative arts generally classify the objects according to the materials from which they are made. The classifications include ceramics, glass, ivory, leatherwork, metalwork, stone, textiles, and woodwork.

II

Decorative Versus Fine Arts

Historians of Western art generally draw a distinction between the fine arts—painting and sculpture—and the practical, or decorative arts. The fine arts, unlike the decorative arts, are meant to be appreciated for their own sake, apart from their function. Non-Western societies rarely make this distinction, however, and even in the West some overlap exists between fine and decorative arts. A medieval tapestry, which once graced a wall and kept out the cold, can share many of the qualities of a painting. And the gold saltcellar adorned with figures of Neptune and Earth (1540s, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria), created by Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, can be viewed as sculpture.

A distinction between decorative arts and fine arts emerged in Europe during the 18th century, when specialists placed painting and sculpture at the top of a hierarchy of the arts. The term decorative arts came into general use in English in the 19th century, possibly derived from the French phrase, arts décoratifs. The decorative arts have also been called the minor arts, to distinguish them from the major, or fine arts. Another term used for the decorative arts, applied arts, emphasizes the functional nature of works in this field.

Although the primary role of most decorative arts objects is comfort and convenience, many objects also communicate information about identity and social status. Coats of arms and other heraldic devices on jewelry or clothing signify personal, family, and cultural affiliations (see Heraldry). Elaborate furnishings in a palace or a household reflect the wealth and prestige of their owner.

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Many people who created decorative arts objects remain nameless. For example, anonymous 19th-century whalers carved the teeth and bones of whales into decorative items, such as birdcages, toys, and walking sticks, in moments of leisure aboard ship. However, other creators of decorative arts became well known for their work. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American designer Louis Comfort Tiffany produced distinctive vases, lamps, and other objects of decorative glass, which carry his signature. In some cases, painters, sculptors, and architects have also pursued the decorative arts, as did the Renaissance sculptor Cellini in creating a saltcellar of gold. In the 20th century, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed furniture, light fixtures, and leaded windows to complement his houses and office buildings.

III

History

The decorative arts have flourished throughout history, from prehistoric times to the present, in civilizations around the world. More than 4,000 years ago, craftspeople in ancient Egypt created gold jewelry for kings and queens and gold funerary ornaments for royal tombs. Potters in ancient Greece painted decorative designs and scenes on terra-cotta (baked clay) vases and urns, starting in the 9th century bc. Delicate Roman glass vessels date from the 1st century ad. Chinese tombs dating from the Neolithic period (about 4000 to 2000 bc) have yielded painted ceramic jars and elegant bronze vessels. In Africa most art forms serve some function, and decorated items for ritual and for everyday use are numerous. But few ancient African art objects have survived because they were made of perishable materials. Gold work, textiles, and ceramics dominated pre-Columbian art in Latin America.

During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries), most decorative arts were religious in nature. Examples include book covers, shrines, and crosses made of metal and ornamented with enamel and precious stones. During the Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries), skilled artisans created magnificent jewelry and silver work. French master cabinetmakers, such as André Charles Boulle, created ornate furniture decorated with precious woods and metal for Louis XIV, Louis XV, and their courts in the 17th and 18th centuries. Boulle’s furniture is still regarded as some of the finest ever made.

A new appreciation of the decorative arts emerged in England in the mid- to late 19th century, largely in reaction to the poor quality and design of many newly mass-produced items. This reaction resulted in a revival of handicrafts led by the arts and crafts movement. Arts and crafts designers, such as William Morris, encouraged this return to handcrafting along with a renewed attention to design and decoration. Morris’s firm produced handmade textiles, books, wallpaper, and furniture.

The arts and crafts movement was a forerunner of art nouveau, a style that featured asymmetrical compositions and long, curving lines. Art nouveau influenced the decorative arts around the turn of the 20th century. The style took different names in different countries: Jugendstil in Germany, stile floreale in Italy, and Sezessionstil in Austria. During the 1920s and 1930s the art deco style prevailed, resulting in sleek, streamlined designs with bold, geometric ornament. Since the 1940s, decorative arts have been created in small crafts studios, which tend to emphasize individuality or uniqueness in design, and in large industrial firms, which focus more on uniformity and mass-production.

The first museum dedicated to the decorative arts was the Victoria and Albert Museum, founded in London, England, in 1852. It was followed by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France, in 1864. The first decorative arts museum in the United States was the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (now Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum). It opened in New York City in 1897. Appreciation for the decorative arts has grown during the 20th century, perhaps partly as a response to the increased industrial production of standardized household goods in most Western countries.

Scholarly study of the decorative arts has developed relatively slowly, although interest increased in the late 1900s. College and university art courses generally concentrate on the fine arts and offer fewer courses in the decorative arts. A small number of university programs in the United States and Europe grant advanced degrees in the history of decorative arts.

Museums remain the richest resources for learning about the decorative arts. Many art museums exhibit decorative arts among their collections, as do historical house museums and other specialty museums. Museum educational programs organize lectures, gallery tours, and other activities that offer insight into the history and significance of the decorative arts.

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