New-York tribune., 1892-03-30
THE LOTUS IN ANCIENT ART.
ITS HISTORY AS RELATED TO TIE ENoLu-
TION OF ORNAMENT


THE GRAMMAR OF THE LOTUS. New History ish o. OF
Classic Ornament a Development OF sun N0rsnIp ZIP
With Observau )ns on the Bronze Cnlnre OF '[e ~
ihs Studr Of Patterns Hy William II. Goodyear
NJ A. With Numerous Illustrations. Up. Aii' aoo'
Sampson. Low. Marston & CO.
While this sumptuous volume is one OF uecP
interest from the attractivcness of the theme ana
fhc novelty OF the theory advanced by the
author. it is not without amusing features MI
Goodyear is so thoroughly wrapped up in his SUD-
iect. and so determined to apply his discovery 10
every phase of the history OF culture whlch VIII
bear the process, that no one can feel sure uh'Ii
he has perused every paragraph, from the
rubricated title page to the printers line which
does duty for a colophon. that the author has hoV
somewhere evolved the whole human race llhe
Brahma, or the IIindoo goose, OF perhaps ereao
Uorus himself from the golden depths OF water
lily. But il will be found that he has contcnted
himself with gathering up facts ana lhleiehccS
which magnify greatly the debt Of civilization TO
the lotus, and hence to Egypt lie argues 'hao
this sacred plant Of the Nile, as it appeared IN
Tho art OF Egypt. was the basis Of ornamental
,atterns in Greek art and in that which has
prevailed in later times. In order 10 do this, nc
is Obliged almost at the outset to dispci some
natural errors about the form OF the lotus lie
shows how the Nelumbums. particularly the rose
lotus OF Hindostan, have been confused IN the
minds of those investigating the archaeology
history and religion OF Egypt with the true lotus
Not one of these analogous forms in plant me- dc-
cording TO his view, had any apprcclable snare
in the development OF art. Even in lndla, where
the rose lotus has had from unknown antiquity
a religious value, its natural form was ne9lec'eu
for conventional one derived directly or III
directly from Egypt. The papyrus, sacred though
il NAV have been as indeed were many other
ilo Nnl
original motive in religious art. The forms that
have been taken for papyrns, il Mr. Goodyear
is right. are simply lotus forms misunderstood.
His argument on this point is thoroughly egitl-
mate and conclusive, providing his premises are
not subject to revision. The history OF the lotus
can he read in pictured or sculptured forms, nc
declares, step by step from the time when 'he
effort was made to delineate the plant IN lts
natural form down TO the mere Geographic marks
of later times and into the subtle combinations
of ornament that almost defy analysis But
nobody pretends for the papyrus any such an
tiauity or any such gradual process OF evolutoh
in art When the so-called papyrus forms ap-
pear they are already highly conventional, ana
what is worse. modelled with suspicious
fidelity after artificial representations OF the lotus
that are already hoary with antiquity. Intn
il can be shown that the papyrus has history
OF its own. covering all the gradations between
direct copying from nature and stage OF con-
ventionalsm about az far removed from nature
as ANYTHING on earth can be, Mr.. Goodyears
argument will stand unshaken.
A noteworthy Characteristic of the lotus is that
at variou6 stages Of expansion the seIals occa-
sionally curl outward and downward, leaving the
flower distinct and separate. The difference be-
tween the flower in this condition and IN the
earlier more vigorous vitality when the sepaIs
stand erect and sharp like spikes is very strlk-
ing especially in view OF the contrast between
the da rk-g green OF these spikes and the White or
sapphire blue of the petals IN their embrace. lhs
difference, however is one TO ~ seen In nature
rather than in art. To the flower as II appears
in cases where the calyX leaves or sepals have
curled down, Mr. Goodyear would trace the
origin Of the Ionic capital in the architecture of
Egypt and Greece. The theory is simple, and
it works out admirably in the great
number OF illustrations which he has selected.
It's final acceptance as a complete solution
OF the problem will depend on agreement
as TO the derivation OF scyos-nOt only the style
which the author. borrowing term from botany,
describes as introrse. that i: turning inward in
stead of outward but also the more remote con-
centric rings and spirals-fTom the lotus With
the evolution Of the spiral scroll he associates
intimately that of the Egyptian. and the more
familiar Greek meandcr pattern. For the origin
of the rosettc with all its varied notifications
and derivatives Including PhOenician and Assyrlan
forms and the Greek anthemiOn, he appeals to the
appearance of the dried ovary stigma Of the lotus
after the seeds have fallen out of it, though he
recognizes the possibility of starting from dein-
cation of the flower " in plan" Assyrlan lntla-
tive in all these matters he rejects for decisive
chronological reasons But his whole discussion
of the subject far a it concerns the relatlVe
antiquity of civilization on the Euphratcs ana on
the Nile rests as every comparison must rest at
the present time upon data that arc coniessedIy
INCOMPLETE Nobody knows what discoveries
year may bring forth in either Babylonia or Egyp''
while Erypt has vast antiquity. speaking his
torically the whole period as far back as recoIoS
and conjecture reach is very triiiing fraction
NJ the time that has elapsed since the last glacial
ape What man was doing in one place OF
no,h.r m the eorth's surface in the interval has
on,v hepun to be guessed at. The Egyptian en-
<bus;as seem from the point of view OF an OUT
slider To be rushing with both oars and salis' 10
otto familiar Latin provcrb. into the shadows
from which the Aryan sun-nlyth Interpreters arc
now endeavoring TO eXtr1cate themselves in0
very fact that they have historic realities wncre
their predecessors had little besides a VlNiu his
tor;cal imagination will only sink them ueeper
in the plire if it should once turn out thao uieN
are wrong The fact is patent that not one vi
tho ancient national civilizations considered DS
itself is broad enough or strong enough OF oeep
enough 10 support the supersr"c'uie -
later times. With every fact that Baoyiohia anu
Ecvpt can furnish after excavation anu sV"'y
have drawn the last fragment into ole hei' Vi
vision. it is safe to suspect that much VIII remain
unsolved in the history of civilization Mean,
while all speculation is legitimate on the part OF
tbe investigator; on the side of the iayman ''le
best piece of mental furniture is a sound ana
healthy scepticism that keeps him waiting ior
proofs. There is AL instance in tins oook al
What Mfr. Goodyear calls the "egg-and-daru
is In his Wow. Slmpy tlc