Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo16amer (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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ORNAMENTAL USES OF SHELLS 119 twelve "proper materials" of ornament derived from the visible universe — which with Raskin was the most valid and the truest source of decorative ideas. The sixth of these, in a progres- sion upward, was shells, of which he wrote: " 1 place these lowest in the scale (after inorganic forms) as being monlds or coats
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of organisms: not themselves organic. The sense of this, and their being mere emptiness and deserted houses, must always prevent them, however beautiful in lines, from being largely used in ornamentation. It is better to take the line and leave the shell. One form, indeed, that of the cockle, has been in all ages used as the decoration of half-domes, which were named "conchas" from their shell form: and I believe the wrinkled lip of the cockle, so used, to have been the origin, in some parts of Europe at least, of the exuber- ant foliation of the round arch. The scallop also is a pretty radiant form, and mingles well with other symbols when it is needed." Ruskin is always naively interest- ing, often stimulating, not invariably rational. The palette of nature has been more lavishly requisitioned • in other areas of animal life, but it would be a crabbed and carping judgment to deny the charm of color in shells, its abun- dant variation or the delicacy of its em- ployment; while the shells themselves are as organic as is a skeleton, or the ribbed and netted framework of a leaf. Very re- . cently Mr. Y. Hirase of the Kyoto Conchological Museum, published ' Reproduced from the clay model through the courtesy of the sculptor.

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