Italian No.5 1856

Owen Jones created this lithograph plate, titled 'Italian No. 5' for his book 'The Grammar of Ornament' sometime in the mid-19th century. The book was intended as a design resource for architects, decorators, and artists working in the Victorian period. Jones was very interested in historicism, he was an architect, and decorative artist who thought studying and copying historical ornament would help improve contemporary design. His book contains examples of ornament from around the world, arranged by country and period. This particular plate, focuses on Italian Renaissance designs. 'The Grammar of Ornament' was a product of its time. It reflects the Victorian obsession with collecting, classifying, and displaying objects from different cultures, that we can see in institutions such as the South Kensington Museum. To truly understand this image, we might want to examine how the designs in 'The Grammar of Ornament' were actually used, and also consider the cultural politics of design in 19th-century Britain.