Chinese Ornament no. 1. Conventional renderings of fruit and flowers 

Owen Jones created this study of Chinese ornament in the 19th century, a period when European artists and designers were fascinated with Eastern artistic traditions. Jones published "The Grammar of Ornament" in 1856, filled with examples like this one, intending it to serve as a sourcebook for Western designers and architects. But what does it mean to take visual ideas from another culture? What are the politics of imagery when those images are extracted from their original social context? This botanical study exemplifies the Victorian era's approach to non-Western cultures; an approach characterized by both admiration and a tendency toward appropriation and reinterpretation. The impact of these cultural exchanges are recorded in museum collections, design archives, and libraries. Understanding the original intent and context of such designs requires careful historical study, and attention to the complex dynamics of cultural exchange.