The World of Ornament

Teeming with tapestries, manuscript illuminations, carpets, and tiles, this far-reaching compendium brings together the two greatest 19th-century catalogues of ornament into one indispensable reference book. Encompassing designs from medieval times through to the 19th century in styles as diverse as Egyptian, Etruscan, or Middle Eastern, this book is dedicated to decoration.

Discover a world of decorative ideas with this compendium of history’s most elegant patterns and ornamental designs.

Once out of print, The World of Ornament brings together the two greatest encyclopedic collections of ornament of the 19th century: Auguste Racinet’s L’Ornement polychrome Volumes I and II (1875–1888) and Auguste Dupont-Auberville’s L’Ornement des tissus (1877) to provide one lavish, indispensable source book spanning jewelry, tile, stained glass, illuminated manuscript, textile and ceramic ornament.

Encompassing classical, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Asian and middle-Eastern, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century, this compilation of cultures and esthetics offers a primary reference for artists, historians, designers and patternmakers, and anyone engaged in decorative design and impact.

The author

David Batterham has been an antiquarian bookseller in London since 1965. He specializes in books and journals on the graphic arts, ornament, fashion, and caricature with an emphasis on work from France and Spain.