Functional Ornament Image Archive

FUNCTIONAL

/&

ORNAMENT

CONTENTS

FORWARD (1)

IMAGE ARCHIVE (3-58)

TEXT

(59-83)

BIBLIOGRAPHY (84)

COLOPHON (85)

IMAGE ARCHIVE (87-145)

IMAGE CREDITS (146-149)

FORWARD

FUNCTIONAL &/ ORNAMENT is a research project started in 2025 with the intention of looking for objects which destabilise the conventional dichotomy between function and ornament. Across different geographical and historical contexts, it looks at objects in which ornament is not applied, but operative—shaping how things are used, understood, and valued.

The printed booklet is divided into two parts: the visual archive of gathered objects and the text developed later as a reflection.

There is no division based on categories, regions, or time periods; rather, the visual archive is organised in ascending order of scale, thereby creating a freedom of looking, not based on divisions but inviting connections.

The visual research does not act as complementary materials for the text, nor the text as explanations for the images; they exist independently, while having the same intention to invite readers to ‘relook’, using functional &/ ornament as a lens to rethink our relationships with the material culture of things at large.

1

IMAGE ARCHIVE

3

1

2

Set of three keys

Key

cast iron, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Etruria, 18th - 19th century

bronze,incised with the owner’s mark ‘I I I’, France, 12th - 13th century

44mm × 130mm

13.3cm × 5cm

3

4

Frames Keys

Set of 8 Keys date unknown China

Eight keys, set within an oval frame, brass, steel and bronzed metal, London, ca.1900 30.5cm × 22.5cm × 2.8cm

5

Lock and key steel, pierced, chiselled and engraved, made by N. Du Feyis, France, ca. 1630

6

Keys with Padlock Padlock and two keys, steel, Spain or France, 17th century 3in × 1.625in

7

8

9

Courtier’s key

Key

Iron French ca. 1580–89

Iron German 15th century

14.1 cm

12 × 5 × 2.2 cm

Latch Lock, Key, and Catch American 1730–70 a: 23.2 cm b: 11.4 cm c: 6.4 cm

10

11 12

Key

Key

Key

Iron probably Italian 16th–17th century

Key with the cipher of William and Mary, pierced and engraved, steel, London, ca. 1689-1694

Copper alloy, iron Late Roman (?)

3rd–5th century

27 × 12.1 × 4.1 cm

4.2 × 2.4 × 0.6 cm

13

Button Set of twelve buttons and studs with monuments of Rome in micromosaic with black glass surrounds, Rome, ca.1850 1.5cm × 0.4cm

In Britain, decorative buttons were usually reserved for evening wear. A set like this (with ten buttons and two studs) would have been used to decorate a gentleman’s waistcoat and dress shirt. Ten buttons would have been the maximum number required by double-breasted styles. The two studs fastened to the front of the shirt would have been visible just above his waistcoat.

The term ‘micromosaic’ is used to describe mosaics made of the smallest glass pieces. Some micromosaics contain more than 5000 pieces per square inch. The earliest attempts at micromosaic revealed visible joins between the pieces (known as tesserae) and a lack of perspective. Later artists such as Antonio Aguatti made huge advances in micromosaic technique, resulting in renderings that were truer to life. Glass micromosaic technique developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today.

14

Button Silver ceramic button, designed and made by Lucie Rie, London, 1945-1948

16

15

Button card turned perspex and enamel, casein, glazed ceramic, and marbled plastic and gilt metal John Templeton (Buttons) Ltd., Great Britain, 1950s

Button card Card of 34 buttons of trochus shell, John Templeton (Buttons) Ltd., Great Britain, ca. 1970

17

Button card Set of six heavy silver filigree toggle buttons, Murcia (Spain), 1865-1870.

8.2cm × 4.5cm × 3.2cm

Silver buttons were an important element of traditional dress in Spain. They were rarely sewn directly on to the clothing. In some places people fastened them to their costume with a strip of leather, which ran through the button loops inside the garment. More commonly they used T-shaped toggles permanently attached to the button.

Women’s buttons tend to be larger and more decorative than those worn by men.

These heavy buttons were worn by women, in sets of three or more on each sleeve, at the cuffs of their jacket. The long link was needed to stretch across the fullness of the blouse worn underneath.

18 19

Bear Head Toggle Ivory United States, Alaska, Inuit 19th–20th century

20

Button

Sleeve Button

Bone ca. 3rd–7th century CE Mesopotamia, Ctesiphon Sasanian

Made in Brooklyn, New York, United States ca. 1876 Porcelain

1.9 cm × D. 1.1 cm

2.1 × 2.9 cm

21

Toggle Nephrite, Jade 18th century China 10.2 cm × 2.2 cm

22

Finches and bamboo Handscroll; ink and color on silk Emperor Huizong China Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) Early 12th century 33.7 × 55.4 cm

23

Seal with a Seated Lion Ivory China Qing dynasty (1644–1911) 10.2 × 4.4 × 5.6 cm

26 24 25

Seal Seal

Seal

Horn 19th century China

Quartz China Qing dynasty (1644–1911),

Soapstone Carved in low relief with a water-plant in flower, and a bird.

China 19th century

4.8 cm × 4.1 cm × 1.6 cm

3.2 cm × 2.2 × 1 cm

7.9 cm × 2.8 cm × 2.8 cm

27

東漢（左）龜鈕銅印

Bronze Seal with Knob in the Shape of a Turtle China Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) 2.1 cm × 2.4 cm × 2.4 cm

28

Seal Bamboo China Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 5.9 cm × 6.5 cm × 2.1 cm

29

Seal cut glass, Carved in low relief with a water-plant in flower, and a bird.

China, Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 8.2 cm × 2.2 cm

30

31

Coin gold, Byzantine (Constantinople), ca. 1081-1118

Coin (sestertius) brass, of Trajan, Roma, Roman, ca. 104-110 AD

2.8 cm × 3.2 cm × 0.3 cm 3.4 cm × 0.4 cm The obverse shows Christ, with a cross nimbus, bearded, seated facing outwards on a backless throne. He stretches out his right hand in a blessing gesture. In his left hand, he holds a book. He wears a tunic and mantle.

There is a double border of dots.

On the obverse is the head of Trajan.

On the reverse is shown a figure representing Rome, standing wearing a helmet, holding a spear in his left hand and a statue of Victory in his right.

32

Coin charm cast bronze, Korea, Late Joseon dynasty, 1850-1900 2.9 cm The obverse shows Christ, with a cross nimbus, bearded, seated facing outwards on a backless throne. He stretches out his right hand in a blessing gesture. In his left hand, he holds a book. He wears a tunic and mantle.

There is a double border of dots.

33

34

35

Fifty-Four Small Piloncito Coins Beaded Necklace Gold Indonesia (Java) Central Javanese period second half of the 8th–second half of the 10th century

Coin with Rose Noble and Edward IV Gold British 1464–1470

Glass, stone, shell, amber, 3 copper alloy coins, Niederbreisig, Germany 500–600

3 cm × 6 cm

3.7 × 0.1 cm

63.5 × 2.6 cm

36

37

Pendant Silver, coins, coral, gemstone 19th–first half 20th century Attributed to Algeria or Morocco

Coin Weight Glass Attributed to Egypt 11th century 2.2 cm

Jewels with coin pendants were common in the region of North Africa.

This example may have been made in Algeria or Morocco and includes a number of decorative coins that emulate nineteenth century currency from Morocco. Such pendants would have created a distinctive sound when the wearer moved, adding an auditory dimension to this jewel.

38

Money Coil (Tevau) Feathers, fiber, bark, seeds, shell, glass beads, leaves Santa Cruz Islands, Temotu Province late 19th–early 20th century 53.3 × 77.5 × 12.7 × 815.3 cm

One of the most remarkable forms of currency found throughout Oceania are tevau, feather money coils from the Santa Cruz Islands in Temotu Province at the eastern end of the Solomon Islands chain. The manufacture of tevau was localized to the island of Ndende (Nendö), but as valuables they were traded through the Reef and Duff Islands to the north.

The coils are made from the feathers of the scarlet honeyeater (Myzomela cardinalis), known locally as mungau. Throughout much of the Pacific, red feathers are revered as a sacred and spiritually charged material and as such they are a valuable exchange item.

The production of tevau is the work of three distinct specialists. One man was responsible for trapping the birds and harvesting their feathers. Another would fix the red feathers into small plates by using tree gum to adhere them to structure of larger pigeon feathers.

A third specialist would assemble the platwes onto a woven base supported by a bark coil.

The specialist knowledge involved in making tevau was held in certain family lines and tightly guarded. According to legend, the knowledge was first taught to humans by forest dwelling spirits, who warned that if the men shared what they had learned they would lose their good fortune.

39

Chair gold weight Brass Akan Ghana; Côte d’Ivoire 18th–19th century 4.8 × 2.9 × 3.2 cm

Beginning in the fourteenth century, the Akan engaged in extensive trade with both the Portuguese and Spanish along the west coast of Africa, which subsequently came to be known as the “Gold Coast.” The Akan used differing and complicated systems of measurement for trade with European and Islamic traders. In Akan society, gold was intimately associated with authority, royalty, and the sacred. Its lavish use in regalia and ornament was a prominent feature of Akan court ceremony. This and two other related gold weights reflect the wealth and breadth of Akan metallurgic virtuosity. They take the form of a chair, a bird with its head turned back to its tail, known as sankofa, and a chicken head.

Proverbs are the source of imagery for many forms of Akan visual art, including gold weights. The akonkromfi chair, with x-form legs, was primarily used on festive occasions and most likely modeled after a European folding-chair prototype popular in the seventeenth century. Stools and, by association, chairs are the primary components of Akan royal regalia. The most famous Akan stool is the Sika Dwa Kofi, which is said to have descended from heaven and to have been solid gold.

40 41

42

Mancala boardgold weight Brass Ashanti,Ghana Late 19th–Early 20th century CE 2.1 cm × 4.4 cm A Mancala game board (in Twi, oware).

Possibly the oldest game in human history, mancala games were common enough in daily life that they were included in gold weight sets.

This example has some of the spaces filled in, which may depict a game in mid-play. However, it could also be a convenient way to adjust the weight when necessary to meet a standard measure.

A figurative goldweight of a man preparing food Shells gold weight Brass Akan Ghana; Côte d’Ivoire 19th–mid-20th century 1.3 × 2.9 × 2.9 cm

presumably fufu (pounded cassava and plantain), by using a long and heavy pestle in a large mortar (called woduro).

Ipswich Museum, object no. IPSMG:R.1944.35.10

43

44

Gold Weight: Bird (Sankofa) Brass Akan peoples, Ghana 18th–19th century 1-3/4 in.

Stool gold weight Brass Akan Ghana; Côte d’Ivoire 18th–19th century 1.6 × 3 × 1.6 cm

The Sankofa Bird, meaning a bird which has its head turned to look backwards. Birds are a common motif on gold weights, representing creatures that transcend boundaries, in this case land and air. This example displays decorated wings to indicate feathers.

45

46

北宋 崇寧通寶銅錢

Coin inscribed “Chong Ning Tong Bao” Copper alloy, China, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) D. 3.5 cm

Knife Coin

The characters on this coin exhibit Emperor Huizong’s distinctive calligraphic style, known as “slender gold” because it resembled finely spun filaments of the precious metal.

Bronze, China, Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) L. 18.4 cm

47

Knife Coin Bronze China Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) 5.1 cm × 16.5 cm

48

Thimble Stone New Kingdom, Ramesside Dynasty 19–20 ca. 1295–1070 B.C. 4.7 cm × 3.6 cm This small slab of hard, gray stone is concave on one side and grooved on the other. It was probably used like a thimble and the small round hole seems to have been caused by extensive wear.

49

Georgia O’Keeffe – Hands and Thimble Palladium print Alfred Stieglitz, American, 1919 23.5 × 18.4 cm

50

51

52

Thimble Thimble

Thimble,

Jasperware with applied relief, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, late 20th century

Silver, engine-turned, Germany, 1700s

Carved ivory, England, 19th century

2.3 cm × 2.1 cm

3.1 cm

3.1 cm

53

54

Thimble

Thimble

Silver, with carnelian set at tip, Germany, 19th century

Wrought and seamed metal plate; Hispano-Moresque; 900-1299

55

Thimble Silver, with Birmingham hall-mark; England; 1903-04

56

Pinchbeck chatelaine Incorporating scissors case, needle case, etui and two thimble cases, probably England, 1730-35

58

57

Chatelaine Cut Steel England (Birmingham) About 1790,

Chatelaine With accessories, with gilt pencil made by S. Mordan & Co., England, ca. 1856

Chatelaines evolved from sets of keys held by the mistress of a castle. They held useful objects like thimbles, buttonhooks and watches, all chained to a single clasp attached to a woman’s belt. This example is in cut and facetted steel, an expensive technique used also on buttons and buckles to make them glisten like diamonds.

59

60

Inrō in the form of a tortoise Inrō decorated with a dragon, metal, by Kiyotada, Japan, 19th century

incised metal, Japan

9.5cm × 6.7cm × 3cm

6.3cm × 8.1cm × 2.6cm

61

Inrō decorated with hares and tokusa grasses, metal, Japan This object consists of 3 parts; Inrō.

Netsuke, Ojime 7.5cm × 6.1cm × 2.6cm

62

唐 銀香球

Censer

Silver Tang dynasty, 8th–9th century China D. 6 cm

63

Amulet Group of six amulets strung on a ring, Bavaria (Germany), 1750-1799.

Before the development of modern medicine, fevers, cramps and toothache could be painful and dangerous. Many people believed that the supernatural powers embodied in an amulet could promote fertility and good health and offer protection against malign forces or the ‘evil eye’.

In southern Germany and Austria, amulets like these were worn by both men and women, often mixed with Catholic religious pendants. The women usually wore them hanging from the long chain which laced their bodice, and men wore them on their watch chain.

64

Ivory pouch with flowers decoration Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911 8.2cm × 5cm × 1.6cm The incense sachet (xiangnáng) is used as a portable container for fragrance, medicine, and protection. Emerging as early as the Han dynasty and flourishing from the Tang through Qing periods, they were worn on the body, hung from belts, or attached to clothing, where embroidery, knots, and tassels were not added embellishments but structural devices that sealed the pouch, regulated scent release, and made it wearable. Filled with aromatic herbs or medicinal powders, they served concrete functions: masking odors, repelling insects, preventing illness, and marking ritual or seasonal moments. Their ornamentation encoded social status, moral symbolism, and personal affection, while simultaneously enabling circulation, attachment, and use.

65

Tupu (pin) Silver Peru, Wari or Inca Before the 16th century 6.1 × 17.1 cm This object is a tupu, a Quechua term for pin, and it is made of silver. Women in the Andes have used these pins to fasten textile garments. The basic tupu form consists of a head and a stem. While there is no documentation available to suggest that they were from the same archaeological context, it is possible that one person may have worn them as a pair. Typically, women wear two tupus, their heads pointed downward, in order to fasten the acsu or anacu (sometimes referred to in Spanish as saya). This garment is a rectangular textile made of camelid wool that wraps around the body. The tupus may be worn threaded along a cord that passes through their perforations.

Indeed, the head of this tupu is undecorated except for a single perforation along its central lengthwise axis. The tupu’s head is thinner than the stem, and its stem is circular in cross-section and ends in a point.

66

Quipu Quipus (kee-poo), sometimes called talking knots, were recording devices used by the Inka Empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.

The word quipu comes from the Quechua word for “knot.” A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun and plied thread or strings from llama hair. Historic documents indicate that quipus were used for record keeping and sending messages by runner throughout the empire. The color, knot placement and type of cord are all part of the logical numerical reading of the quipu.

Quipu is very ancient in the Andes, but most of the existing quipu are from the Inka period, approx 1400– 1532 CE. The Inka Empire stretched from Ecuador through central Chile and was centered on the Andean mountain ranges of Peru.

67

Doorknocker, 5 Rue Bonaparte, Paris, France Eugène Atget (1857-1927) took up photography as a professional in the late 1880s. His project to record ‘Old Paris’ began around 1897 and continued until the 1920s. In it, Atget was driven by the disappearance of buildings as schemes of modernisation swept the city. Ignoring the grand new vistas, he set out to record the character and details of the timeworn streets. He made a stock of prints for sale to artists, museums and libraries, in France and abroad, selling some 600 prints directly to the V&A. His urban scenes - featuring snatched glimpses, tangential perspectives, odd reflections and bizarre details - convey a distinctly modern experience of the city. In 1936, critic Walter Benjamin described how these images operated beyond their ostensible purpose, appearing unintentionally, but uncannily, like the ‘scene of a crime’.

68

69

70

Brass nutcrackers Probably 19th century, Gerald Morice Collection.

Nutcracker, carved fruitwood, France, 1789-1800 This nutcracker uses a screw mechanism to crush the shells of nuts inserted into the hole in the finial. A nutcracker like this would have been used mainly for cracking hazelnuts, cob nuts or almonds, as walnuts were usually cracked with the teeth at this date and brazil nuts had not yet been discovered by Europeans.

Door Knocker Wrought iron Germany; early 17th century

This carved fruitwood example is topped by a grotesque figure wearing a cap of liberty, the hat associated with radicals during the French Revolution.

This makes it possible to date the nutcracker quite closely.

These nutcrackers use the figures of Mr. Punch and his wife Judy from a traditional Punch and Judy show as handles. Punch and Judy shows are a feature of British seaside entertainment whose history in Great Britain stretches back to the puppet show that Samuel Pepys noted seeing in Covent Garden on 9 May 1662 performed by the Italian puppeteer Signor Bologna. This included a marionette, or string puppet as Pulcinello or Punch, but by the 19th century Punch was more usually a glove puppet, performed in a portable booth by one performer who had a character on each hand.

Punch became a popular character in Britain by the 19th century, when images of Punch and Judy were used as decorative motifs on a range of household items. In 1841 the magazine Punch, or the London Charivari was established, named after the comic and anarchic character of Mr. Punch whose image appeared on its cover.

71

72

Carved walnut fruit press Walnut, with an elm base and iron hinges Italian, ca. 1700.

Cane handle This walnut lion was carved in Italy about 1700 or earlier, and it serves as a fruit press. The back of the lion has a swelling underside and is hinged to its ruff. It opens into a hollow interior, where fruit is piled up and crushed when closed. The juices would escape through a spout fitted to the lion’s mouth. The object is quite small and would most likely have stood on a kitchen table.

Hard-paste porcelain with decoration moulded in low relief, made by Meissen porcelain factory, Germany, ca. 1740-45 Cane handle of hard-paste porcelain.

Moulded in the round as a lion’s head with one leg, the grip with low relief rococo scrolls and flowers.

The System of Objects Jean Baudrillard

The System of Objects Jean Baudrillard

Craftwork as Problem Solving Ethnographic Studies of Design and Making Edited By Trevor H.J. Marchand

The Craftsman Richard Sennett

Thinking through Craft Glenn Adamson

Thinking through Craft Glenn Adamson

Designing in Dark Times An Arendtian Lexicon Virginia Tassinari (Anthology Editor) , Eduardo Staszowski (Anthology Editor)

Designing in Dark Times An Arendtian Lexicon Virginia Tassinari (Anthology Editor) , Eduardo Staszowski (Anthology Editor)

73

Massage roll Crystal, amethyst, jade, bronze China Qing dynasty (1644–1911), H. 16.5 × 13 cm

74

Massage implement China Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Nephrite and jadeite, lapis lazuli, and carnelian, made up of five round, flat perforated discs, two of nephrite, one red agate, one jadeite and one lapis lazuli; white handle 23.2 cm × 9 cm × 2.7 cm

75

清中期 玉如意

Ruyi

Jade (nephrite) China Qing dynasty (1644–1911) 18th century 45.7 cm × 12.9 cm A ruyi (‘as desired’, ‘as [you] wish’) is a Chinese curved decorative object that serves as either a ceremonial scepter in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune in Chinese folklore.

A traditional ruyi has a long S-shaped handle and a head fashioned like a fist, cloud, or lingzhi mushroom. ruyi are constructed from diverse materials. For example, the Palace Museum in Beijing has nearly 3,000 ruyi variously made of gold, silver, iron, bamboo, wood, ivory, coral, rhinoceros horn, lacquer, crystal,

76 Sword guard (tsuba) copper-zinc alloy (shinchu) with silver gilding, Japan, about 1860.

The tsuba is a practical device placed between the hilt and the blade giving protection to the hand as well as providing a medium for the Japanese metalworker to demonstrate his skills. Early tsuba were simple iron disks but these were sometimes pierced or hammered with low relief decoration. Various copper alloys were later used and these could be patinated to a wide range of colours and finishes and then inlaid with other coloured metal alloys. Tsuba became miniature art forms in their own right and many schools developed their own unique styles.

77

Collection of Tsuba from the V&A archive, with following object no.

M.1629-1931, M.85-1911, M.20-1931, M.33-1920 M.222-1911, M.894-1910, M.260-1912, M.29-1915

79

80

78

Bracket wrought iron, made in England, ca. 1720

Bracket

Wall Bracket for a Lamp

Deal, Wood British 18th century

Copper alloy Byzantine 11th century

30.8 × 14 cm

41.3 × 7.8 × 2 cm

81

82

83

Bracket oak English, 1600,

Spit Bracket Iron Spanish 16th century 40 × 25.4 × 45.7 cm Although Spanish, particularly Catalan, iron working had reached a level of great artistry by the late Middle Ages, many ordinary household objects continued to be wrought in the traditional and less refined fashion, as is the case with this support for a spit (once part of a pair). It is amusing, however, and its maker demonstrated great inventiveness in transforming the scaly fins of its arched back into rings through which the spit could be inserted at gradual intervals.

The Museum purchased this bracket several years after acquiring the celebrated housefront built by Sir Paul Pindar with which it was associated. It came from a collection of London antiquities, but it is likely that originally it formed part of the spectacular chimney-piece in the main room on the first floor, directly under a richly moulded plaster ceiling. There are similar, larger, carved brackets on the front of the house, flanking the windows.

In about 1600 composite creatures like this one (part man, part woman with cloven hooves) were often prominently included in symbolic locations such as bed-heads or fireplaces, on which particular attention and expenditure were focused. They may have been understood as playing a symbolic role, here perhaps to scare evil away from the hearth; or they may simply have been an outlet for a vigourous sense of humour.

Bracket, wood Date and place unknown,

84

Basket (Jawun) Fiber, paint Australia, northern Queensland late 19th–early 20th century 52.1 × 41.9 × 27.3 cm The unique bicornual (“twohorned”) baskets known as jawun produced by the rainforest peoples of northeastern Queensland in Australia are among the most elegant and versatile baskets in Oceania.

Jawun were used for collecting and processing food and, in the case of larger examples, at times for carrying young infants. The baskets had two handles, only vestiges of which remain on the present example. The first, a short loop, was used to hang the basket from a tree branch or the post of a shelter to keep the contents safe from animals. The second was a long, straplike handle that was looped around the wearer’s forehead, allowing the basket to be worn hanging down the back to keep the user’s hands free. Jawun were used for collecting and carrying food, such as nuts and seeds, on forays in the rainforest.

They were also employed as sieves in the process of leaching toxic substances from certain plant foods in order to render them safe to eat. Filled with the food to be leached, such as the large seeds known locally as “black beans,” jawun were placed in running streams with the open top facing upstream and the hornlike projections wedged among the river stones.

85

Raja’s Coat (baju ratja) brass, copper and steel, called the ‘Raja’s Coat’ (baju ratja) because of its weight, probably Bugis, Sulawesi, c. 18th century

86

Princess’s Coat (baju lamina) Coat of mail and plate armour (baju lamina), brass, called the ‘Princess’s Coat’ (baju puteri) owing to its small size, probably Bugis, Sulawesi, c. 18th century

87

Stick Charts The stick charts were the main tool the Marshallese used to navigate on canoe across the islands of the Pacific Ocean, until WWII. Lacking astrolabes, sextants or even a compass, they would rely on maps made up by midribs of coconut fronds tied together to form an open framework. The location of the islands was represented by shells tied to the framework or by the lashed junction of two or more sticks. The threads were used to map ocean swells, the prevailing ocean surface wave-crests and the directions they followed to approach an island. The stick charts represented a very interesting form of cartography encoding informations not traditionally included in navigation maps.

88

89

Stick Charts Each chart stick is unique and was made by an individual navigator who was therefore the only person able to fully interpret and use it. The maps were not taken along during navigation, but studied and memorized prior to a trip. The Marshallese navigator would crouch down or lying prone in the canoe to feel how the hull was being pitched and rolled by underlying swells.

Map and Global Position of the Marshall Islands

90

91

92

Divination Tray (opon Ifá) Wood, leather, cowrie shells Yoruba Nigeria, Africa late 19th–early 20th century 33.5 cm The most essential implements of a Yoruba babalawo, or diviner, are his tray (“opon Ifa”) and his tapper (“iroke Ifa”). To initiate a divination session, the babalawo strikes the point of the tapper several times against the tray in order to invoke the Yoruba god of fate, Orunmila.

The diviner then continues to make markings on the tray that record the results of a series of palm nut or seedpod castings. The more visually appealing the diviner’s tools, the more pleasing they are to Orunmila, and thus more effective with the appeals of the diviner and client. For practitioners of Yoruba religion, divination facilitates the ability of individuals to better align themselves with their destinies as determined by the gods.

Ifa Divination Tray (Opon Ifa) Wood, pigment Yoruba Nigeria 19th–20th century

Ifa Divination Tray (Opon Ifa)

23.5 × 34 × 2.5cm

17 1/2 × 1 3/8 in.

Wood, pigment, Early 20th century.

93

A Fancy Beer-mug with Leo von Caprivi as Beer-marker Beer Stein Markers were traditionally used by Bavarian beer drinkers as a unique and creative way to identify their beer tankards. These markers, typically about 10cm high, were knitted wool puppets affixed to the thumbpiece on the lid of the tankard. The puppets often took the form of caricatures of contemporary politicians, both popular and unpopular, adding a humorous and satirical element to the practice. This custom was particularly prevalent at the Löwenbräukeller in Munich during the 1890s.

94

Shrimp Frolicking with Lotus, Attributed to Xie Wenzhia In Chinese culinary tradition, plating is an extension of cultural values rather than a purely aesthetic choice. The arrangement of food emphasizes balance, harmony, and rhythm—between colors, textures, temperatures, and symbolic forms—so that a dish communicates its intention before it is eaten.

Techniques such as carving, careful placement, and the use of negative space guide how food is approached, shared, and consumed, often reflecting seasonality, occasion, and social relationships at the table. In this way, the visual organization of a dish shapes perception, pacing, and meaning, allowing food to operate simultaneously as nourishment, gesture, and cultural expression.

95

A lot of the food in these magazines is from culinary competitions that were designed to demonstrate a chef’s expertise in knife carving and food presentation. There’s also a strong emphasis on poetic composition and whether the dishes make references to historical events or literature.

96

寿桃 (shòutáo), the Chinese “longev-

ity peach,” is a functional ornament in edible form, where symbolic shaping is essential to ceremonial function. Originating from Daoist longevity myths and widely used from the Ming dynasty onward, they are steamed buns molded, colored, and sometimes stamped to resemble peaches associated with immortality. Their ornamental appearance is not decorative excess but the mechanism by which the food performs its role: making abstract wishes for long life visible, shareable, and ritually effective.

Served at birthdays, temple offerings, and ancestral rites, organizes social relations through gifting, display, and communal eating. Its form communicates blessing before consumption and completes the ritual through eating, demonstrating how ornament can operate as a temporary, consumable interface between belief, social order, and bodily action.

98

97

Oldfish Tease the Lotus, Prepared

by Huan Chengming

Spirit Launched from the Sea Foam, Prepared and Photographed by Li Kai

99

The components of Ming-style furniture—jiaoya 角牙 (angle braces), qiazihua 卡子花 (spacer ornaments), quankou and 圈口 (apron panels), and zhangzi 帳子(stretchers)

100

In Ming dynasty furniture, elements such as jiaoya, qiazihua, quankou, and zhangzi exemplify functional ornament because they make structure visible and operative. Jiaoya (angle braces) stabilize joints while their curved profiles express the direction of force.

Qiazihua (spacer ornaments) prevent racking and maintain spacing through openwork that balances strength and lightness. Quankou (apron panels) stiffen frames while visually defining boundaries, and zhangzi (stretchers) lock legs together while articulating load paths.

In all cases, ornament is not applied decoration but the legible shaping of structural necessity.

101

102

Folding armchair (sedia a Savonarola) Walnut, carved and incised; red silk cut velvet; linen.

Italian (possibly) 15th century (textile); 19th century (chair) Brass key and lock for a chest Korea, 1980s

106.7 cm × 50.2 cm × 76 cm;

104

Lead-glazed earthenware stove Depicting various religious and mythical scenes by Hans Kraut in the Black Forest, Germany, 1577.

103

Earthenware painted in green, yellow, blue and manganese on a cream ground.

Swiss, Winterthur, late 17th century.

Formed of tiles from two separate stoves.

239cm × 166cm × 140cm The German-speaking lands in northern Europe developed a sealed wood-fired stove for heating large rooms. These efficient stoves were mounted so that the stokehole and flue were behind the wall. This allowed the room to be completely free of fumes and smoke. Moreover, the stoves could be built to almost any size using deep moulded tiles.

These were not only decorative but also provided the maximum surface area for heating.

105

In some Chinese ethnic minority communities, appliquéd and patchwork quilts are made as special covers for the wedding bed. In other communities, a bedcover or items of clothing are made for a new child out of pieces of fabric contributed by friends and family— figuratively representing the notion that it takes a village to raise the child. These textiles are called bai jia bei, or “one hundred families” bedcovers and bai jia yi or “one hundred families” clothes.

In most communities, the making of these special bedcovers has diminished and may be disappearing as commercially manufactured textiles and clothing become more available. As fewer individuals construct and use these handmade textiles, the knowledge and skills needed to make them is also being lost.

107

106

Quilt Cover Zhuang ethnic group Probably made in Nandan County, Guangxi Province China, c. 1920-1940 Cotton Hand appliqué and reverse appliqué, hand piecing IQM 2014.027.0011

Photograph of a small Chinese boy standing next to a doorframe, wearing trousers and a varigated collar with a patchwork bib, ca.1900-1920.

Johnson, G.G.

One hundred Good Wishes Quilts is an early 21st century commemorative form of quilt which is made by American families to welcome a Chinese child adoptee. This practice originated from a northern Chinese patchwork practice and spread quickly through the China adoption community through the use of the internet.This form of hybrid quilting projects are also described as “baijia bei” (百家 被) on OHGWQ websites.

It may have been inspired by the baijia yi. It is made of donated fabric from friends, family members, and internet acquaintances who may have themselves adopted Chinese children. The quilt also contains both Chinese and American culture elements (i.e the use of quilt as a commemorative object in US and the protective aspect of Chinese patchwork) and represent a point of contact between these two cultures which are distinctive from each other.

110 108

109

Patchwork of Woven Textiles Silk China Yuan (1271–1368) to early Ming (1368–1644) dynasty 66.7 × 67.9 cm

Made to celebrate the adoption of a child from China.

Image courtesy: Kathy Walker.

Rosie Lee Tompkins. Untitled, 1994.

Quilted by Irene Bankhead. Eli Leon Bequest, BAMPFA.

111 112

Child’s sleeping mat (boro shikimono), late 19th century The term boro is derived from the Japanese term “boroboro”, meaning something tattered or repaired. The term ‘boro’ typically refers to cotton, linen and hemp materials, mostly hand-woven by peasant farmers, that have been stitched or re-woven together to create an often many-layered material used for warm, practical clothing.

Untitled, Rosie Lee Tompkins, 1968, 1982-3, 1996. Cotton, wool, felt, velvet, velveteen, found and repurposed embroidered fragments, crocheted dollies, silk crepe, decorative trim, cotton threaded embroidery, and printed drapery.

Due to the economic nature of repairing, re-using and re-weaving old clothing and fabrics, boro also developed out of a working-class need for inexpensive textiles, predominantly coming to signify the clothing of the peasant farming classes over time. Garments and textiles were repaired with spare fabric scraps out of necessity, and in many cases, the usage of repaired clothing lasted for several generations, leading to garments eventually resembling a complex and many-layered patchwork spanning decades of mending.

113

Darned Fingertips Japanese gardening gloves and wool, Celia Pym 2016 34 × 16cm

114

Mended Brown Cardigan, original cardigan, blue wool mending, Celia Pym 2023

116

115

St. Peter’s Church, Main Street in Püchau, Machern A mud scraper or mud scraper is a device consisting of a metal blade, simple or ornate, fixed to the wall or floor at the door of a building to allow visitors to scrape the soles of their shoes before entering.

Scrapers appeared at the same time as the sidewalks of large cities, at the end of the 18th century . Originally simply set into the sidewalk, some models were banned because they constituted a dangerous obstacle; they were then placed in niches in the facades . Widespread during the 19th and early 20th centuries in many Western metropolises, they can still be found in the streets of New York, London, and Brussels, where more than 700 different models have been recorded.

During the Second World War and the German occupation of France , many scrapers were recovered as ferrous metals; they were also removed over time during the improvement of streets and sidewalks, or road improvements.

Foot Scraper Iron 1700–1800 14 cm Sonn (1928) notes that this type was fairly common in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries and found frequently in the American colonies, particularly Massachusetts and Connecticut. These “side-attached” scrapers are illustrated (perpendicular brace pointing down) on the outside of frame houses.

118

117

Schuhabstreifer in Mézières, Charleville-Mézières, Frankreich

Belgique - Bruxelles - Maison Beukman (Art nouveau, architecte Albert Roosenboom, 1900)

119

Sheet of 20 from a set of 80 stamps ‘80 Moscow Manhole Covers’ from the project ‘The Best Sewerage For The Best People’, Alexander Kholopov. Russian, 1996

120

Two of the manhole covers recorded

by Dr Taylor in his book Opercula

122 121

‘Pentagram Papers 45: Overlooked’ A booklet of neon coloured rubbings which celebrate one of London’s most enduring examples of industrial design, street covers.

Kinnikuman Manga manhole cover in Osaka

123

124

Hors-sol, 2025, asphalt, aluminium, bronze, brass, 1270 × 1270 × 5 cm.

Manhole cover Nara, Japan

Photo: Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto / Marco Cappelletti studio. © the artist, by SIAE 2025. Courtesy Palazzo Grassi, Pinault Collection, Venice

125

SUN Xiaoqian 孫曉倩 et al., “柱礎 zhùchǔ” in Architectura Sinica last modified July 21, 2022

In traditional Chinese architecture, zhuchu (literally the stone plinth or foundation (chu 礎) of a pillar (zhu 柱) generally refers to the stone that supports a pillar. It consists of an upper part aboveground which supports the pillar foot (zhujiao 柱脚) and a lower part buried underground, the top of which is generally level with the surface of the building platform. The style and material of pillar bases differs according to time and region. In early human settlements, there is evidence that wooden planks or wooden blocks were used as pillar bases. In the southern part of China, two separate parts work together to support the pillar. The upper one is called gudeng 鼓磴 (lit. “drum step”), the lower one is sangshi 磉石 (lit. “pillar base stone”), both are made of stone. The stone “drums” of traditional architecture in the southern part of China and the stone blocks supporting the stone drums jointly assume the role of pillar bases.

The pillar base can effectively prevent the decay of the wooden pillar foot by raising it off the wet ground. Furthermore, by stopping the absorption of moisture around the pillar foot, it helps prevent the shrinkage of the wood.

126

127

128

Værmagerbue Brick arch between two living rooms.

Værmagerbue is used for an arch that connects two merged rooms; this conversion, which became quite widespread during World War II, has been seen as a typical expression of the Wehrmacht’s feelings of grandeur.

And the resistance fighter Røde, if he were a real person, would probably have been terribly upset if he knew that such a bow was nicknamed the “værnmagerbue” right after the war.

And such an arc revealed that one might have made money by fraternizing a little too much with the Nazis.

19th-century house in Gwalior, using stone jalis Jalis, or pierced screens, were used extensively in Indian architecture as windows, room dividers, and railings.

In the course of the day, the movement of their patterns in silhouette across the floor would enhance the pleasure of their intricate geometry.

129

Sidi Sayed Jaali. Photograph taken December 2005 by SK Desai

130

Mashrabiya Screen with Medallions Wood Egypt 18th century 205.7 × 243.8 × 7 cm This masterful flat screen is made of large and small panels of turned lattice-work in various designs above a solid base with medallions. These medallions are carved in high relief with interlacing arabesque, recalling embroidery in textiles. The wide spaces between the mashrabiya elements at the top improved the ventilation of the interior space.

131

Mashrabiya Screen Wood Egypt 18th–19th century 121.9 cm × 78.7 cm × 33 cm

132

133

The Church of St John the Baptist is the largest church in Essex. It has north and south arcades that date to around 1340, with other phases of construction dating to the 15th and early 16th centuries.

Gargoyles holding a head, Magdalen College, Cloister, Great Quadrangle, Oxford, Oxfordshire Henry William Taunt, 1900

Historic England Archive AA101135 A wooden corbel with a grotesque head in the Church of St John the Baptist, Thaxted, Essex

Rainwater flows from the mouth of the head being held by the two figures and into a drainpipe. Magdalen College was founded by Bishop Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, in 1458. The Cloister Quadrangle was built between 1475 and 1490.

John Gay, 1948 Copyright Historic England Archive

Historic England Archive CC50/00141

Gargoyles are waterspouts that are designed to throw rain water away from the outside wall of a building.

Derived from the Old French gargouille, meaning throat, the term was first used to describe carved lions and spouts on ancient classical buildings. It later became more familiar as a term used to describe the grotesque creatures and human forms disgorging water from the parapets of medieval walls and towers.

Grotesques were originally buried Roman ornamental decorations that were discovered during the Renaissance in subterranean ruins known as grotte, hence grotesques. We now associate the term with unnatural, ugly or distorted forms, which can have the power to shock or scare those that cast their eyes over them.

Both gargoyles and grotesques have been attributed with the power to ward off evil spirits, guarding the buildings they occupy and protecting those inside.

135

134

故宮太和殿屋脊的鴟吻

Chiwen roof-ornament on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Beijing.

Chiwen (Chinese: 蚩吻; pinyin: chiwen; Wade–Giles: ch’ih-wen; lit. ‘hornless-dragon mouth’) is a roof ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture and art. Chiwen is also the name of a Chinese dragon that mixes features of a fish, and in Chinese mythology is one of the nine sons of the dragon, which are also used as imperial roof decorations. As architectural ornaments or waterspouts, they are comparable with Western gargoyles, but are not related to the mythological character.

“Two dragons worshipping the pagoda” and “two dragons contesting the pearl” are two Buddhist temple images.

136

Song dynasty painting of Kaifeng palace rooftop.

IMAGE CREDITS 1. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Key’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/ item/O1757329/key/

13. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Button’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O156342/button-unknown/

2. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Key (unknown)’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O380604/ key-unknown/

14. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Button’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O293443/button-lucie-rie/

3. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Key’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/ item/O497844/key/

15. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Button card’, V&A Collections, https://collections. vam.ac.uk/item/O320029/button-card-john-templeton-buttons/

4. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Framed keys’, V&A Collections, https://collections. vam.ac.uk/item/O1260205/framed-keyskey-c-f-a/

16. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Button card’, V&A Collections, https://collections. vam.ac.uk/item/O320004/button-card-john-templeton-buttons/

5. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Lock and key’, V&A Collections, https://collections. vam.ac.uk/item/O380507/lock-and-key-ndu-feyis/

17. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Button’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O147766/button-unknown/

6. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Padlock’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O374428/padlock-unknown/#object-details 7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Key’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/4761 8. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Key’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/202099 9. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Key’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/468869 10. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Key’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/206349

18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/310489 19. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/322790 20. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/7536 21. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/43254 22. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/39936

11. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Key’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/ item/O78478/key-unknown/

23. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/41068

12. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Key’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/463360

24. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/41891

146

25. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Button’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/41065 26.Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Seal’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O491868/seal/ 27. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Seal’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/44314 28. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Seal’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/41059 29. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Seal’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O495476/seal/ 30.Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Gold nomisma (hyperpyron)’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/ O117869/gold-nomisma-hyperpyron-coin-unknown/ 31. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Sestertius’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O126875/ coin-sestertius-unknown/ 32. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Coin charm’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O22510/ coin-charm-unknown/ 33. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/50073 34. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/475175 35. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/465812

IMAGE CREDITS 36. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/442875 37. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/453606 38. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/320699 39. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Coin’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/317684 40. Penn Museum, ‘Goldweight’, Penn Museum Collections, https://www. penn.museum/collections/object/293529 41. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/310913 42. Power of Stories, ‘Akan goldweights: tools of persuasion’, Power of Stories, https://www.powerofstories.co.uk/ akan-goldweights-tools-of-persuasion/ 43. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/317686 44. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/317688 45. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/75816 46. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/61144

47. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/61141 48. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/544712

59. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Inrō’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O467130/inr%C5%8D-kiyotada/inr%C5%8D-kiyotada/ 60. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Inrō’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O461459/inr%C5%8D-unknown/

49. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Goldweight’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/267460

61. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Inrō’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O457102/inr%C5%8D-unknown/

50. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1813327/ thimble-josiah-wedgwood-and/

62. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Inrō’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/49560

51. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O1172935/thimble-unknown/

63. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Amulet’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O383260/amulet-unknown/

52. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O356984/ thimble-unknown/

64. National Palace Museum, ‘Object’, Digital Archive, https://digitalarchive. npm.gov.tw/Collection/Detail/62409?dep=U

53. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O356984/thimble-unknown/

65. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/309229

54. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1173173/ thimble-unknown/ 55. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Thimble’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O1173148/thimble-unknown/ 56. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Chatelaine’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O113893/ chatelaine-unknown/ 57. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Chatelaine’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354769/ chatelaine/ 58. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Chatelaine’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O372492/ chatelaine-boulton-matthew/

147

66. Smithsonian Institution, ‘Quipu’, Smithsonian Collections, https://www.si. edu/object/quipu:nmnhanthropology_8112325 67. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Doorknocker’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1057915/ doorknocker-5-rue-bonaparte-paris-photograph-atget-jean-eug%C3%A8ne/ 68. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Knocker’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O379667/ knocker/ 69. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Nutcracker’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O90552/ nutcracker-unknown/

IMAGE CREDITS 70. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Nutcracker’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1263712/ nutcracker-unknown/ 71. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Fruit press’, V&A Collections, https:// collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O119448/ fruit-press-unknown/

81. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Bracket’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/468549

92. Brooklyn Museum, ‘Object’, Brooklyn Museum Collection, https://www. brooklynmuseum.org/fr-FR/objects/101835

82. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Bracket’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O113911/bracket-unknown/

93. Wikipedia contributors, ‘Beer stein marker’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Beer_Stein_Marker

72. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Handle’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O307032/handle-meissen-porcelain-factory/

83. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Bracket’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O474205/bracket/

94, 95, 97, 98. images from instagram @ chinese_plating

73. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/43291 74. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/42086 75. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/44263 76. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Tsuba’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O461256/tsuba-zuiry%C5%ABken-terutomo/ 77. Collection of Tsuba from the V&A archive, with following object no.

M.1629-1931, M.85-1911, M.20-1931, M.33-1920, M.222-1911, M.894-1910, M.2601912, M.29-1915 78. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Bracket’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O380797/bracket-unknown/ 79. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Bracket’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/197308 80. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Bracket’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/466049

84. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Bracket’, The Met Collection, https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/311217 85. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Raja’s coat (body armour)’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/ O471444/rajas-coat-bajuratja-body-armour-unknown 86. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Princess’s coat (body armour)’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/ item/O471445/princesss-coat-baju-lamina-body-armour-unknown/ 87. images and text from article: https:// socks-studio.com/2014/01/16/sculpturalcartography-how-the-marshall-islandsinhabitants-used-stick-charts-to-mapthe-waves/ 88. images and text from article: https:// socks-studio.com/2014/01/16/sculpturalcartography-how-the-marshall-islandsinhabitants-used-stick-charts-to-mapthe-waves/ 89. images and text from article: https:// socks-studio.com/2014/01/16/sculpturalcartography-how-the-marshall-islandsinhabitants-used-stick-charts-to-mapthe-waves/ 90. Saint Louis Art Museum, ‘Object’, SLAM Collection, https://www.slam.org/ collection/objects/29099/ 91. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/314973

148

96. Sin Chew Daily, ‘Article’, Sin Chew, https://perak.sinchew.com.my/ news/20211002/perak/3328839 99, 100. Chinese domestic furniture : Ecke, Gustav 101. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Key and lock’, V&A Collections, https://collections. vam.ac.uk/item/O1725811/key-and-locklock-unknown/ 102. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/461021 103. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Stove’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O136883/stove/ 104. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Stove’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O88781/stove-unknown/ 105. lausanne, QUILTS, musée des arts décoratifs 106. International Quilt Museum, ‘Quilts of Southwest China’, IQM, https://www. internationalquiltmuseum.org/exhibition/ quilts-southwest-china 107. University of Southern California Libraries, ‘Image’, USC Digital Library, http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/ collection/p15799coll65/id/1559 108. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/44583 109. Image courtesy: Kathy Walker.

IMAGE CREDITS 110. Decorative Arts Trust, ‘Tompkins at BAMPFA’, Decorative Arts Trust, https:// decorativeartstrust.org/tompkins-bampfa-post/

124. Pinault Collection, ‘Hors-sol – Tatiana Trouvé’, Pinault Collection, https://www. pinaultcollection.com/palazzograssi/fr/ hors-sol-de-tatiana-trouve

111. Photography by Eli Leon. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

125. Architectura Sinica, ‘Key word entry’, Architectura Sinica, https://architecturasinica.org/key-word/k000128

112. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, ‘Object’, Cooper Hewitt Collection, https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1108827543 113, 114. Celia Pym, Celia Pym, https:// celiapym.com/ 115. Wikipedia contributors, ‘Décrottoir’, Wikipedia, https://fr.wikipedia.org/ wiki/D%C3%A9crottoir 116. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/957 117. Charleville-Mézières, Rue de la Basilique, Dietmar Rabich

126. CGTN, ‘Tang dynasty architecture’, CGTN, https://news.cgtn.com/ event/20241226/tang-architecture/index. html#/building-design 127. Bolius, ‘Værnemagerbuen’, Bolius, https://www.bolius.dk/vaernemagerbuen-hvor-blevden-af-23466 128. Archive.org, Winter India, https:// archive.org/details/winterindia00scid 129. Wikimedia Commons contributors, ‘Sidi Saiyyad Ni Jaali’, Wikimedia Commons, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Sidi_Saiyyad_Ni_Jaali.jpg

118. Belgique - Bruxelles - Maison Beukman, 1900

130. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/445979

119. Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘Print’, V&A Collections, https://collections.vam. ac.uk/item/O538936/one-of--4-sheetsprint-kholopov-alexander/

131. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Object’, The Met Collection, https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/445978

120. Two of the manhole covers recorded

by Dr Taylor in his book Opercula

132. Historic England Archive AA101135 133. Historic England Archive CC50/00141

121. Pentagram, ‘Pentagram Papers 45: Overlooked’, Pentagram, https://www. pentagram.com/work/pentagram-papers-45-overlooked 122. Plan My Japan, ‘Japanese manhole covers’, Plan My Japan, https://www. planmyjapan.com/japanese-manhole-covers/ 123. Wikimedia Commons contributors, ‘Manhole Cover, Nara’, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Manhole-Cover-Nara-colour.jpg

134. Taiwan Panorama, ‘Article’, Taiwan Panorama, http://www.taiwan-panorama. com/en/Articles/Details?Guid=83b8d4f2bc2d-4227-8f3c-68411e9d957f 135. Wikipedia contributors, ‘Chiwen’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Chiwen 136. R. M. Barnhart, Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting, p. 123.

149

Master Thesis

by Mo Tong Yang

ECAL 2026