Abstract
ALTHOUGH of late years the investigation of the decorative art of primitive peoples has received considerable attention, yet the interest taken in the subject is not so great as its importance merits. There are two methods of study, (1) the collation of specimens which happen to be in museums, with armchair deductions from the material examined; and (2) investigations in. the field. When we recall the errors into which the former method has landed students, we must endorse the following remarks made by Mr. Laufer:—“I must confess,” he says, “I adhere to the principle that ornaments should not be regarded as enigmas which can be easily puzzled put by the homely fireside. Neither are ornaments of primitive tribes like inscriptions, that may be deciphered; they are rather productions of their art, which can receive proper explanation only from the lips of their creators.” Mr. Laufer speaks from experience, as he spent two years among the various tribes, of Saghalin Island and the Amur region, and one result of his painstaking investigations is an exhaustive memoir on the decorative art of the Amur lYibes, which has recently been published in the Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. The researches were undertaken under the auspices of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, and they have been published with that wealth of excellent illustration to which our American colleagues have accustomed us.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HAEDDON, A. East Siberian Decorative Art 1 . Nature 67, 560–561 (1903). https://doi.org/10.1038/067560b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/067560b0