Ornamentation In Architecture

In this essay, I am going to discuss what ornaments mean to both Christopher Dresser and John Ruskin, showing the main differences between their thoughts about ornaments, then I will compare their thoughts with the contemporary meaning of ornamentation, which is the meaning of ornamentation today, and at the end, I am going to share my own thoughts about ornaments. Ornamentation, which is the state of decorating an object, a room, or a building, is one of the visual elements in architecture and design. People started ornamenting their caves, homes, and objects even before history was recorded. For that, no one knows when and where did people start ornamenting, and how did the idea of ornamenting come to their mind. However, we know that ornaments are found in many ancient civilizations, and each civilization had specific techniques that made their ornaments different than other ornaments from other civilizations and regions. John …show more content…
The most important belief that Dresser believed in is that understanding art is the most valuable power for everyone and everything because it enriches people, themselves, and the whole community with knowledge. In addition, he believed that only people who can design and create objects with their hands have the ability to understand the object and determine whether it was beautiful or not. These people are the most valuable people because of their abilities and skills (Dresser, 1870). For Dresser, the quality of an ornament does not depend on its material, so he believed that the reason behind having a beautiful ornament is its own characteristics, which make the ornament more appealing to people who look at it. For that, an ornament does not have to deliver a meaning to people, nor to show them what to do and where to go. It only have to consider several elements to be a good ornament (Dresser,