Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Egyptian No. 3'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Egyptian No. 3', 1856. Museum no. 1579

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawings for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Egyptian No. 3'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1579

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Greek No. 4'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Greek No. 4', 1856. Museum no. 1591

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Greek No. 4'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1591

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Pompeian No. 3'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Pompeian No. 3', 1856. Museum no. 1598

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Pompeian No. 3'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1598

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Indian No. 4'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Indian No. 4', 1856. Museum no. 1625

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Indian No. 4'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1625

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Savage Tribes No. 1'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Savage Tribes No. 1', 1856. Museum no. 1574

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Savage Tribes No. 1'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1574

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Moresque No. 4'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Moresque No. 4', 1856. Museum no. 1615

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Moresque No. 4'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1615

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Nineveh and Persia No. 1'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Nineveh and Persia No. 1', 1856. Museum no. 1586

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Nineveh and Persia No. 1'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1586

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Arabian No. 4'

Owen Jones, Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Arabian No. 4', 1856. Museum no. 1607

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Arabian No. 4'
Published 1856
Museum no. 1607

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.

Owen Jones, 'Frontispiece from The Grammar of Ornament'

Owen Jones, 'Frontispiece from The Grammar of Ornament', 1856. National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Frontispiece from The Grammar of Ornament
1856
Chromolithograph
Published by Day & Son
National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

The eclectic, democratic attitude in Owen Jones's design philosophy is reflected in the title page for 'The Grammar of Ornament'. The design integrates Greek key scrolling, medieval manuscript lettering, Celtic interlacing and Islamic ribbed motifs.

Owen Jones, 'Original drawing for The Grammar of Ornament - "Byzantine No. 3"'

Owen Jones, 'Original drawing for The Grammar of Ornament - "Byzantine No. 3"', 1856. Museum no. 1603

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Original drawing for The Grammar of Ornament
'Byzantine No. 3'
Published 1856
Pen and bodycolour
Museum no. 1603

Jones had not travelled to many of the countries from which he gathered examples for 'Grammar'. He therefore studied collections at institutions such as the Louvre, the British Museum and the South Kensington Museum. Later known as the V&A, the South Kensington Museum had evolved out of the Government School of Design and included objects from the 1851 Great Exhibition. Jones displayed a great sense of 'design democracy' in his studies for 'The Grammar of Ornament'. To illustrate his decoration principles he drew upon a wide range of source material. The pages of 'Grammar' include examples of architecture, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, manuscripts, woodwork and even plants from nature. This page from 'Grammar's' Byzantine chapter draws upon Greek manuscripts and French enamelled tombs.

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Plate LXIV - Celtic No.2'

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Plate LXIV - Celtic No.2', 1856. National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Plate LXIV - Celtic No.2'
1856
Chromolithograph
Published by Day & Son
National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Jones published 'The Grammar of Ornament' as a rallying cry to all designers. He drew attention to the valuable lessons to be learnt from historical ornament.

'The Grammar of Ornament' was available in parts, which at the time made it an affordable option for young designers. It is still in print today - more than 150 years after its first publication - and continues to provide a rich source of inspiration for contemporary designers.

'Grammar' was a monumental publishing project that achieved standards of colour printing never seen before. It included 112 lusciously illustrated plates. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming vibrancy of the plates, Jones's core educational message was often lost. He had always intended that the illustrations should support the text, not the other way around.

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' – 'Plate XXI - Greek No.7'

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' – 'Plate XXI - Greek No.7', 1856. National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Plate XXI - Greek No.7'
1856
Chromolithograph
Published by Day & Son
National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Jones published 'The Grammar of Ornament' as a rallying cry to all designers. He drew attention to the valuable lessons to be learnt from historical ornament.

'The Grammar of Ornament' was available in parts, which at the time made it an affordable option for young designers. It is still in print today - more than 150 years after its first publication - and continues to provide a rich source of inspiration for contemporary designers.

'Grammar' was a monumental publishing project that achieved standards of colour printing never seen before. It included 112 lusciously illustrated plates. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming vibrancy of the plates, Jones's core educational message was often lost. He had always intended that the illustrations should support the text, not the other way around.

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' – 'Plate LVIII - Hindoo No.3'

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' – 'Plate LVIII - Hindoo No.3', 1856. National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Plate LVIII - Hindoo No.3'
1856
Chromolithograph
Published by Day & Son
National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Jones published 'The Grammar of Ornament' as a rallying cry to all designers. He drew attention to the valuable lessons to be learnt from historical ornament.

'The Grammar of Ornament' was available in parts, which at the time made it an affordable option for young designers. It is still in print today - more than 150 years after its first publication - and continues to provide a rich source of inspiration for contemporary designers.

'Grammar' was a monumental publishing project that achieved standards of colour printing never seen before. It included 112 lusciously illustrated plates. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming vibrancy of the plates, Jones's core educational message was often lost. He had always intended that the illustrations should support the text, not the other way around.

Owen Jones, 'Wallpaper sample

Owen Jones, 'Wallpaper sample, designed for Jeffrey & Co.' about 1860. Museum no. 8336:106

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Wallpaper sample, designed for Jeffrey & Co.
About 1860
Colour print from woodblocks
Given by Miss Catherine Jones, sister of the artist
Museum no. 8336:106

Jones passionately believed that direct representations of natural objects should be avoided at all costs. He felt, for example, that realistic depictions of flowers would disturb the 'flatness' of a wall if used in a wallpaper design. He drew inspiration from the stylised flower forms show in some of the samples of ornament exhibited here in this drawing for one of the Persian pages from 'The Grammar of Ornament'. Jones sourced these patterns from Persian manuscripts in the British Museum's collections.

This wallpaper sample is an example of how Jones applied the abstract flower forms exemplified in the 'Persian No. 1' page to domestic design.

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Plate LIX - Chinese No.1'

Owen Jones, Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament' - 'Plate LIX - Chinese No.1', 1856. National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Owen Jones (1809-74)
Plate from 'The Grammar of Ornament'
'Plate LIX - Chinese No.1'
1856
Chromolithographs
Published by Day & Son
National Art Library Pressmark 106.J.22

Jones published The Grammar of Ornament as a rallying cry to all designers. He drew attention to the valuable lessons to be learnt from historical ornament.
The Grammar of Ornament was available in parts, which at the time made it an affordable option for young designers. It is still in print today – more than 150 years after its first publication – and continues to provide a rich source of inspiration for contemporary designers.
Grammar was a monumental publishing project that achieved standards of colour printing never seen before. It included 112 lusciously illustrated plates. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming vibrancy of the plates, Jones’s core educational message was often lost. He had always intended that the illustrations should support the text, not the other way around.

Owen Jones 1809-74. Museum no. 2006BB5274

Owen Jones 1809-74. Museum no. 2006BB5274

Owen Jones 1809-74
Pen and bodycolour
Original drawing for The Grammar of Ornament (Persian No. 1)
Published 1856
Museum no. 2006BB5274

Owen Jones (1809 - 74), Plate XLI

Owen Jones (1809 - 74), Plate XLI, No.5; Moresque No.3 - from The Grammar of Ornament. Museum no. 2006AY6170

Owen Jones (1809 - 74)
Plate XLI, No.5; Moresque No.3 - from  The Grammar of Ornament
published  by Day & Son, London, English 
1856.
Museum no. 2006AY6170

'The Grammar of Ornament' consisted of twenty chapters that explored design principles from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, Greece and Pompeii, medieval Europe, India, China, Pacific islands and of course the Islamic world. The V&A holds all of the original drawings, which were made by Jones and his team of assistants. Jones's assistants spent a year meticulously preparing the original 'Grammar' drawings for publication. The drawings were carefully copied on to lithography stones and then printed.