This week we present the chromolithographic plates from the Greek section of Owen Jones’s classic work The Grammar of Ornament, published by Bernard Quaritch in London in 1868 with chromolithographs by Day & Son.The Grammar of Ornament was first published in 1856 and ours is the third English-language edition. The book features 120 chromolithographic plates of design examples from across time, geography, and culture. Jones, an architect, designer, and color theorist primarily interested in the use of color in ornamental design (“form without colour is like a body without a soul”) was an early proponent of the use of chromolithography.
While Jones, a pioneer in the use of chromolithography in books, praised Greek ornament for its “perfection of pure form to a point which has never since been reached,” his main critique was that “Greek ornament was wanting, however, in one of the great charms which should always accompany ornament, – viz. Symbolism. It was meaningless, purely decorative, never representative, and can hardly be said to be constructive… . The ornament was no part of the construction, as with the Egyptian: it could be removed, and the structure remained unchanged. On the Corinthian capital the ornament is applied, not constructed: it is not so on the Egyptian capital; there we feel the whole capital is the ornament, – to remove any portion of it would destroy it.”
At some point during the 31st say or think: “Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet, —where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last. I celebrate you as we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a new one”
The last time you go to the bathroom on Dec 31st wash your hands and then cup water into your hands under the facet
Say or think: “Hestia, beloved and eternal, to you I pour out the last libation of 2021”
Open your hands and let the water pour out
The first time you go to the bathroom on Jan 1st wash your hands and then cup water into your hands under the facet
Say or think: “Hestia, of the blessed hearth, to you I pour out the first libation of 2022”
Open your hands and let the water pour out
At some point during the 1st say or think: “To Hestia of the hearth and to all Theoi I welcome you into my life in the year of 2022, I will seek to foster Kharis with you and always aim for Arete, I prepare myself for this year, Khaire!”
If you can light a jar candle do so at some point during the 31st or 1st and say or think: “Hestia, I ask your blessings for this New Year, may the flame of your sacred hearth shine brightly in my life”
Other opportunities & way to celebrate:
Write in a notes app a goal you have for this coming year so it’ll stay with you
Silently thank Hestia before you eat dinner on the 31st and before you eat breakfast on the 1st
Rewatch the funniest videos you found during 2021
Replay your favorite game of 2021
Pick out a game, book, or something else you might want to do during 2022
Relax and remember you didn’t fail in 2021 you’re here, you survived, welcome to the new year.
