Decorative Art, GIP-HYD

People appreciate the usefulness of things like glassware and furniture, but they appreciate such objects even more when they’re aesthetically pleasing, too. That’s where decorative art comes in. Explore the world of basketry, metalwork, pottery, interior design, tapestry, and more.
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Decorative Art Encyclopedia Articles By Title

gipon
gipon, tunic worn under armour in the 14th century and later adapted for civilian use. At first a tight-fitting......
girandole
girandole, elaborate wall bracket incorporating one or more candleholders and frequently a mirror to reflect the......
Girard, Alexander
Alexander Girard was an American architect and furniture, textile, graphic, and industrial designer whose vibrant,......
girdle
girdle, a band that encircles or girds the waist either to confine the loose and flowing outer garments so as to......
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was a late Renaissance painter and architect, the principal heir of Raphael, and one of the initiators......
glassblowing
glassblowing, the practice of shaping a mass of glass that has been softened by heat by blowing air into it through......
glove
glove, covering for the hand with separate sections for the fingers and thumb, sometimes extending over the wrist......
Gobelin Family
Gobelin Family was a French family of dyers and clothmakers whose factory became world-famous for its tapestries.......
Godefroid de Claire
Godefroid de Claire was an important Belgian Romanesque goldsmith and enamelist of the Mosan school. Little is......
Godwin, Edward
Edward Godwin was a British architect, designer, and writer notable for his contributions to the English Aesthetic......
Golconda
Golconda, historic fortress and ruined city lying 5 miles (8 km) west of Hyderabad in western Telangana state,......
gold leaf
gold leaf, extremely thin sheet of gold (about 0.1 micrometre, or 4 millionths of an inch, thick) used for gilding.......
golden rose
golden rose, ornament of wrought gold set with gems, generally sapphires, that is blessed by the pope on the fourth......
goldwork
goldwork, sculpture, vessels, jewelry, ornamentation, and coinage made from gold. A brief treatment of goldwork......
Gombroon ware
Gombroon ware, in Islāmic ceramics, pierced white pottery and porcelain dating from the 18th century and noted......
gong
gong, type of Chinese bronze vessel used to serve wine, it was characterized by an unusually fine harmony between......
González, Julio
Julio González was a Spanish sculptor and painter who developed the expressive use of iron as a medium for modern......
Goudy, Frederic W.
Frederic W. Goudy was an American printer and typographer who designed more than 100 typefaces outstanding for......
Gouthière, Pierre
Pierre Gouthière was a metalworker who was among the most influential French craftsmen in the 18th century. In......
Goya, Francisco
Francisco Goya was a Spanish artist whose paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical......
Graf, Urs
Urs Graf was a Swiss draftsman, engraver, and goldsmith, known for his drawings, woodcuts, and etchings. The son......
grandfather clock
grandfather clock, tall pendulum clock (see animation) enclosed in a wooden case that stands upon the floor and......
Grandjean, Philippe
Philippe Grandjean was a French type engraver particularly noted for his famous series of roman and italic types......
Granja De San Ildefonso, La
La Granja De San Ildefonso, Spanish royal glass factory established in 1728 near the summer palace of King Philip......
Grant, Duncan
Duncan Grant was an innovative British Post-Impressionist painter and designer. He was one of the first English......
granulation
granulation, in jewelry, type of decoration in which minute grains or tiny balls of gold are applied to a surface......
Great Mogul diamond
Great Mogul diamond, the largest diamond ever found in India. It was discovered as a 787-carat rough stone in the......
Great Star of Africa
Great Star of Africa, the largest (530.2 carats) gem cut from the Cullinan...
Greek pottery
Greek pottery, the pottery of the ancient Greeks, important both for the intrinsic beauty of its forms and decoration......
Gropius, Walter
Walter Gropius was a German American architect and educator who, particularly as director of the Bauhaus (1919–28),......
Grosz, George
George Grosz was a German artist whose caricatures and paintings provided some of the most vitriolic social criticism......
grotesque
grotesque, in architecture and decorative art, fanciful mural or sculptural decoration involving mixed animal,......
grotto
grotto, natural or artificial cave used as a decorative feature in 18th-century European gardens. Grottoes derived......
gu
gu, type of Chinese vessel, it was a tall wine beaker with a trumpet-shaped top, a restricted centre section, and......
Guan kilns
Guan kilns, Chinese kilns known for creating an imperial variety of stoneware during the Song dynasty (ad 960–1279).......
gueridon
gueridon, small stand or table designed to support a candelabrum. It was introduced into France and Italy in the......
gui
gui, type of Chinese vessel produced during the Shang (18th–12th century bc) and Zhou (c. 1111–255 bc) dynasties.......
Guimard, Hector
Hector Guimard was an architect, decorator, and furniture designer, probably the best-known French representative......
Guwen
Guwen, early form of Chinese writing, examples of which are found on bronze vessels and objects of the Shang (c.......
Hafner ware
Hafner ware, glazed earthenware made in Germany as early as 1350, originally as stove tiles molded in relief. The......
hairdressing
hairdressing, custom of cutting and arranging the hair, practiced by men and women from ancient times to the present.......
haji ware
haji ware, Japanese earthenware developed in the 4th century ad (during the Tumulus period) from the Yayoi ware......
hallmark
hallmark, symbol or series of symbols stamped on an article of gold or silver to denote that it conforms to legal......
Hallstatt
Hallstatt, site in the Upper Austrian Salzkammergut region where objects characteristic of the late Bronze Age......
Halston
Halston was an American designer of elegant fashions with a streamlined look. He was widely considered the first......
Hamada Shōji
Hamada Shōji was a Japanese ceramist who revitalized pottery making in Mashiko, where ceramic arts had flourished......
Hamadan rug
Hamadan rug, any of several handwoven floor coverings of considerable variety, made in the district surrounding......
Harrison, Charles
Charles Harrison was an American industrial designer whose creations included such iconic consumer items as polypropylene......
hat
hat, any of various styles of head covering. Hats may serve protective functions but often signify the wearer’s......
hatchment
hatchment, heraldic memorial to a deceased person. The word is a corruption of achievement, the correct term for......
hatpin
hatpin, long, ornamental pin used for decoration and for fastening a woman’s hat securely to her hair. In the late......
Hausmalerei
Hausmalerei, white pottery wares obtained from a factory and painted at home by a Hausmaler (freelance home painter......
Hausmann, Raoul
Raoul Hausmann was an Austrian artist, a founder and central figure of the Dada movement in Berlin, who was known......
hawk’s-eye
hawk’s-eye, variety of the semiprecious quartz tiger’s-eye...
he
he, type of ancient Chinese bronze vessel that was used to heat liquids and to serve wine. The he has a number......
head flattening
head flattening, practice of intentionally changing the shape of the human skull, once common in some cultures.......
Head, Edith
Edith Head was an American motion-picture costume designer. Head was the daughter of a mining engineer, and she......
Heartfield, John
John Heartfield was a German artist best known for his agitprop photomontages—collages of text and imagery found......
heddle loom
heddle loom, device used in weaving that is characterized by heddles—short lengths of wire or flat steel strips—used......
hedgerow
hedgerow, Fence or boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs or low trees. Hedgerows enclose or separate fields,......
Hedwig glass
Hedwig glass, Egyptian-made glass of the 11th or 12th century, of which only 12 known examples exist; they are......
hei-tiki
hei-tiki, neck pendant hand-carved in the form of a stylized human and worn by the Māori people of New Zealand......
Hepplewhite, George
George Hepplewhite was an English cabinetmaker and furniture designer whose name is associated with a graceful......
herald
herald, originally, an officer in medieval Europe charged with carrying messages to and from the commanders of......
heraldic memorial
heraldic memorial, commemorative work of art decorated with the armorial bearings of the deceased. Memorials, whether......
Hereke carpet
Hereke carpet, floor covering handwoven in imperial workshops founded late in the 19th century at Hereke, Turkey,......
Heriz carpet
Heriz carpet, floor covering handmade in any of a group of villages near the town of Herīs, lying east of Tabrīz......
Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff was an American naval architect who was recognized as the foremost yacht designer of......
Herāt carpet
Herāt carpet, handwoven floor covering thought to have been woven in Herāt, the Timurid capital in the 15th century,......
hessonite
hessonite, translucent, semiprecious, reddish-brown variety of grossular (q.v.), a garnet...
hex sign
hex sign, emblem painted on a barn, especially in Pennsylvania Dutch country, an agricultural region in southeastern......
Hiberno-Saxon style
Hiberno-Saxon style, in Western visual arts, the decorative vocabulary that resulted from the interaction of the......
highboy
highboy, a high or double chest of drawers (known technically as a chest-on-stand and a chest-on-chest, respectively).......
hijab
hijab, garment worn by some Muslim women to cover their hair. By the 21st century this meaning had become more......
Hilliard, Nicholas
Nicholas Hilliard was the first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance. His lyrical portraits raised......
himation
himation, mantle or wrap worn by Greek men and women from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods (c. 750–30......
hiramaki-e
hiramaki-e, in Japanese lacquerwork, gold decoration in low, or “flat,” relief, a basic form of maki-e (q.v.).......
hirameji
hirameji, (Japanese: “flat dust base”), in Japanese lacquerwork, variation of the jimaki technique. For this kind......
Hispano-Moresque ware
Hispano-Moresque ware, tin-glazed, lustred earthenware made by Moorish potters in Spain, chiefly at Málaga in the......
Hockney, David
David Hockney is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, photographer, and stage designer whose works are characterized......
Holbein rug
Holbein rug, any of several types of 15th- to 17th-century Anatolian floor coverings, the patterns of which appear......
Holbein, Hans, the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German painter, draftsman, and designer, renowned for the precise rendering of his......
holland
holland, plainwoven unbleached or dull-finish linen used as furniture covering or a cotton fabric that is made......
Holland, Henry
Henry Holland was an English architect whose elegant, simple Neoclassicism contrasted with the more lavish Neoclassical......
Honiton lace
Honiton lace, bobbin lace made in England at Honiton, Devonshire, from the 17th century. By Honiton most people,......
hoodmold
hoodmold, molding projecting from the face of the wall, immediately above an arch or opening whose curvature or......
hoop skirt
hoop skirt, garment with a frame of whalebone or of wicker or osier basketwork. Reminiscent of the farthingale......
Hope diamond
Hope diamond, sapphire-blue gemstone from India, one of the largest blue diamonds known. It is thought to have......
Hope, Thomas
Thomas Hope was an English author and furniture designer who was a major exponent of the Regency style of English......
horse brass
horse brass, decorative metal plaque fitted to the martingale, a set of straps attached to saddle and bridle that......
Horsley, John Callcott
John Callcott Horsley was a British narrative painter best known as the designer of the first Christmas card. Created......
hosiery
hosiery, knit or woven coverings for the feet and legs designed to be worn inside shoes, particularly women’s stockings......
hu
hu, type of ancient Chinese bronze vessel used to contain wine or water. A pear-shaped container, the hu has a......
Humpen glass
Humpen glass, extremely large, cylindrical beaker (Humpen), often with outward-curving sides, on a simple base,......
Hunter, Clementine
Clementine Hunter was a prolific American folk artist who late in life began to produce vibrant representational......
hyacinth
hyacinth, a red, orange, or yellow variety of the gemstone zircon...
hydria
hydria, large water vessel in Greek pottery of the Archaic period (c. 750–c. 480 bc) and the Classical period (c.......

Decorative Art Encyclopedia Articles By Title