Page 34 - July2011

140 THE NATIONAL 13u'T'Ton BULLETIN July 2011

era, enjoying revivals from time to time, such
as during the "hippie" era of the late 1960s,
and more recently as well.
Features Q/Traditional
Paisley Style
The chief characteristic of paisley design,
whether modern or classical, is its ornate
patterning, often of stylized plant life, but
also sometimes of abstract geometries, scrolls
or other design elements. It often features a
motif that has been called the "Kashmir
Cone" (taken from the shape of a pine cone),
although it is also sometimes referred to as
a teardrop, mango,
tadpole, or even a
sprout from the tree
These ladies have dresses with of life. Although
paisley designJabrics.
most commonly
seen as a somewhat
curled or comma-shaped figure, the classical "cone" motif
may also be symmetrical like a teardrop, and it can be seen
in many other configurations. In traditional paisley design,
the cone alone is not "a paisley" but is simply the most
:g commonly seen motif of a larger ornate pattern.
o
OJ
And then there are
buttons ...
In our hobby's world, the size
limitations of our tiny works of
art often required simplification
Note in this example,
of the button design, sometimes
the "cone" shape
reducing it to an isolated motif (lower center) is not
barely recognizable as the pais- curled at all, but is
ley cone. It may even have been quite symmetrical.
stripped of its very essence, the
ornate decoration. This made the task of defining
Here, the "cone" is not
paisley buttons for the NBS Classification System
outlined, but isJormed
by the ornate.fill and the problematic. For years it went undefined and the
background. standard "you'll know it when you see it" was applied.