Ornamental Conceits

Cristóbal Balenciaga
Evening Gown (detail)
1966
beaded silk crepe
Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain

Josef Hoffmann
Design for Ornament
ca. 1950-55
drawing
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Donald Deskey
Design for Entrance Hall, Perfume Industries Building, New York World's Fair
1939
gouache on black paper
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Master ES
Ornamental Panel with Wild Man and Wild Woman jousting
ca. 1450-67
engraving
British Museum

Anonymous Mexican Artist
Reliquary Pendant in Tempietto Form
1591
rock crystal, pearls, gold (partly enameled)
British Museum

Stefano della Bella
Ornamental Panel
ca. 1653
etching
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Aloisio Giovannoli after Cornelis Floris the Younger
Grotesque Mask
ca. 1600
etching
British Museum

Anonymous Netherlandish Artist
Aigrette
ca. 1600-1625
rubies, emeralds, diamonds, enameled gold
British Museum

Raymond Duchamp-Villon
Gallic Cock
1916
painted plaster mounted on wood
Phillips Collection, Washington DC

Lucas van Leyden
Ornamental Panel - Sirens and Chimeras
1528
engraving
British Museum

Lelio Orsi
Ornamental Panel with Infant
ca. 1546-54
drawing
British Museum

Cheney Brothers, Manchester, Connecticut
Textile Sample
1913
silk-satin damask
National Museum of American History, Washington DC

Master of the Die after Raphael
Putti with Garland
ca. 1530-60
engraving (after a tapestry)
British Museum

Master of the Horse Heads
Ornamental Panel with Dragons and Siren
ca. 1500-1525
engraving
British Museum

Johann Paul Schor
Ornamental Design for Laurel Garland and Scrollwork
ca. 1650-60
drawing
British Museum

Anonymous French Designer
Botanical Ornament
ca. 1780-1820
silk panel with woven pattern
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Anonymous American Designer
Folk Motif
ca. 1930-40
silk embroidery sample with beads and faux-straw on wool
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

socle (archit.), base or plinth supporting column, statue, etc.

Socotra, Indian Ocean, not -ora, Sok-

Socrat/es, 469-399 BC, Greek philosopher, not Sok-; adj. -ic

sodium, symbol Na (natrium)

sodomize, not -ise

Sodor and Man (Bp. of); Sodor & Man:, his sig. (one colon)

SOE, Special Operations Executive

SOED, Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

soeur/ (Fr. f.), sister, nun; – de charité, a Sister of Mercy

Sofar, sound firing and ranging (under water). See also Sonar

soffit (archit.), under-surface of arch

Sofi, use Sufi

S. of S., Song of Solomon

softa, Muslim student of sacred law (not ital.)

soft copy (comp.) transient reproduction of keyboard input on VDU (two words). See also hard copy

– The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, compiled by the Oxford English Dictionary Department, Oxford University Press (12th edition, 1981)