Middle Ages No.3 1856

Owen Jones made this chromolithograph, “Middle Ages No.3,” to be included in his influential book, “The Grammar of Ornament.” Lithography is a printmaking process that allows for the relatively quick reproduction of images. Here, Jones presents us with dozens of patterns in a vivid range of colors, all organized in a grid. The patterns themselves are sourced from textiles, mosaics and manuscripts found across Europe. But it is important to remember that Jones’s intention was not simply to document history. Rather, he wanted to make this archive of design accessible to contemporary manufacturers. Jones was deeply invested in the Arts and Crafts movement and believed that good design could improve people’s lives. He hoped that by making these historical patterns available, he could raise the aesthetic standards of industrial production. It’s a fascinating ambition, really: to ennoble the world of mass manufacture by reconnecting it to the hand-made ingenuity of the past.