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13 Physical Description

DEFINITION

A description of the appearance of a work expressed in generic terms, without reference to the subject depicted. This includes the names of any recognizable patterns, motifs, or textures used in the decoration of the work.

SUBCATEGORIES

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The description of the physical appearance of the work should be as objective as possible. It typically will not repeat the subjects depicted (which are usually discussed in the or categories), but rather it will usually describe the work in generic physical terms. However, if this category is used to provide a description of the work for use by the visually impaired,1 it may be appropriate to repeat a description of the subject here.

This category may include a discussion of distinguishing physical characteristics, such as those that may be necessary to identify the work as distinct from other works, purely on the basis of its physical appearance. Such a description is useful for insurance and tracking purposes. This category may also include a description of patterns and motifs, which are important for cataloging certain decorative works, including carpets, other textiles, wallpaper, ceramics, furniture, and architectural elements.

In general terms, an objective description of physical appearance makes it possible to appreciate the relationship of applied decoration to form, and of materials to form and decoration.

RELATED CATEGORIES and ACCESS

The physical description of a work is a starting point for study; it is used to identify a work, and as a foundation for its interpretation.

The materials of which a work was made, and the processes and techniques by which they were fashioned, should be indicated in the category . The manner in which the materials and techniques were used to create the work should be specified in the category . The physical condition of the work should be indicated in the category . Any restoration or treatment of the work should be described in the category . What is depicted in or by the work, including iconographical subjects or themes implied by the motifs, should be specified in the category .

The prose description of a work can be indexed in , thus allowing access to works with similar physical characteristics, for example, all writing tables with inlaid decoration in an ogee pattern.

13.1. Physical Appearance

DEFINITION

Description of salient aspects of the physical appearance of the work and its decoration, including design elements and pattern names.

EXAMPLES

  • Carpet is kilim type, with smooth, flat surface. Field is decorated with 15 medallions which are connected by stylized scrolling vine motif; medallions contain various flowers and fruit trees with small birds; borders are decorated with alternating geometric designs and arabesques.
  • The interior behind the roll top has numerous drawers that spring open at the pressure of concealed buttons and levers. In the superstructure behind the large gilt bronze plaque is a contraption of many parts that moves out and opens at the turn of a key. It contains a folding reading stand and side “wings” of compartments with mechanically opening tops, one of which contains an inkwell and sand pot, with small drawers below. At the back of the desk is a removable panel for access to the movement []. 1

DISCUSSION and GUIDELINES

Optional: Provide a detailed description of the physical appearance of the work. If this information is recorded in the , it typically need not be repeated here.

Form and syntax

Use sentence case. You may use complete sentences and/or phrases. Begin the first word of the note with an uppercase letter, and end the note with a period. Follow rules for standard English grammar (if the record is in another language, use grammar rules appropriate to that language). If you quote or paraphrase information from a published source, cite the source in .

TERMINOLOGY/FORMAT

Free-text: This is not a controlled field. Important information in the description should be indexed in .

13.2. Physical Description Indexing Terms

DEFINITION

Indexing terms that characterize the physical description of the work.

EXAMPLES

  • egg and dart moldings
  • Greek key pattern
  • pomegranate pattern
  • guilloche
  • coat of arms
  • griffins
  • false drawer
  • rigaree
  • cut-cardwork

DISCUSSION and GUIDELINES

Optional: Record indexing terms for the physical characteristics. Use lower case.

Indexing terms should be assigned on the basis of a direct observation of the work of art or architecture, or a reliable description of it from a primary or secondary source; they should echo the focal points of the prose description provided in thr subcategory.

TERMINOLOGY/FORMAT

Authority: Control this subcategory with the , which can be populated with terminology from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Dispaly Hierarchy (especially Physical Attributes Facet), ACRL/RBMS Binding Terms, and Reyniès’ Le Mobilier Domestique.

RELATED CATEGORIES and ACCESS

Indexing terms provide easy access to the physical description of the work. Assigning keywords or indexing terms to the physical elements of a work makes it possible to identify particular works and to compare similar works, such as cabinets with bombé fronts.

Terms may be searched alone, or in combination with other characteristics of the work. One scholar may be interested in the use of all patterns in the broad sense, while another may wish to find only those works with a specific pattern, such as powderwork.

13.3. Remarks

DEFINITION

Additional notes or comments pertinent to information in this category.

DISCUSSION and GUIDELINES

Optional: Record a note regarding the physical characteristics of the work. Use consistent syntax and format. For rules regarding writing notes, see .

TERMINOLOGY/FORMAT

Free-text: This is not a controlled field. Use consistent syntax and format.

13.4. Citations

DEFINITION

A reference to a bibliographic source, unpublished document, or individual opinion that provides the basis for the information recorded in this category.

DISCUSSION and GUIDELINES

Optional: Record the sources used for information in this category. For a full set of rules for citations, see .

TERMINOLOGY/FORMAT

Authority: Ideally, this information is controlled by citations in the citations authority; see .

13.4.1 Page

DEFINITION

Page number, volume, date accessed for Web sites, and any other information indicating where in the source the information was found.

DISCUSSION and GUIDELINES

Optional: For a full set of rules for pages, see .

TERMINOLOGY/FORMAT

Free-text: This is not a controlled field. Use consistent syntax and format.

Examples

  • Physical Appearance: The globe is mounted on a decorated stand. The stand is painted with polychrome flowers and red cartouches bearing chinoiserie scenes on a yellow vernis Martin ground, in a technique for which the Martin brothers obtained a monopoly in the mid-eighteenth century []

  • Physical Appearance: The mosaic contains a central scene depicting a passage from Vergil’s Aeneid. The scene is surrounded by three areas of border motifs. The chevron is quite rare; however, the guilloche is standard and the leaf rinceau is typical of the third and fourth centuries CE []. 3

  • Physical Appearance: Jar with high waist, short collar-like neck, plain rim, plain base, and lug handles. 4

  • Physical Appearance: Ogee profile with scrolled acanthus leaves and berries at center and corners. 5

  • Physical Appearance: The Ibn al-Bawwab Koran is a small volume containing 286 brownish paper folios. Each text has fifteen lines of round script written with a straight-cut reed pen to produce letters of uniform thickness. The brown ink is enhanced with blue and gold.

  • Physical Appearance: Two quatrefoil medallions formed by bold paired lancet leaves surrounding four palmettes; lancet leaves issuing from strapwork bands; reciprocal pale green and rose color juxtapositions divided by undulating palmette vinery on border.

  • Physical Appearance: This great wine cooler… is supported on four massive volute scroll feet from the base of which rise beautifully modeled griffin heads. The size and height of the heads is balanced by two splendid lions rampant, which act as handles and are also the supporters of the Cecil arms. 6

  • Physical Appearance: Below the adjustable top, which can be tilted to form a reading stand, there is a swiveling shelf at either side, on which to stand a candlestick. On the right there is a drawer fitted with small compartments for writing materials. A silk work-bag on a wooden frame can be pulled out at the other side. The frieze at the front is in the form of a false drawer, with ring handles. At the back, a fire-screen with a panel of pleated silk can be drawn up. 7

  • Physical Appearance: (for the Adoration of the Magi by Bartolo di Fredi; a more thorough description, as may be appropriate for the visually impaired). The support of the work is a very large wooden panel (76 x 62 x 4 inches); there is no frame, and the raw wooden sides of the panel are visible. The rectangular shape is unusual for an altarpiece of this period, but it is believed that the work was the central panel in a large, ornate altarpiece, originally with a predella below, side panels having arched tops to each side, and a complex array of gabled panels above, all enclosed in an elaborate gilded frame. The media of this large panel are tempera and gilding; the most prevalent colors include white and gray architecture and landscape, and red, blue, and rich yellow clothing of the figures. The surface texture is very smooth, due to the media, with the exception of the impressed tooling patterns along the edges, on the haloes, and on certain elements of the costumes, which catch and reflect the ambient light of the room (the effect would have been even more pronounced in the original setting, which was on an altar in a church lit by flickering candlelight). The overall composition of the scene is arranged in two broad registers, with a series of larger human figures and horses at the bottom, i.e., at the level of the viewer. The upper band, intended to represent a space in the distance, portrays a smaller scale walled city on angular, barren hills with two simultaneous narrative scenes in and around the city: the Journey of the Magi to the right, and the Magi speaking to Herod in the city to the left. In the lower register, most figures face to the right, focusing on the Madonna and Child. At the far left are seven horses, with twisting necks and a groom in the center trying to restrain them. In the center are three crowned kings kneeling with gifts, with seven bowing royal attendants holding pointed hats behind the kings (there were not necessarily always three Magi in iconography from this period). In the right third of the lower register are Joseph, standing and holding one of the king’s gifts, and Mary seated and holding the baby Jesus on her lap, facing left, toward the kneeling Magi. The Madonna and Child are seated in an architectural structure with columns supporting a carved white roof, which is just large enough to contain the Madonna and Child, but symbolically represents a church (“the Church”). The figures are represented as very tall, narrow, and elegant, with long, pointed fingers and almond-shaped eyes. Their skin tones are pinkish and light tan; in this period, the iconography does not yet portray the Magi as representing different races. Mary and Jesus have reddish blond hair; Joseph has gray hair. The scene appears to exist in a shallow, compressed space, emphasized by repeated shapes, fragmented forms, designs on the fabrics, and riotous colors, which enliven the surface with pattern and minimize any depiction of linear, spatial perspective…. 8

Revised 8 January 2024
by Emily Benoff

Notes

  1. For a discussion of this issue, see Art Education for the Blind (AEB): Art Beyond Sight [online]. 2000-. https://artbeyondsight.wordpress.com/ (8 December 2007), particularly “AEB’s Guidelines for Verbal Description.” ↩︎

  2. Gillian Wilson. Selections from the Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles, California: J. Paul Getty Museum Publications, 1983, 88. ↩︎

  3. Helen Lattimore, in J. Paul Getty Museum, Burton B. Fredericksen, ed. Los Angeles, California: J. Paul Getty Museum Publications, 1975, 55. ↩︎

  4. Robin Dowden. National Gallery of Art, Collection Management System, Data Dictionary. 1992, 39. ↩︎

  5. Description of an Italian gilt frame in Richard R. Brettell and Steven Starling, Art of the Edge: European Frames 1300-1900. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1986, 71, cat. no. 26. ↩︎

  6. Gervase Jackson-Stops, ed. Treasure Houses of Britain: Five Hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art Collecting. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985, 189, cat. no. 120. ↩︎

  7. Maurice Tomlin. _Catalog of Adam Period Furnitur_e. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972, 164, no. T/7. ↩︎

  8. Patricia Harpring. The Sienese Trecento Painter Bartolo di Fredi. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1993, 136 ff… ↩︎