Often household items, clothing, architectural structures are decorated with an ornament - a pattern of identical repeating figures. However, in ancient times, the ornament had not so much the function of decoration as it served as a talisman, protection of a person from evil forces.
The word "ornament" is literally translated from Latin as "decoration". An ornament is a pattern made up of repeating elements. Ornament is one of those forms with which the visual activity of man began in antiquity. The ornament was intended (and is now intended) to decorate household items, clothing, buildings, works of applied art. Depending on the motives used in the ornament, there are: • Geometric ornaments (consisting of circles, rhombuses, crosses, stars, spirals, etc.); • Floral ornaments (composed of stylized images of flowers, leaves, fruits, etc.); • Animal (zoomorphic) ornaments that use images of animals (real or fantastic); • Anthropomorphic ornaments depicting human figures; • Calligraphic ornaments or stylized inscriptions; • Complex combinations of various motifs, etc. Some ornaments have their own, separate names: acanthus, palmetta, acanthus, arabesques, meander, vignette and many others. If today the ornament is used exclusively as decoration, then earlier its role was much more complex and multifaceted. Among the ancient Slavs (and not only among them), the ornament performed the function of a spell that protected a person and his home from evil spirits. Both in architecture and in clothing, all the holes and openings through which evil forces could penetrate were framed with an incantatory ornament. In the house, doors, windows, roof were considered vulnerable places; in clothes - holes for sleeves, buttonholes, etc. On the roof of the house there were carved images of benevolent pagan symbols - the sun, birds, a horse or a horse's head. Windows, doors, details of clothing were decorated with carved, pictorial or embroidered ornaments with the same symbols. Ornaments worn on the body were supplied with an enchanting ornament: - neck torcs, or hoops (circles and triangles were depicted on them - signs of the Sun); - temple rings (spirals and curls traditionally served as an ornament of this decoration. The spiral as an element of the ornament was considered a symbol of eternity, time); - bracelets that served as clamps for sleeves (they were often decorated with an ornament depicting figures symbolizing the spirits of ancestors, it was also believed that the bracelet protects its owner with strength Weapons, dishes and household utensils were supplied with ornaments depicting birds, horses, weapons and the same household utensils, as well as the sign of the god Veles, the patron saint of cattle. To the above, it remains to add that the ornament never had an independent meaning, it emphasized the beauty and the originality of the object on which it was applied.
