Russian folk pattern. Diversity and meaning of traditional Russian ornament

Friends, welcome!

As promised, I dedicate this article to the placement of patterns and ornaments on traditional Russian clothing. And in particular, on a women's shirt, shirt.
A shirt without patterns is not so beautiful, you see.

But the shirt with embroidery is a feast for the eyes. In Ukraine, such a shirt is called an embroidered shirt.

The type and type of patterns was determined by the purpose of the shirt and clothing in general. It was everyday, festive, ritual and wedding. It is also necessary to realize that our ancestors did not just decorate clothes and “gave it an aesthetic look”, but they displayed the world, their ideas about it and their relationship with this world.

For example, here is what Academician Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov wrote in his work “Paganism of Ancient Russia”:
“Let's pay attention to the fact that both in architecture and in clothing the same principle of placing incantatory ornament was consistently carried out; all openings, all openings through which all kinds of evil spirits could penetrate to a person were ornamented. In clothes, the collar, cuffs of the shirt, hem, cuts on the shirt or sundress were covered with a magical protective pattern. The fabric itself was considered impenetrable to the spirits of evil, since objects abundantly equipped with magical ornaments (rattle, spinning wheel, loom) participated in its manufacture. It was important to protect those places where the enchanted fabric of clothing ended and the human body began.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the locations of the pattern were:

Gate - 1,
shoulders and shoulders - 2,
sleeves - 3,
hem - 4.

The collar was usually decorated with a narrow strip of weaving or embroidery, and later with appliqués of bright stripes of fabric.

On ancient shirts, the entire chest part was embroidered with a dense ornament, and in later ones it was made up of pieces of calico, braid.
Sometimes there are quite interesting attempts to reconstruct the Russian shirt.

Shoulders, shoulders were embroidered with protective ornaments. The edges of the fabric and the seams were protected by ornaments.

In traditional women's shirts, the back was not embroidered with ornaments (most likely for reasons of convenience and practicality). Embroidered capes and scarves were used to protect the back. What you see in the photo is a modern trend.

Often, entirely ornamented sleeves turned out to be the most decorated part of the shirt.

A wedding shirt is rightfully considered the most beautiful. Embroidered with complex ornate patterns, the main place among which was invariably occupied by a red ornament, this shirt was prepared especially for a festive celebration. After the wedding, the shirt did not lose its significance. A Russian woman put it on for the holidays until the birth of her first child, and then carefully kept it according to custom.

Festive and ceremonial shirts were decorated with special care.

Ritual shirts were the most interesting from the point of view of ornaments.

Common mowing for the whole village was not only work, but also a holiday. Girls and women put on ceremonial, mowing shirts - "mowing".
Pokosnitsa is an old shirt. Simple and convenient to work.
The upper part of such a shirt was sewn from thin white linen, its sleeves are wide, as a rule, shortened. The width of the embroidered pattern on the hem sometimes reached thirty centimeters or more. On the hem, as a rule, the oldest of the ornaments and patterns were embroidered - calendar ones.

I do not pretend to the truth, I'm just looking for it, just like everyone else. I understand that opinions-judgments on the same issue can be different. I would welcome if there is reasoned opinion different from mine.

However, I thought and still think that the seekers of true traditionalism in our culture and clothing, as part of it, should pay attention to the Russian North. Why - there should be a separate, historical article about this, but in a nutshell (the language of images, the language of a fairy tale) - the koshchei could not capture the Russian North. That is why what was preserved from time immemorial was preserved there.

According to Lyudmila Fedorovna Kislukha, a researcher cultural traditions in the clothes of the Russian North - the word "shirt" and the shirt were rarely used, more often they used more specific and accepted in each locality their names for these types of clothing, as well as depending on the purpose of the shirt.

About other types traditional clothes and names - in the following articles.

From ancient times in Russia, on every piece of utensils, on every clothes, as well as on houses, various elements, symbols were depicted, which formed patterns. Every detail had its own meaning and place. This is how the Russian folk pattern was formed.

Historical information about the Russian folk pattern

It should be understood that there are two terms - pattern and ornament. And it wasn't the same from the beginning. Even now, not every pattern can be called an ornament. For example, if it is a constantly repeating pattern (rapport).

In Russia, it was believed that the pattern is much deeper, it means more. The word ornament is borrowed from Latin, and it appeared much later and means decoration. In Russia, he had an analogue - “decorations”. It was believed that it was intended for decoration of decorative styling. However, in the future, these two concepts intertwined and began to complement each other.

Russian folk pattern is a combination of various lines, symbols, and other elements that can either be repeated or be in a single version. Patterns may vary from place to place. So, in the eastern regions in Russia, in the pattern you can find such an element as the “Indian cucumber”, which is still popular today.

Also, each locality had its own color scheme patterns and ornaments.

Signs and symbols in the Russian pattern

If we consider the Russian folk pattern from the point of view of symbolism, then we can say that not a single element is depicted there just like that. Each has its own meaning and is in its place.

The most popular symbols in the pattern are:

• Star Alatyr, or, as it is also called, the cross of Svarog. It has eight petals and symbolizes the Universe, its cycles of folding and unfolding.
• Also very popular is the symbol of Beregini (Rozhanitsa). it schematic representation women who protect.
• Highly significant symbol is which is sometimes also called the World Tree. It combines the world axis, the universe and the genus.
• Everyone knows In the days of Hitler, the swastika became a symbol of war and fascism, but initially this was not at all the case.
• Also popular is the Orepey symbol, which is a comb-shaped rhombus. This symbol brings happiness, balance and peace of mind.
• In addition, flowers, stars, spirals and other symbols are used in the pattern and ornament, each of which has a certain meaning, enhancing the positive and protective energy of a person.

In addition to the above elements, there are many others. In addition, almost all patterns of the scheme are quite diverse. One and the same symbol can be represented in different ways, while maintaining, however, common features and lines. This is how whole protective phrases arise, as well as short stories or conspiracies.

The sacred meaning of the pattern

You should know that the same symbol, but depicted in different parts clothes, could have different meaning. For example, the Orepei sign, depicted in the elbow area on women's clothing, denoted an ancestor. If he was depicted on the hem, then he was the entrance to the other world.

They also symbolically depicted the ancient gods, who moved in chariots. They were harnessed to various animals that personified a particular deity.

Some Russian patterns (photo below) carried a certain code in their numerical repeatability. So, the following numbers were important:

• three (Absolute, Trinity, time, space);
• four (cardinal points, seasons);
• seven (symbol of harmony);
• twelve.

In such patterns and ornaments, the attitude towards mother nature of our ancestors is also manifested. With their images, they seemed to ask her for protection and patronage from various evils, troubles and misfortunes.

Where are Russian folk patterns used?

The use of patterns is quite varied. They are used in towels, napkins, for painting utensils, houses, when carving wood and metal. In the old days, not a single object was left without a drawing.

Russian patterns (there are photos in our review) are not only the beauty of the object, but also protection, a talisman of its owner. It is known that even before the emergence of writing, people already depicted on utensils various symbols(diamonds, lines, dots).

Differences in patterns in different regions

Each region of Russia has its own history of painting, embroidery, patterns and ornaments. Consider the Russian folk pattern (pictures of some will be presented below) for some types and areas:

• Gzhel painting - blue and white colors are characteristic in drawings that are made on ceramic and porcelain products;
• painting, which is famous for the village of Zhostovo, on metal trays;
• very interesting Khokhloma painting various patterns, it is characterized by a golden color (there are also red, yellow and orange);
• in addition, in many regions they made their own, special toys (Dymkovo, Kargopol, Stary Oskol), each of which had its own, unique pattern in the painting;
• Pavlovsky Posad shawls are also very famous, which are made in red and black colors, with floral patterns.

And these are not even all the well-known crafts where the Russian folk pattern is used.

The most ancient patterns

The most ancient patterns include a combination of various signs that in the old days had special meaning And just like that they were not applied to any product. Each family had its own set of embroideries, paintings, which were passed down from generation to generation. They even have a special meaning for the family, to be its own symbol. Of course, over time, knowledge was lost.

Ancient Russian patterns breathe on us with mystery, the power of amulets, the meaning of each curl or sign.

Now a lot of people are collecting similar images that make sense in their piggy bank.

How to start drawing Russian folk patterns

Now people are increasingly turning to our ancestral heritage, wanting to revive lost traditions. For example, many people are wondering how to draw a Russian pattern. Where to start?

First, you should understand that in Russia there are many painting and embroidery techniques that have their own characteristics. For beginners, you need to take patterns that are not very complex, having a repeating pattern. So it will be easier to capture its very essence.

Before drawing itself, you need to practice with its simple components: dots, lines, strokes, droplets, eyelets, etc. In fact, the most difficult pattern consists of the above details. Of these simple shapes after some time of training, it will be possible to create more complex ones.

In order to understand how to draw a Russian pattern, you should not rush. Some forms may indeed seem complex, but remember that they are all made up of simple ones. Lay out the repeating pattern first on the details, start depicting it from the lightest and most basic, for example, a point. Gradually draw other shapes around it, and so at the very end you can get your finished pattern. Take a look at the photo below, which shows all the stages of drawing. And make sure that this process is not so complicated.

Thus, you can learn how to create ornaments and patterns yourself. In principle, you can take ready-made schemes, and then transfer them to the surface.

Using patterns on household items

Also, patterns and ornaments in ancient times were also made on household items. For example, in Russia, a six-petal rosette was depicted on salt shakers. It had a symbolic meaning. This rosette denoted the sun, and salt was considered to be associated with it. Also, her image was often found on spinning wheels, as a symbol of endless time.

In addition to the symbolic painting of utensils, there was also a simple decoration of the product. Of course, it did not appear immediately, but the technique was developed over the years.

It should be noted that some patterns, the schemes of which are quite complex, are still made by craftsmen. This, for example, Khokhloma painting, which looks very beautiful and rich. However, its production is quite complex and multi-stage.

Using patterns in embroidery

Russian embroidery in Russia traditionally not only decorates clothes, towels, bedspreads and other linen products, but also is a talisman. The interweaving of patterns is by no means random. All symbols are in their place.

In addition, the color of the thread that is used matters in embroidery. Let's consider some points:

• to protect the baby, an embroidered rooster or horse in red or black colors is suitable;
• for successful activity, embroidery should be done in blue or golden-green tones;
• woolen embroidery is suitable if there are already some energy holes, it is done in the area of ​​the human chakras;
• linen is used for appeasement, trees, birds, stars or the sun are embroidered with it;
• for women in embroidery, you need to use black to protect yourself from infertility;
• for men - green (protects from wounds), blue (protects from the elements).

In addition, symbols are also used in embroidery - a cross (a barrier and protection from evil), a star (heavenly fire), a circle (denoting fertility, abundance and motherhood) and others.

Thus, Russian embroidery is a whole set of knowledge that our ancestors used in antiquity, protecting themselves, their relatives and their family.

The use of patterns on clothes in the old days

Probably the most famous application of pattern and ornament is Even the most ignorant person in this matter will recognize this embroidery. True, colors and patterns again vary by region.

For example, the more south the area, the brighter people's clothes were. This was due to the fact that earlier paint was of natural origin, and the warmer it was, the greater the diversity in the possibilities to produce it.

If we talk about men's and women's clothing, then the first had almost no differences in the regions, except for preferences in color and pattern. But women's clothing was quite varied and varied considerably.

And also embroidery of various animal figurines was very popular in the northern part of Russia. But the southern ones had more colored embroidery (often red).

The use of Russian folk pattern in modern clothes

Russian folk pattern on clothes periodically returns to fashion. Well-known fashion designers produce collections with folk motifs (for example, in 1976, the Russian Collection from Yves Saint Laurent).

In our time, Russian patterns have long been a priority for true connoisseurs. In addition to colorful traditional ones, bright floral (or other folk) prints are used. I remember the old patterns that craftswomen embroider on clothes for their family and friends. Also, you can certainly order similar clothes for yourself if you wish.

Also, products that have long earned recognition both in quality and style (for example, Pavlovo Posad shawls) remain popular.

Thus, the Russian pattern simply cannot go into oblivion. His influence on the people is undeniable, this is his legacy, and someday he will rightfully take his rightful place in the hearts of people. After all, ancient Russian patterns truly carry the harmony and beauty that was known to our ancestors. It is also our history, which should not be forgotten.

Any nation during its existence used various ornaments and patterns. Many images of stunning beauty have come down to us from time immemorial. Each nation has its own unique handwriting, depending on many factors. Culture, location on the planet and the individual characteristics of each master play a role. One cannot but rejoice that these national ornaments and patterns - an art that has reached our days, and has not disappeared so far.

Any nation during its existence used various ornaments and patterns.

The tendency to keep dishes with folk paintings at home, to decorate the interior with ornaments and patterns, is becoming more fashionable every day. Even if you are not an artist, you can purchase stencils or print them. Then use the ready-made templates as the inner voice prompts.

Folk workshops, where you can order such stencils or invite an artist, usually exist in the outback. But even in the capital, if you wish, you can find craftsmen who can apply both a simple ornament or pattern, and a more complex one. To decorate, for example, a child's room with such a painting is a great joy for children.

There are geometric ornaments that do not carry any subtext. There are those that contain some meanings and symbols.

Russian ornament: stencils that are easy to make yourself

Russian ornament, for example, on embroidery, is known to everyone. Everyone has seen folk costumes at least once in their life. Such beauty comes out from under the hands of masters. And these are not the most difficult options. Nothing to say - art is art. And Russia has always been rich in talents.

If a decision is made to engage in the art of ornamentation, you need to start with stencils, which are simpler. And it’s worth taking a Russian ornament for a start. If you can't get stencils, you can make them yourself. Anyone can do this, you just need to show perseverance and patience.

If a decision is made to engage in the art of ornamentation, you need to start with stencils that are simpler

After simple patterns begin to turn out, you can switch to more complex ones.

Gallery: ornaments and patterns (25 photos)

Buryat patterns: song of the steppe

The Buryat ornament, like the murals of all Mongolian-speaking representatives, basically consists of simple geometric shapes:

• broken lines;
• zigzags;
• circles;
• diamonds;
• other figures.

If the hand is at least a little trained on the most simple drawings, you can take Buryat ornament and Mongolian drawings. Here is some of them. It is easy to see Buddhist motifs and the Bashkir style in them.

Yakut ornament

Yakut works of art of the pattern amaze with their beauty. It is especially difficult to look away from works made in gold. Keeping in mind the Yakut gold, it would be surprising not to see it in folk art.

It seems to be nothing complicated, but it looks magical.

Yakut art works of the pattern amaze with their beauty

As in any art form, there are simpler ornaments. Of the geometric shapes, the Yakut people are very fond of using circles.

Tatar pattern: patterns of a great people

Tatar and Bashkir craftsmen specialized in bright ornaments and patterns. This is especially evident in national clothes(headwear, shoes with colorful mosaics).

Decorating your home with carpets of stunning beauty is one of the main highlights of the Tatar nation. Any housing, whether rural or urban, was always filled with carpets that surpassed Persian ones in beauty. Tatars have always been dominated by bright floral motifs.

Embroidered flowers can be seen not only on clothes, but also on household items. Towels, pillowcases, tablecloths, aprons, prayer rugs.

You can talk about head scarves for a very long time. In each house, a whole chest is filled with such scarves. Everyday, festive, wedding - for each event there is a scarf, and for each scarf - its own special pattern. Here is such a beauty - a Tatar and Bashkir embroidered scarf that you can’t take your eyes off

Tatar and Bashkir craftsmen specialized in bright ornaments and patterns.

The most common was the art of ornamentation in carved wooden architecture. Then there was embroidery, a pattern on shoes and carpets. It took up very little space Tatar people fabric application. But on the other hand, in this application, which is interesting, oriental and Greek motifs were clearly visible.

The most popular was and still is floral ornament. Shamrock, carnation, tulip, dahlias, peonies and chrysanthemums - all this is very popular with Tatar craftswomen.

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Looking at these works of folk craft, I want the house to have at least one such pattern that pleases the eye

Geometric patterns in the interior: the trend of the season

Geometric solutions in interior design - the most fashion trend of the year. Strictness, harmony, aristocratic aesthetics - all this delights and is used more and more often in the work of designers.

The geometric style came to houses in different forms:

• like furniture
• as accessories
• like patterns and ornaments.

Such ideas are embodied today by designers in the design of apartments and offices.

Geometric solutions in interior design - the most fashionable trend of the year

Simple and beautiful. And this becomes the motto of fashionable modern designers and those who strive for harmony in such an interior.

Oriental patterns: a visit to a fairy tale

Oriental patterns are gaining popularity again today. More often they are used for painting fabrics, silk, large canvases. Oriental ornament based on the rhythm and construction of elements, on the abstraction and stylization of real things. The roots of this art go back to the culture of Persia and Mesopotamia. Each of the patterns symbolizes something. For example, an ordinary socket is a symbol of the universal cycle. Made in the form of a flower, it had many varieties. This is only one of the few deciphered characters. What other patterns hide in themselves may remain an eternal mystery.

Oriental patterns are gaining popularity again today

The most frequent motifs of oriental patterns are a plant motif, magical birds and the World Tree. In the latter, a lot of symbols are combined along with real details. Oriental pattern has another feature. This is carpet filling. It is difficult to find an unoccupied space on the surface of the pattern. Lines, leaves, cones, spikelets, blades of grass - they fill the whole space. In particular, this technique is used in architecture, the manufacture of decorative dishes and clothing.

Patterns for children: we create together with the kids

Developing a child's abilities by teaching him the art of patterns and ornaments is a way that gives excellent results. Try to make a light floral pattern first. Below is step-by-step instruction, according to which it is very simple to do everything.

The order of work is as follows:

Divide the selected area into eight identical sections. Spend horizontal lines and start decorating.

Make the next sketch.

Add some small details of your choice.

Already unnecessary lines along which the sketch was made must be erased with an eraser.

Ornaments are akin to ancient writings and, like them, can tell a lot about the worldview of a person of distant epochs. For a long time, people remembered the purpose of ornaments. Back in the 20-30s of the XX century, residents of some northern Russian villages demonstrated their knowledge of the meaning of the depicted patterns in front of the oldest craftswoman of the village on special readings: young girls brought to gatherings finished work and told about them to the whole world. In some places in the outback, you can still hear the ancient names of patterns: crowberry, Perun, although the master is most often not able to explain their meaning.

To this day, there are people who know how to decorate and who want to wear traditional Russian clothes. Long winter evenings Slavic girls and women with a torch embroidered and wove patterns - one more intricate than the other, decorating their rows with them, so that later, at a holiday, they could flaunt before obschestvo. Did they only feel beauty? Was it only the desire for creative self-expression that guided them? Or was there and continues to exist today in ancient symbols something very important - unknown to us, the current one?

This book is the result of the author's desire to raise questions related to the meaning of folk textile ornament and the peculiarities of its effect on the wearer of the clothes decorated with them or the person looking at the patterns. It uses information from many, sometimes non-traditional sources: history, ethnography, mythology, bioenergetics, modern alternative medicine, etc. Russian folk culture has always been so comprehensive and multifaceted that it is only necessary to study it comprehensively, having felt the way of thinking of the ancestors.

I really want to ancient art ornament has been preserved, did not disappear, so that skills, traditions and beauty folk culture continued to live, delight and benefit people. After all, this beauty has incredible good energy (I would like to say - the soul), capable of helping people. It is believed that the topics covered in the book will be of interest to new researchers, and then such an amazing phenomenon as Russian folk textile ornament can really be comprehended with different sides. In the meantime, the ancient images-writings continue to wait for their full reading.

Second book, which allows not only to understand the place of the folk textile ornament in our culture, but to confirm the author's assumptions about the mechanisms of the energy-informational impact of the ornament on a person. Folk ornament is part of the incredible ancient system spiritual knowledge, which allows a person to harmoniously build their relationships with the outside world. Its strict forms contain the story of the development of our Universe, ready-made biotechnologies, and specific recipes for the survival of the genus and man.

The book includes sections on the loom and the typology of forms of weaving patterns, on how the pattern appeared, on the work of amulets processed with structured water, on spiritual patterns, on the signs of the clan-tribe, on the energy of cutting clothes.

The classification of types of Russian folk textile geometric ornament. The cuts of men's and women's shirts are given, as well as the layout of patterns on women's and men's clothing. A separate part is colorful drawings of patterns and their explanation.

This book is an attempt to collect and systematize the principles of using the symbols of folk textile ornament for practical application. It will be useful to everyone who wants to revive the ancient knowledge and beauty.

Ornament of all times and styles

The unique work of N.F. Lorenz, will certainly expand and enrich our ideas about the rules for organizing space, about the style of a noble and harmonious life.

The author expertly accompanies the reader into the history of ornament and decoration, shows the diversity of this particular type of art, introduces it to its external side and deep symbolism, initiates into the practical secrets of carving, frescoes, stained glass, enamel, carpets and mosaics.

As Peter clarified in the comments (see below), Lorenz's book and Rakinje's book on ornaments are one and the same(Lorenz took almost everything from Raquinier, slightly modifying the text and drawings in it).

This book clearly shows what means and techniques bring an organized and creatively transformed space closer to celebration. refined taste- in different times and in various parts Sveta. The rich artwork of this edition appeals to the aesthetic senses and stimulates creative imagination reader.

Ornament is the language of millennia. The word "ornament" comes from the Latin ornare and literally means "decoration, pattern". Academician B. A. Rybakov said this about the content of the ornament: “Looking at intricate patterns, we rarely think about their symbolism, we rarely look for meaning in the ornament. It often seems to us that there is no more thoughtless, light and meaningless field of art than ornament. And meanwhile in folk ornament, as in ancient writings, the thousand-year-old wisdom of the people, the rudiments of its worldview and the first attempts of man to influence the forces of nature, mysterious to him, were deposited by means of art. However, it would be wrong, speaking of ornaments, to reduce everything to decoration (14).

The ornament is special kind artistic creativity, which, according to many researchers, does not exist in the form of an independent work, it only decorates this or that thing. Many researchers note that the ornament is a rather complex artistic structure, for the creation of which various means of expression. Among them are color, texture and mathematical foundations ornamental composition - rhythm, symmetry; graphic expression of ornamental lines, their elasticity and mobility, flexibility or angularity; plastic - in relief ornaments; and, finally, the expressive qualities of the natural motifs used, the beauty of the painted flower, the bending of the stem, the patterning of the leaf. Almost always simple signs that are perceived by our enlightened eye as circles, wavy lines, zigzags or crosses, actually had a completely different meaning for the creators of these compositions. The artistic, figurative language of the ornament is diverse. Performing the task of decorative significance, it often plays the role of a social, gender and age mark, ethnicity, and is a means of expressing the people's worldview (6).

The winding line was often a symbol of water - an unusual substance with mysterious properties, one of the first elements of the world. The circle was a solar (solar) sign. The cross was often a talisman against the forces of evil. An ornament with such signs gave a special meaning to a thing, as if immersing it in the fabric of complex relationships between man and the world within a certain picture of the world (16).

However, humanity is “growing up” and the time of faith in the mystical meaning of ancient symbols and in their real power has passed. We know about ancient myths, but we do not believe in them. With the loss of faith in magical power signs from ornaments began to disappear their innermost meaning, and they really began to turn into one of the decorative elements. Nevertheless, there are still places on Earth, including Russia, where the picture of the world “recorded” with ornaments is still reproduced, lives in people and objects, which means that the ornaments created within the framework of this picture of the world have not lost their strength, their innermost meaning. and meaning. One of these places is settlements. small peoples North, Siberia and Far East Russia (16).

Russian ornament is rightly called one of the most interesting phenomena in world art culture.

It is a unique world artistic images. Over the centuries, Russian ornament has changed, transformed, but invariably struck the imagination of contemporaries with its poetics and the beauty of lines and colors. The ornament accompanied the man in his Everyday life. Plant, geometric, zoomorphic and other motifs adorned the human dwelling, cult and household items, clothes, handwritten books. The patterns applied to the object carried the foundations of the universe. The artist comprehended the world around him and sought to express his attitude towards it, combining different elements by varying the line or color ratio. The ornament could fill everything with a continuous carpet. free space or decorate only some parts of the product, emphasizing their artistic and plastic expressiveness (1).

The ornament is built on the rhythmic alternation of depicted motifs, a derivative of the form and a structure subordinate to it. The ornament cannot be calculated mathematically; it covers the surface of an object, repeating its curves, emphasizing or hiding them. It is impossible to calculate what the curl will be, which is laid by the master. The internal structure of the ornament has a pictorial, applied and semantic origin. The pattern always has an applied side, it is rigidly connected with the function of the object on which it is applied, with its shape, material. And, finally, any ornament has one or another meaning. It can have the direct meaning of writing, reflect with its rhythms in a complex-mediated form the real rhythms of life, carry symbolic meanings anchored in tradition. All ornaments have their own names, which are very stable, if we take into account the vast territory of their distribution. To decipher the meaning of the ornaments, both explanations of craftswomen and religious and mythological representations, as well as stable folklore and everyday expressions, are involved, since they are based on the same system of representation of the world. Ideas about the picture of the world are passed on from generation to generation, and it is only partially realized (see Appendix 6).

The time of the appearance of the first ornamental compositions in Russian art is unknown, but it can be assumed that interest in decorating objects developed simultaneously with the development of the surrounding world (4, p. 6).

Researchers, Russian and foreign, made attempts to study the art of constructing ornamental compositions. Archaeologists, ethnographers, historians, art critics wrote about Russian ornament. First of all, the attention of the scientific world was drawn to the study of the art of the XI-XVII centuries. Among the most famous scientists who dealt with the issue of ornament were F. G. Solntsev, F. I. Buslaev, I. M. Snegirev, V. I. Butovsky, V. V. Stasov, the famous French scientist E. Viollet-le-Duc . They were engaged in the study of Russian ornament in all its manifestations - not only as unique phenomenon, but also as an integral part of the form and decor of various objects. Everything was decorated with an ornament, starting with great works architecture and ending with small household utensils. And most brightly, the ornament manifested itself in Russian embroidery (1, p. 9).

According to the motifs used in the ornament, it is divided into: geometric, consisting of abstract forms (points, straight lines, broken, zigzag, mesh intersecting lines; circles, rhombuses, polyhedrons, stars, crosses, spirals; more complex specifically ornamental motifs - meander, etc. . P.); vegetable, stylizing leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. (lotus, papyrus, palmette, acanthus, etc.); zoomorphic, or animal, stylizing figures or parts of figures of real or fantastic animals. Human figures, architectural fragments, weapons, various signs and emblems (coats of arms); anthropomorphic, subdivided into two large groups: a) archaic, reflecting ancient mythological ideas, b) everyday (or genre). A special kind of ornament is represented by stylized inscriptions on architectural structures (for example, on Central Asian medieval mosques) or in books (the so-called ligature). Complex combinations of various motifs are not uncommon (geometric and animal forms - the so-called teratology, geometric and plant - arabesques) (5).

Russian ornament is a little-studied area, much in it remains unexplored and unclear. Folk traditions, Christian doctrine, the heritage of Eastern and Western European countries - all this influenced the formation of Russian ornament.

Russian ornaments perceived dissimilar elements enriched and transformed into new forms. The richness and variety of forms and types of Russian ornamentation testifies to the creative thinking of the masters and their high artistic taste (1, p. 7).