Racinet Polychromes

"Adapted from historical items dating back to antiquity, such as jewelry, tiles, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, and ceramics, these ornamental designs [from 'Racinet's 'L'Ornement Polychrome'] encompass a wide range of cultural aesthetics including classic Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan motifs, Asian and middle-Eastern patterns, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century." [source]

All the above images are details extracted from the full chromolithographic plates found in the German edition of Racinet's 'L'Ornement Polychrome' ['Das Polychrome Ornament']. Thanks to flickr user esbenr for allowing me to sample his scans.

The complete set of 153 Charles Auguste Racinet plates are available from esbenr's flickr set. He retrieved the volumes from a container destined for landfill!

• The Dover edition of 'L'Ornement Polychrome'.
• 'L'Ornement Polychrome' at NYPL.
• Racinet’s 'Le Costume Historique' - The Complete Costume History.
• The Treasury of Ornament : One - Two - Three.
• Décorations Polychromes.
  
• Thanks (again) to Will from AJRMS.