Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art. Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-1883, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 437-466.

"Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art" by William Henry Holmes is an analysis of the roots and progression of ceramic art, notably in pre-Columbian America, explaining how cultural influences molded the forms and decorations of pottery. The study explores pottery production from its artistic qualities to its functions, looking at how form arises from happenstance, copying nature, and pure invention. Decoration moves in step alongside pottery, molded by the cultural and environmental backgrounds of the artisans.