APOTROPAIC DESIGNS. AN ESSAY OF SYMMETRICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Modernity is a historical period marked by the economic, political and cultural hegemony of western civilization. In this context, the confrontation with the otherness and valuation of one's own and other people's material culture has been affected by the establishment of asymmetric relationships. We question in this article the purist dogmatism that promotes denigration of the ornament after the proclamation of its uselessness. The decorative patterns that extend through the wall hangings, furniture, books or fabrics, have been linked, over time and in different geographical areas, with apotropaic effects. Despite the protection, warning, deterrence or fascination functions that these devices seem to have performed, their use has just become a sign of cultural inferiority.