Abstract

This article gives a Deleuzian analysis of the concept of ornament, focusing primarily on Deleuze’s reversed platonism and his account of conceptual personae. It differentiates between three kinds of platonism – crude, straight and reversed – and argues that the latter two correspond to two general techniques of creating ornament: stamping and incising. The essay then argues that ornamental patterns are essentially signs. Their differences are not cancelled out, as in writing systems, but rather are ‘enveloped’ in intensive series which, in turn, express Ideas that ideally contribute to the depth of the ornamented thing. The text is supplemented by a case study on the Phaistos Disc that provides support for these claims.