The article examines the relation between the circulation of European publications related to ornament (repertories, encyclopedias, manuals and guides of styles) in Brazil and the upsurge of what became generically known, during the first decades of the XXth Century, as eclectic architecture. It starts by outlining a historiographical overview of editorial output on decorative and ornamental motifs and styles in Europe and then tracked the presence in Brazil of some of these publications. Then, it considers how these ornamental motifs and styles were integrated in professional artisan's training, and incorporated by the local consumer's taste. The analysis takes as reference different sources of material culture (molds, templates, models, mock-ups and printed plates), that were present not only in applied arts courses, as well as in regular schools of Sao Paulo.
Ornament; Applied Arts; Architecture; Sao Paulo; Art Nouveau; Eclectism
