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Proper right and proper left

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42: 57: 114:, where "port" is to a watercraft as "proper left" is to a sculpture, and they are used for essentially the same reason. Their use obviates the need for potentially ambiguous language such as "my right," "your left," and so on, by expressing the direction in a manner that holds true regardless of the relative orientations of the object and observer. Another example is 107:
freestanding sculpture in the round, where the viewer might be at any position around the sculpture. A British 19th-century manual for military drill contrasts "proper left" with "present left" when discussing the orientation of formations performing intricate movements on a parade ground, "proper" meaning the orientation at the start of the drill.
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when describing an image or other object. The "proper right" hand of a figure is the hand that would be regarded by that figure as its right hand. In a frontal representation, that appears on the left as the viewer sees it, creating the potential for ambiguity if the hand is just described as the
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The alternative is to use language that makes it clear that the viewer's perspective is being used. The swords in the illustrations might be described as: "to the left as the viewer sees it", "at the view's left", "at the viewer's left", and so on. However these formulations do not work for
156:"For figurative works, use the abbreviations PR (proper right) and PL (proper left) to indicate the right or left side of the statue from the perspective of the statue (i.e., your right or left side if you were positioned on the base facing in the same direction as the statue)" – p. 34, 91:) or, when describing things that move or change position, with reference to the original position. However a more restricted use may be preferred, and the internal instructions for cataloguing objects in the "Inventory of American Sculpture" at the 130:
There is extensive insect loss in the proper right leg, some at the proper right elbow, and at the fronts of both feet. There is a chip off the proper right breast, and the proper right leg was broken off and
99:, right and left is always used in the meaning of proper right and proper left, as for the imaginary bearer of a coat of arms; to avoid confusion, the Latin terms 239:
Brigade drill, as established by order in the Field exercise and evolutions of infantry, as revised in 1859. With remarks and references, by W. N. Hutchinson
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images, or elsewhere, but they can be used in describing any object that has an unambiguous front and back (for example
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and left in the theatre, which uses the actor's orientation, "stage right" equating to the audience's "house left".
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The figure standing on the yakṣī's proper left, however, is not a mirror image of the other male ...
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say that "The terms "proper right" and "proper left" should be used when describing figures only". In
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The Furniture of John Shearer, 1790–1820: 'A True North Britain' in the Southern Backcountry
331: 8: 341: 100: 111: 72: 305: 281: 219: 211: 185:, which appears just to refer to the specific image, with the side shown the "front". 253: 207: 280:, Dallas, Texas, Heritage Auction Galleries, Auction N°645, June 7, 2007, p. 156, 30:
For the usage of "proper right" and "proper left" in areas of mathematics such as
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This is from the auction catalogue description of an African wood figure:
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holds a sword in his proper right hand, on the "viewer's left", and an
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The terms are mainly used in discussing images of humans, whether in
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Terms for unambiguous directions, like port and starboard
206: 71:are conceptual terms used to unambiguously convey 52:in his proper left hand, on the "viewer's right". 323: 60:Statue holding a sword in its proper right hand 302:Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora 158:Save Outdoor Sculpture! Volunteer Handbook 278:Important African and Oceanic Art Auction 183:though see this somewhat puzzling example 110:The terms are analogous to the nautical 55: 40: 14: 324: 218:. Leicester: Magna Books. p. 42. 254:The origins of 'port' and 'starboard' 121: 24: 25: 358: 195:Smithsonian American Art Museum 135:Describing an Indian sculpture: 93:Smithsonian American Art Museum 294: 270: 247: 232: 200: 188: 176: 163: 150: 13: 1: 7: 83:, medical contexts such as 10: 363: 29: 197:, "Inventorying" section. 265:National Maritime Museum 143: 347:Visual arts terminology 337:Orientation (geometry) 304:, p. 90, 2012, BRILL, 141: 133: 61: 53: 137: 128: 59: 44: 241:, 1860, War Office, 101:dexter and sinister 259:2007-10-25 at the 212:Gwynn-Jones, Peter 112:port and starboard 73:relative direction 62: 54: 312:, 9789004206298, 288:, 9781599671529, 208:Bedingfeld, Henry 122:Examples of usage 16:(Redirected from 354: 316: 298: 292: 274: 268: 251: 245: 236: 230: 229: 204: 198: 192: 186: 180: 174: 167: 161: 154: 103:are often used. 21: 362: 361: 357: 356: 355: 353: 352: 351: 322: 321: 320: 319: 299: 295: 275: 271: 261:Wayback Machine 252: 248: 237: 233: 226: 205: 201: 193: 189: 181: 177: 168: 164: 155: 151: 146: 124: 39: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 360: 350: 349: 344: 339: 334: 318: 317: 293: 269: 246: 231: 224: 199: 187: 175: 162: 148: 147: 145: 142: 123: 120: 76:"right hand". 26: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 359: 348: 345: 343: 340: 338: 335: 333: 330: 329: 327: 315: 311: 307: 303: 297: 291: 287: 283: 279: 273: 266: 262: 258: 255: 250: 244: 240: 235: 227: 225:1-85422-433-6 221: 217: 213: 209: 203: 196: 191: 184: 179: 173: 172: 166: 159: 153: 149: 140: 136: 132: 127: 119: 117: 113: 108: 104: 102: 98: 94: 90: 86: 82: 77: 74: 70: 66: 58: 51: 47: 43: 37: 33: 19: 314:google books 301: 300:Owen, Lisa, 296: 290:google books 277: 272: 249: 243:google books 238: 234: 215: 202: 190: 178: 170: 165: 152: 138: 134: 129: 125: 109: 105: 78: 68: 65:Proper right 64: 63: 36:proper ideal 332:Art history 276:Lot 48240, 116:stage right 81:art history 69:proper left 46:Charlemagne 32:ring theory 18:Proper left 342:Handedness 326:Categories 310:9004206299 286:1599671522 263:at the UK 89:furniture 257:Archived 216:Heraldry 214:(1993). 131:reglued. 97:heraldry 267:website 308:  284:  222:  34:, see 144:Notes 85:x-ray 306:ISBN 282:ISBN 220:ISBN 67:and 50:orb 328:: 210:; 228:. 160:. 38:. 20:)

Index

Proper left
ring theory
proper ideal

Charlemagne
orb

relative direction
art history
x-ray
furniture
Smithsonian American Art Museum
heraldry
dexter and sinister
port and starboard
stage right
Save Outdoor Sculpture! Volunteer Handbook
The Furniture of John Shearer, 1790–1820: 'A True North Britain' in the Southern Backcountry
though see this somewhat puzzling example
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Bedingfeld, Henry
Gwynn-Jones, Peter
ISBN
1-85422-433-6
google books
The origins of 'port' and 'starboard'
Archived
Wayback Machine
National Maritime Museum
ISBN

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