Key pattern is the generic term for an interlocking

geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

motif made from straight lines or bars that intersect to form rectilinear

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are: According to Allen and Anderson, the

negative space Negative space, in art, is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and su ...

between the lines or bars of a key pattern “resemb sthe L- or T-shaped slots in an ordinary key to allow it to pass the wards of the lock.” Key patterns have been discovered and used in

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

by a number of global cultures in human history, and are thought to largely have been designed independently of each other. The earliest examples of key patterns are seen in

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

ornaments from Mezin,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, dated to approximately 23,000 B.C. Key patterns were also common in textile and ceramic ornamentation during the

Neolithic period The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, with examples found among archeological discoveries in present-day

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, as well as in pre-Christian Celtic art. The oldest known pair of pants, wool trousers found in a grave dated to approximately 1038-926 B.C. in present-day western China, have a decorative band of key patterns woven into them. In addition, extant examples of

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

Insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...

, such as stone decorations and

illuminated manuscripts An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

, as well as

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, and

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

from different periods, feature key patterns. Celtic maze, Celtic mazes, Greek frets, and xicalcoliuhquis are examples of well-known designs that are considered to be key patterns.

Gallery

File:Handbook of archaeology, Egyptian - Greek - Etruscan - Roman (1867) (14594774800).jpg, Key patterns forming a border in the Roman Mosaic of Dioscorides as seen in the ''Handbook of Archaeology, Egyptian - Greek - Etruscan - Roman'' (1867) File:El Tajin (9785936503).jpg, Key patterns seen in architectural details at

El Tajín El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site in southern Mexico and is one of the largest and most important cities of the Mesoamerican chronology, Classic era of Mesoamerica. A part of the Classic Veracruz culture, El Tajín flourished from ...

, a

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

archaeological site in southern Mexico. File:02 2020 Grecia photo Paolo Villa FO190065 bis (Museo archeologico di Atene) Terracotta dipinta, Anfora del Maestro detto di Dipylon (dettaglio), opera funebre geometrica con salma su catafalco, piangenti, Kerameikos Atene, VIII sec a.C.jpg, A detail of key patterns from a Greek painted terracotta amphora from 8th century B.C. in the collection of the Archaeological Museum of Athens File:Engaged Column Part with Meander Pattern MET DP350385.jpg, A fragment of an

engaged column In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached. Engaged columns are rarely found in classical Greek architecture, and then ...

carved from limestone, with key patterns, rosettes, and

acanthus leaves The acanthus ( grc, ἄκανθος) is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration, and even as the leaf distinguishing the heraldic coronet of a manorial lord from other coronets of royalty or nobility, which us ...

, from a 6th-century

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

community in Bawit, Egypt. File:Fragment from a Frieze with Meander Pattern and Diamond-Shaped Rosettes MET 09.217.1a, b.jpeg, A fragment from a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

with diagonal key patterns and rosettes from 6th century

Byzantine Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman E ...

, in the collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. File:Ding (cooking vessel), China, Shang dynasty, 1300-1046 BC, bronze - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC03993.JPG, Rectilinear key patterns seen among other ornaments on a bronze Chinese cooking vessel from the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

. File:Sheet with Greek key and paisley pattern Met DP887050.jpg, A decorative paper sheet with paisley and Greek key patterns printed in relief from 18th century Italy in the collection of the

. File:RugNavajo-BMA.jpg, A wool rug ca.1900-1920 from the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

people in the Early Crystal style, with key patterns forming the outer border. File:Vintage pattern from The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist by G.A & M.A. Audsley from rawpixel’s own original first edition of the publication 10.jpg, Vintage Japanese designs of key patterns from ''The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist'' by G.A & M.A. Audsley File:Vintage pattern from The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist by G.A & M.A. Audsley from rawpixel’s own original first edition of the publication 76.jpg, Vintage Japanese border designs using key patterns from ''The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist'' by G.A & M.A. Audsley File:Vintage pattern from The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist by G.A & M.A. Audsley from rawpixel’s own original first edition of the publication 86.jpg, Antique Greek border designs of key patterns and other ornaments from ''The Practical Decorator and Ornamentist'' by G.A & M.A. Audsley File:Handbook of ornament; a grammar of art, industrial and architectural designing in all its branches, for practical as well as theoretical use (1900) (14597695089).jpg, Variations in decorative key patterns from the ''Handbook of Ornament; A Grammar of Art, Industrial and Architectural Designing in All Its Branches, for Practical as well as Theoretical Use'' (1900)

References

{{Reflist, 2 Patterns