Key pattern

 ( Patterns ) 

Key pattern is the generic term for an interlocking Geometry motif made from straight lines or bars that intersect to form rectilinear spiral shapes.

Iain Bain (1994). 9780806907406, Sterling Pub. Co. ISBN 9780806907406

Cynthia Thickpenney (2025). 9781789254556, Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781789254556

According to Allen and Anderson, the negative space between the lines or bars of a key pattern “resembes the L- or T-shaped slots in an ordinary key to allow it to pass the warded lock.”

Key patterns have been discovered and used in ornamentation 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 ornaments from Mezin, Ukraine, dated to approximately 23,000 B.C.

Key patterns were also common in textile and ceramic ornamentation during the Neolithic, with examples found among archeological discoveries in present-day Fiji, Peru, Mexico, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Greece, as well as in 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 Insular art, such as stone decorations and illuminated manuscripts, as well as Japanese art, Chinese art, and Islamic art decorative arts from different periods, feature key patterns.

Eva Wilson (1988). 048625819X, Dover Publications. 048625819X

Celtic maze, Greek frets, and Xicalcoliuhqui are examples of well-known designs that are considered to be key patterns.

== Gallery ==

carved from limestone, with key patterns, rosettes, and acanthus leaves, from a 6th-century Monasticism community in Bawit, Egypt.]]

frieze with diagonal key patterns and rosettes from 6th century Roman Egypt, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.]]

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from 18th century Italy in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.]]

people in the Early Crystal style, with key patterns forming the outer border.]]

Categories: Patterns

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