Key pattern explained

Key pattern is the generic term for an interlocking geometric motif made from straight lines or bars that intersect to form rectilinear spiral shapes.^{[1] [2] [3]} According to Allen and Anderson, the negative space between the lines or bars of a key pattern “resemb[es] the L- or T-shaped slots in an ordinary key to allow it to pass the wards of the lock.”^[4]

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.^[5] The earliest examples of key patterns are seen in textile ornaments from Mezin, Ukraine, dated to approximately 23,000 B.C.^{[6] [7] [8]} Key patterns were also common in textile and ceramic ornamentation during the Neolithic period, with examples found among archeological discoveries in present-day Fiji, Peru, Mexico, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Greece,^[9] 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.^[10] In addition, extant examples of early medieval Insular art, such as stone decorations and illuminated manuscripts, as well as Japanese, Chinese, and Islamic decorative arts from different periods, feature key patterns.^{[11] [12]}

Celtic mazes, Greek frets, and xicalcoliuhquis are examples of well-known designs that are considered to be key patterns.^[13]

Notes and References

1. Book: Hull, Derek. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art : geometric aspects. 2003. Liverpool University Press. 0-85323-549-X. Liverpool. 52695754.
2. Book: Bain, Iain. Celtic key patterns. 1994. Sterling Pub. Co. 0-8069-0740-1. New York. 29428299.
3. Book: Thickpenney, Cynthia. Peopling Insular Art: Practice, Performance, Perception. 2020. Oxbow Books. Cynthia Thickpenny, Katherine Forsyth, J. Geddes, Kate Mathis. 978-1-78925-455-6. Oxford, UK. Making Key pattern in Insular art: The Harley Golden Gospels and Kilmartin Cross. 1180971230.
4. Book: Allen. J. Romilly. The early Christian monuments of Scotland.. Anderson. Joseph. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 1903. Printed by Neill & co., limited. Edinburgh. 308.
5. Radovic. Ljilana. Jablan. Slavik. 2001. Antisymmetry and Modularity in Ornamental Art. Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science [Conference Proceedings]. 55–65.
6. Radovic. Ljilana. Jablan. Slavik. 2001. Antisymmetry and Modularity in Ornamental Art. Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science [Conference Proceedings]. 55–65.
7. Book: Jablan, Slavik. Modularity : understanding the development and evolution of natural complex systems. 2005. MIT Press. Werner Callebaut, Diego Rasskin-Gutman. 978-0-262-26969-8. Cambridge, Mass.. Modularity in Art. 62098419.
8. Jablan. Slavik. Radović. Ljiljana. 2011-08-09. Glanville. Ranulph. Do you like paleolithic op‐art?. Kybernetes. en. 40. 7/8. 1045–1054. 10.1108/03684921111160287. 0368-492X.
9. Radovic. Ljilana. Jablan. Slavik. 2001. Antisymmetry and Modularity in Ornamental Art. Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science [Conference Proceedings]. 55–65.
10. Beck . Ulrike . Wagner . Mayke . Li . Xiao . Durkin-Meisterernst . Desmond . Tarasov . Pavel E. . 2014-10-20 . The invention of trousers and its likely affiliation with horseback riding and mobility: A case study of late 2nd millennium BC finds from Turfan in eastern Central Asia . Quaternary International . The Bridging Eurasia Research Initiative: Modes of mobility and sustainability in the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological archives from Eurasia . en . 348 . 224–235 . 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.04.056 . 1040-6182.
11. Herringham. Christiana J.. 1909. Notes on Oriental Carpet Patterns-VI. Meander and Key Patterns. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 15. 74. 98–104. 857910 . 0951-0788.
12. Book: Wilson, Eva. Islamic designs for artists and craftpeople. 1988. Dover Publications. 0-486-25819-X. New York. 18134247.
13. Özkar. Mine. Lefford. Nyssim. 2006. Modal relationships as stylistic features: Examples from Seljuk and Celtic patterns. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. en. 57. 11. 1551–1560. 10.1002/asi.20431. 1532-2890.