Greek Key a labyrinth?

Anonymous said...

It is my belief that the Greek key design is related to the labyrinth in some way. It may have preceded the labyrinth or was inspired by the labyrinth.

 

 In art and architecture, a meander is a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif. Such a design is also called the Greek fret or Greek key design, although these are modern designations. On the one hand, the name "meander" recalls the twisting and turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor, and on the other hand, as Karl Kerenyi pointed out, "the meander is the figure of a labyrinth in linear form". Among some Italians, these patterns are known as Greek Lines. The meander is a fundamental design motif in regions far from a Hellenic orbit: labyrinthine meanders ("thunder" pattern) appear in bands and as infill on Shang bronzes, and many traditional buildings in and around China still beargeometric designs almost identical to meanders. *Wikipedia*

A Greek Key is a regular repeat of interlocking right angles and vertical lines usually as a border treatment in art, architecture and textiles. It was a common decorative motif in Greek and Roman art and architecture and was often used in American Neoclassical (beginning in the mid 18th century) design--furniture, architecture and fabrics. American Greek Revival architecture and decorative arts-1800-1855.

 http://cottonopia.blogspot.com/2009/10/greek-key_09.html