Meander (art)
{{Short description|Decorative continuous line border motif}}
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File:Greek key on a stove in the in the D.A. Sturdza House, in Bucharest.jpg (Strada Arthur Verona no. 13), Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect, 1883]]
Image:Rhodes meander hg.jpg, Greece, in pavement made from beach stones]]
A meander or meandrosThe Greek term maíandros and its Latinized variant meandros are not very common outside of archaeological contexts. ({{langx|el|Μαίανδρος}}) is a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif. Among some Italians, these patterns are known as "Greek Lines". Such a design may also be called the Greek fret or Greek key design, although these terms are modern designations; this decorative motif appears much earlier and among Near and Far eastern cultures that are far from Greece. Usually the term is used for motifs with straight lines and right angles and the many versions with rounded shapes are called running scrolls or, following the etymological origin of the term, may be identified as water wave motifs.
Meaning of the name
On one hand, the name "meander" recalls the twisting and turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) that is typical of river pathways. On another hand, as Karl Kerenyi pointed out, "the meander is the figure of a labyrinth in linear form".Kerenyi, Dionysos: archetypal image of indestructible life (Princeton University Press) 1976:89.
Decorative uses
Meanders are common decorative elements in Greek and Roman art. In ancient Greece they appear in many architectural friezes, and in bands on the pottery of ancient Greece from the Geometric period onward. The design is common to the present-day in classicizing architecture, and is adopted frequently as a decorative motif for borders for many modern printed materials.
Labyrinthine meanders in China
The meander is a fundamental design motif in regions far from a Hellenic orbit: labyrinthine meanders ("thunder" pattern See J. E. L., description of a Late Chou hou at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, in "A Chinese Bronze", Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 27 (August 1929:48).) appear in bands and as infill on Shang bronzes ({{circa|1600 BC|1045 BC}}), and many traditional buildings in and around China still bear geometric designs almost identical to meanders. Although space-filling curves have a long history in China in motifs more than 2,000 years earlier, extending back to Zhukaigou Culture ({{circa|2000 BC|1400 BC}}) and Xiajiadian Culture ({{circa|2200 BC|1600 BC}} and {{circa|1000 BC|600 BC}}), frequently there is speculation that meanders of Greek origin may have come to China during the time of the Han dynasty ({{circa|202 BC}}) by way of trade with the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. A meander motif also appears in prehistoric Mayan design motifs in the western hemisphere, centuries before any European contacts.
Gallery
Geometric bowl, 730-720 BC, Prague NM-H10 4103, 151503.jpg|Geometric bowl decorated with a meander, 730–720 BC, ceramic, Kinský Palace, Prague, Czech Republic
File:Painted terracotta metopes from Thermos (temple of Apollon) - Athens NAM AD 2 - 08.jpg|Ancient Greek metope with three women that have meanders on their clothes, {{circa}}640 BC, terracotta, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
File:Palaistra scene Louvre G457.jpg|A typical Attic red-figure cup with meander pattern at borders, by the Eretria Painter, {{circa|440–435 BC}}, red-figure pottery, Louvre
File:Didim RB20.jpg|Ancient Greek meanders on the base of a column from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, {{circa}}300-150 BC{{cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4903.html|website=brown.edu|title=Temple of Apollo at Didyma|access-date=6 March 2024}}
File:Villa dei misteri, sala del grande dipinto con misteri iniziatici, I secolo a.c. 03.jpg|Roman meander on a fresco in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy, unknown painter, 1st century BC{{cite book|last1=Bowden|first1=Hugh|title=Mystery Cults in the Ancient World|date=2023|publisher=Thames & Hudson|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-29727-8|page=|url=|language=en}}
File:Herculaneum — Women's Baths (14732688117).jpg|Roman meander mosaic of a tepidarium, Herculaneum, Italy, unknown architect, unknown date
Efeso, tempio di adriano 14.JPG|Roman meander on the Temple of Hadrianus, Ephesus, Turkey, unknown architect or sculptor, 117-118 AD
File:0540 - Milano - Museo archeologico - Mosaico romano (sec. I a.C.) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-mar-2012.jpg|Roman meander on a mosaic, 1st century BC, Archaeological Museum of Milan, Italy
File:Chedworth Roman Villa 05.jpg|Roman meander on a mosaic from the Chedworth Roman Villa, England, unknown architect, {{circa|120 AD}}
File:GallaPlacidia mosaico motivos geometricos arco.jpg|Colorful late Roman-early Byzantine meander in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 425-450
File:Ravenna, sant'apollinare nuovo, int., porto di classe, epoca di teodorico 02.JPG|Byzantine mosaic meander in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, {{circa}}500, with later alterations from {{circa}}560{{cite book|last1=Eastmond|first1=Anthony |authorlink=Antony Eastmond|title=The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom|date=2013|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-4810-5|page=53|url=|language=en}}
La Iglesia 5 Mäander.jpg|Mayan meander from Chichen Itza, Mexico, unknown architect, 750–1050
File:Hagia Sophia Beautiful Gate in 2018 6352.jpg|Byzantine meander on the south-west door, unknown architect or sculptor, 829-842, bronze, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey{{cite book|last1=Eastmond|first1=Anthony|title=The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom|date=2013|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-4810-5|page=124|url=|language=en}}
File:Petershausener Sakramentar 5.jpg|Romanesque meander on a page from the Petershausener Sakramentar, 960-980, tempera colors, gold paint, gold leaf, and ink on parchment, Heidelberg University Library, Heidelberg, Germany
File:Domschatz Halberstadt Isaac Teppichsaal mit Abraham-Engelteppich und Christus-Apostelteppich, um 1150.jpg|Romanesque meander of a tapestry with Saint Michael fighting with the dragon, 1146-1155, linen yarn, wool, linen, Halberstadt Cathedral Treasure, Halberstadt, Germany{{cite book|last1=Reimkasten|first1=Ulrich|title=Perspektiven Der Textilen Künste|date=2018|publisher=Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle|isbn=978-3-86019-139-2|page=17|url=|language=de}}
File:Istanbul Fenari Isa Mosque exterior east side 4476.jpg|Byzantine brick meander on the facade of the Church of the Thetokos tou Libos of Constantine Lips, currently the Fenari Isa Mosque, Istanbul, unknown architect, 907, refounded in 1287{{cite book|last1=Eastmond|first1=Anthony|title=The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom|date=2013|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-4810-5|page=257|url=|language=en}}
Bordeaux Grand Théâtre R03.jpg|Neoclassical meander border of the railing from the stairway of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, by Victor Louis, 1777-1780
Père-Lachaise - Division 28 - Foy 08.jpg|Neoclassical meander border on the ceiling of the Grave of Foy, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, by Pierre Jean David, 1831
59 Rue de Provence, Paris (01).jpg|Neoclassical meander in the lunette of the Ensemble immobilier de la cité d'Antin (Rue de Provence no. 59), Paris, unknown architect, {{circa|1850}}
Ceiling with mosaic of the Opéra Garnier (01).jpg|Neoclassical meander border on a ceiling of the Palais Garnier, Paris, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875{{sfn|Jones|2014|p=296}}
File:Ceiling centre of the Salon du glacier in the Opéra Garnier.jpg|Neoclassical meander border of a ceiling of the Salon du glacier in the Palais Garnier, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875
Floor of the Moon Salon in the Opéra Garnier.jpg|Neoclassical meander border of a floor of the Moon Salon in the Palais Garnier, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875
File:Vase néo-grec, PPO03792(4).jpg|Greek Revival vase with a meander, produced by Baccarat, 1867, crystal and gold, Petit Palais, Paris
Austrian Parliament Building - colored sections 04.jpg|Greek Revival meanders on the Austrian Parliament Building, Vienna, by Theophil von Hansen, 1873-1883{{cite book|last1=Watkin|first1=David|title=A History of Western Architecture|date=2022|publisher=Laurence King|isbn=978-1-52942-030-2|page=490|url=|language=en}}
3-5 Strada Icoanei, Bucharest (46).jpg|Neoclassical meander on a floor in the Central Girls' School (Strada Icoanei no. 3-5), Bucharest, Romania, by Ion Mincu, 1890{{sfn|Celac|Carabela|Marcu-Lapadat|2017|p=123}}
Stove tile from a house demolished in the 1980s in the Uranus area, on display during an exhibition in the Bucharest City Hall (02).jpg|Neoclassical meander on a stove tile from a house in Bucharest, on display during an exhibition in the Bucharest City Hall, unknown designer, {{circa|1900}}
File:Viktor Kovačić - Palača burze u Zagrebu - vestibul - detalj zida uz stubište.jpg|Neoclassical meander on a wall of Stock Exchange Building (Trg hrvatskih velikana no. 3) of Zagreb, Croatia, by Viktor Kovačić, 1927
File:Robe, 1984.1.38(2).jpg|Art Deco dress decorated with meanders, unknown producer, {{circa}}1925, georgette, and crochet embroidery, Musée Galliera, Paris
Grave of the Vasile I. Prodanof Family in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (03).jpg|Neoclassical and Art Deco meander on a Doric column capital of the Vasile I. Prodanof family tomb, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, unknown architect, {{circa|1930}}
See also
Citations
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book |last1=Celac |first1=Mariana |last2=Carabela |first2=Octavian |last3=Marcu-Lapadat |first3=Marius |title=Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide |publisher=Order of Architects of Romania |year=2017 |isbn=978-973-0-23884-6}}
- {{cite book|editor-last1=Jones |editor-first1=Denna |title=Architecture The Whole Story |date=2014 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-29148-1 |language=en}}
External links
{{Commons category|Greek key|Meander}}
- [https://buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/f/fret.html Illustrated Architecture Dictionary: "Fret"]—a short description, with a list of links to photographs of meander designs in art and architecture
{{Ornaments}}