Meander (art)
A meander or meandros<ref>The Greek term maíandros and its Latinized variant meandros are not very common outside of archaeological contexts.</ref> (Template:Langx) 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 nameEdit
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".<ref>Kerenyi, Dionysos: archetypal image of indestructible life (Princeton University Press) 1976:89.</ref>
Decorative usesEdit
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 ChinaEdit
The meander is a fundamental design motif in regions far from a Hellenic orbit: labyrinthine meanders ("thunder" pattern <ref>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).</ref>) appear in bands and as infill on Shang bronzes (Template:Circa), 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 (Template:Circa) and Xiajiadian Culture (Template:Circa and Template:Circa), frequently there is speculation that meanders of Greek origin may have come to China during the time of the Han dynasty (Template:Circa) 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.
GalleryEdit
- 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
- 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, Template:Circa640 BC, terracotta, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
- Palaistra scene Louvre G457.jpg
A typical Attic red-figure cup with meander pattern at borders, by the Eretria Painter, Template:Circa, red-figure pottery, Louvre
- Didim RB20.jpg
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- 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Herculaneum — Women's Baths (14732688117).jpg
Roman meander mosaic of a tepidarium, Herculaneum, Italy, unknown architect, unknown date
- 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
- Chedworth Roman Villa 05.jpg
Roman meander on a mosaic from the Chedworth Roman Villa, England, unknown architect, Template:Circa
- 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
- 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, Template:Circa500, with later alterations from Template:Circa560<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- La Iglesia 5 Mäander.jpg
Mayan meander from Chichen Itza, Mexico, unknown architect, 750–1050
- 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- 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
- 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- 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, Template:Circa
- Ceiling with mosaic of the Opéra Garnier (01).jpg
Neoclassical meander border on a ceiling of the Palais Garnier, Paris, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875Template:Sfn
- 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
- 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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- 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, 1890Template:Sfn
- 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, Template:Circa
- 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
- Robe, 1984.1.38(2).jpg
Art Deco dress decorated with meanders, unknown producer, Template:Circa1925, 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, Template:Circa
See alsoEdit
CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
External linksEdit
- Illustrated Architecture Dictionary: "Fret"—a short description, with a list of links to photographs of meander designs in art and architecture