I have always loved the Greek Key decorative motif. On pottery, on glassware, in architecture or on photo frames (like the one shown above), a little band of Greek Fretwork can never be too much. Often, it's just enough.
A Greek Key is a continuous decorative line which "meanders" along an unbroken and repetitive pathway of right angles—always moving forward, taking frequent 90° turns (in both directions) and sometimes undergoing temporary switchbacks. Though a Greek Key almost always progresses in a directional line, the right angles create an interlocking, maze-like appearance. The unbroken line can be interpreted to represent unity, infinity or continuous flow. Sometimes two (or more) Greek Key lines are "interwoven" to create a complex fretwork—highly elaborate but still ordered by a highly-structured, precisely-repeating, predictable pathway.
The Greeks devised this decorative element around 900 BC. They employed the Greek Key on hand-painted ceramics, carved it into stone architectural elements, and wove it as banding into textiles. Other places (like Egypt and China) have examples of such fretwork that pre-date the Greeks, but no one else elevated it to the degree that the Greeks did. When Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) began to inform Renaissance architects about the noble history of Classical Greek and Roman architecture (through his writings and drawings), he helped revive the popularity of the Greek Key which (starting around 1800), became immensely common in Greek Revival design—and has never become unfashionable since.
The name, "Greek Key," refers to the fact that a small portion of the fretwork can resemble the teeth of an old-fashioned key. "Greek Fret" and "Meandering" (named after the Meander River in modern day Turkey) are other names for the decorative element.
Why do I like the Greek Key? Well, it is a handsome decorative element which is clean, orderly, precise and (dare I say?) mathematical. It is neither coldly analytical, nor whimsically frivolous. It is masculine and (can be) understated—just the right touch of decoration to punctuate an otherwise simple, classic form.
The 5" x 7" pewter picture frame, shown above, is encircled with a subtle perimeter of Greek Key fretwork. It provides ample decorative flourish—without glitz or overstatement. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
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