Visual motifs

thumb|The swastika is a symbol with many styles and meanings and has been used in many cultures and religions around the world for millennia. thumb|The Cultural appropriation|appropriation of the swastika by the [[Nazi Party (1920–1945) is the most recognisable modern usage of the symbol in the Western world.]]

thumb|340px|Stone relief with arabesques of tendrils, palmettes and half-palmettes in the [[Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria]] thumb|Part of a 15th-century ceramic panel from Samarkand ([[Uzbekistan) with white calligraphy on a blue arabesque background]]The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes,

decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object

thumb|Neolithic triple-spiral symbol

thumb|330px|Triptych of the The Elevation of the Cross (Rubens)|Raising of the Cross, Rubens, 1610–11, Antwerp Cathedral A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry.

title for Jesus

thumb|upright|Cornucopia of a Roman statue of Livia as [[Fortuna, 42-52 AD, marble, Altes Museum, Berlin ]] thumb|Cornucopia, part of a Roman statue, Archaeological Museum A. Salinas, Palermo, Sicily, Italy In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the horn of Amalthea (), after Amalthea, a nurse of Zeus, who is often part of stories of the horn's origin.

thumb|right|A dragon-like ouroboros in a 1478 drawing in an alchemical tract

thumb|Fleur-de-lis thumb|Arms of the Kings of France blazoned Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleurs-de-lys), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the fleur-de-lis is depicted on multiple flags of Quebec and on the traditional coat of arms of France that was used from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792, and then again in brief periods in the 19th century. This design still represents France and the House of Bourbon in the form o

decorative border motif constructed from a continuous line popular in Chinese, Greek, and Roman art

thumb|A historiated initial (the letter O) from an illuminated manuscript|alt=A large letter O in a frame. At the centre of the letter, there is an illustration of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.

wreath made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel

thumb|Renaissance art|Renaissance putti, detail from the [[Camera degli Sposi, by Andrea Mantegna, 1465–1474, fresco, Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy]] A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism, the putto came to represent a sort of baby angel in religious art, often called a cherub (plural cherubim), though in traditional Christian theology, a cherub is actually one of the most senior types of angel. thumb|Three Putti Next to a cartouche (design)|Cartouche, after

symbol

religious symbol representing a ring of light

Japanese emblems

ornamental motif based on a characteristic Mediterranean plant with jagged leaves, Acanthus spinosus

[[File:Regular_hexagon_as_intersection_of_two_triangles.png|thumb|A regular hexagram, [[List_of_regular_polytopes_and_compounds#Two_dimensional_compounds|{6}[2{3}]{6}]], can be seen as a compound composed of an upwards (blue here) and downwards (pink) facing equilateral triangle, with their intersection as a regular hexagon (in green).]]

thumb|Page in which appear various illustrations of palmettes, from A handbook of Ornament by Franz Meyer (1898) thumb|Etruscan civilization|Etruscan architectural plaque with palmettes, from late 4th century BC, painted terracotta, in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]] The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree, like palmyra leaf. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art of most of Eurasia, often in forms that bear relativ

heraldic crown resembling a wall

thumbnail|right|A typical lauburu. Each arm can be drawn with three sweeps of a compass

thumb|right|Christ in Majesty shown within a mandorla shape in a medieval [[illuminated manuscript.]] thumb|13/14th c. seal of Stone Priory in Staffordshire, England, in the shape of a mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with vesica, a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian iconography. It is distinguished from a halo in that it encircles the entire body and not just the head. It is commonly used to frame the figure of

Geometric objects with a common centre

thumb| () by Kanjuro Shibata XX. Some artists draw with an opening in the circle, while others close the circle. In Zen art, an is a circle hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express the Zen mind, which is associated with enlightenment, emptiness, freedom, and the state of no-mind.

in the visual arts, individual design element, alone or combined to produce a pattern

sculpture or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves

design using droplet-shaped vegetable motifs

sculpture motif

round, stylized flower design

symbol of death

in graphic design, a unique form for a frame to an image, either illustration or photograph

unofficial national symbol of France

right|thumb|Interlaced triquetra which is a trefoil knot The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective triquetrus "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping vesicae piscis lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in architecture, and in medieval manuscript illumination (particularly in the Insular tradition). Its depiction as interlaced is common in Insular ornaments from about the 7th century. In this interpretation, the triquetra represents the topologically simplest possible knot. thumb|Comparison of associated Reuleau

utopian ideal

motif in archaic Greek art

In Chinese philosophy, a taijitu () is a symbol or diagram () representing taiji () in both its monist (wuji) and its dualist (yin and yang) forms. A taijitu in application provides a deductive and inductive theoretical model. Such a diagram was first introduced by Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi of the Song Dynasty in his Taijitu shuo ().

large plate or washer connected to a tie rod or bolt

thumb|Houndstooth pattern Houndstooth is a pattern of alternating light and dark checks used on fabric. It is also known as hounds tooth check, '''hound's tooth (and similar spellings), dogstooth, dogtooth or dog's tooth'''. The duotone pattern is characterized by a tessellation of light and dark solid checks alternating with light-and-dark diagonally-striped checks—similar in pattern to gingham plaid but with diagonally-striped squares in place of gingham's blended-tone squares. Traditionally, houndstooth uses black and white, although other contrasting colour combinations may be used.

thumb|Openwork basket, English Bow porcelain, c. 1754–1755 right|thumb|alt=A gold bracelet with a pattern and writing created by making holes in the bracelet|Ancient Roman gold bracelet from the Hoxne Hoard. JULIANE is spelled out in [[opus interrasile openwork.]] thumb|Intricate jalis from the [[Sidi Saiyyed mosque in Ahmedabad, India. From the inside]]

"fur", or varied tincture, in heraldry

thumb|right|250px|Vair plain Vair is a fur tincture in heraldry, describing a two-color pattern covering the field or a division of the field in a manner considered similar to red squirrel furs, formerly much used in noble and royal mantles. The original form (now distinguished as ) consisted of rows of wavy U shapes similar the squirrels' white underbellies on such mantles. The modern form is more abstract, formed of rows of tiled irregular heptagons known as "panes" or "bells". The default modern pattern is the metal (white or silver) over the colour (blue), although other orders and hues ca

thumb|Egg-and-dart molding at the top of an Ionic order|Ionic capital at the [[Jefferson Memorial]] Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typically an egg-shaped object alternating with a V-shaped element (e.g., an arrow, anchor, or dart). The device is carved or otherwise fashioned into ovolos composed of wood, stone, plaster, or other materials.

geometrically a regular concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture

shape that is the intersection of two circles with the same radius

thumb|An engine-turned (guilloché) watch dial made by Derek Pratt (watchmaker)|Derek Pratt and rejected by him due to imperfections that are almost invisible to the bare eye. thumb|250px|Ancient Roman art|Roman guilloche around a scene with Diana the Huntress, late 2nd century AD, mosaic, Bardo National Museum, [[Tunis, Tunisia]] Guilloché (), or guilloche (), is a decorative technique in which a very precise, intricate, and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material via engine turning, which uses a machine of the same name. Engine turning machines may include the

decorative element of bands or portions of other motifs looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns

decorative knot and symbol of Ashtamangala

mark of property, later also used as a family or clan emblem, incised on the facade of a building, on animals, in signet and similar in the farmer and burgher culture of Germany and Scandinavia

thumb|Three tomoe

thumb|Quatrefoil above the west door of Croyland Abbey showing in [[relief scenes from the life of Saint Guthlac]] thumb|Quatrefoil window at the St. Petrus parish church in Peterslahr, Germany A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional Christian symbolism. The word 'quatrefoil' means "four leaves", from the Latin , "four", plus , "leaf"; the term refers specifically to a four-leafed clover, but

ornament with two doubly-interlinked loops

right|thumb|300px|The Triumph of Death, or the Three Fates, Flanders|Flemish tapestry with a typical mille-fleurs background, thumb|The birds and animals at inconsistent scales are a feature of the style Millefleur, millefleurs or mille-fleur (French mille-fleurs, literally "thousand flowers") refers to a composition with many different small flowers and plants in the background, usually against a green ground, as though growing in grass. It is primarily associated with European tapestry during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, from about 1400 to 1550, but mostly appears around 1480

thumb|upright=1.2|Girih pattern with inlaid floral decoration from :en:Shah-i-Zinda|Shah-i-Zinda in [[Samarkand, Uzbekistan]]

Taegeuk (, ) is a Sino-Korean term meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality / extremes". The term and its overall concept is derived from the Chinese Taiji, popularised in the west as the Yin and Yang. The symbol was chosen for the design of the Korean national flag in the 1880s. It substitutes the black and white color scheme often seen in most taijitu illustrations with blue and red, respectively, along with a horizontal separator, as opposed to vertical.

sports award

illustrative device denoting speech in art, used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Medieval Europe

decorative knot

150px|thumb|right|Architectural trefoil

form of decoration dominated by spiralling scrolls

heraldic symbol