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Two closed loops interlaced with one another in a flat symmetrical figure.
Also known as: Solomon knot, Interlaced loops
Two loops woven through each other with no ends and no beginning. Among the oldest decorative motifs in continuous use — Roman mosaics, African textiles, Celtic manuscripts, synagogue floors — which makes single-culture claims about it unusually hard to sustain.
A flat interlace of two closed loops passing over and under one another at four points, with no loose ends.
Attested across an unusually wide range of cultures and periods — Roman and Byzantine mosaic, Ethiopian and West African textile and metalwork, Celtic and Islamic interlace, and synagogue floor decoration — which makes any claim that it belongs to one tradition difficult to support.
Very wide independent distribution. Claims of a single cultural origin are not supportable.
Where a protective function is recorded, it usually rests on the endlessness of the interlace — a figure with no opening being held to admit no harm. This reasoning appears in several traditions independently.
Two closed loops laid across one another and woven together, passing alternately over and under at four crossing points, forming a symmetrical figure with no ends.