Walnut Room this way

Walnut Room this way
Rio.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Greek Key Brickwork: Falling in love

 You don't see many houses like this in Mississippi; in fact, I will bet there is not even one like this in the whole state.  As we were walking through the neighborhood in search of the Woodrow Wilson house, we spotted this place for sale.  It appears to be four flats, once on each floor.  The upper two floors open onto a small balcony, the first floor opens into a courtyard, and the ground floor opens into the garage--a six-car garage.
 The intriguing Greek Key pattern in the bricks ran the length of the house, front and back and sides.  Terracotta trim was also evident throughout the detail work.
 There were two half-turrets on the side elevation, consisting of a small one near the rear, and a larger one at the front corner of the building.
I do love me some good details!  The Greek Key motif began to take shape in the Early Geometric Period (900-850 BCE), according to jewelry historian Lord Hayden Peters (www.artofmourning.com), although the name Greek fret or key is a modern designation (wikipedia).  The original name is a meander or meandros, and is identified by a continuous line shaped into a repeated motif.  The symbol represents eternal flow, infinity, and eternity.

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