L4a1 link
| Basic Solomon's knot | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Braid length | 8 |
| Braid no. | 4 |
| Crossing no. | 4 |
| Hyperbolic volume | 0 |
| Stick no. | 6 |
| Unknotting no. | 2 |
| Conway notation | [4] |
| A-B notation | 42 1 |
| Thistlethwaite | L4a1 |
| Last /Next | L2a1 / L5a1 |
| Other | |
| alternating | |
Solomon's knot (Latin: sigillum Salomonis) is the most common name for a traditional decorative motif used since ancient times, and found in many cultures. Despite the name, it is actually classified as a link, and is not a true knot according to the definitions of mathematical knot theory.
The Solomon's knot consists of two closed loops, which are doubly interlinked in an interlaced manner. If laid flat, the Solomon's knot is seen to have four crossings where the two loops interweave under and over each other. This contrasts with two crossings in the simpler Hopf link.
In most artistic representations, the parts of the loops that alternately cross over and under each other become the sides of a central square, while four loopings extend outward in four directions. The four extending loopings may have oval, square, or triangular endings, or may terminate with free-form shapes such as leaves, lobes, blades, wings etc.
The Solomon's knot often occurs in ancient Roman mosaics, usually represented as two interlaced ovals.
Tzippori National Park, Israel, has Solomon's Knots in stone mosaics at the site of an ancient synagogue.
Across the Middle East, historical Islamic sites show Solomon's knot as part of Muslim tradition. It appears over the doorway of an early twentieth century CE mosque/madrasa in Cairo. Two versions of Solomon's knot are included in the recently excavated Yattir Mosaic in Jordan. To the east, it is woven into an antique Central Asian prayer rug. To the west, Solomon's knot appeared in Moorish Spain, and it shines in leaded glass windows in a late twentieth century CE mosque in the United States. The British Museum, London, England has a fourteenth-century CE Egyptian Qur'an with a Solomon's Knot as its frontispiece.
University of California at Los Angeles Fowler Museum of Cultural History, USA has a large African collection that includes nineteenth and twentieth century CE Yoruba glass beadwork crowns and masks decorated with Solomon's Knots.
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Wikipedia