Frieze Patterns

Alicia Stevenson & Jessica Mavis

Minnesota State University Moorhead

May 1, 2006

Dr. Peil – Geometry

Table of Contents Page

Introduction .........................................................................................1

History ............................................................................................ 2-3

Seven Pattern Types ...................................................................... 3-5

Activity ................................................................................................6

Conclusion ..........................................................................................7

References .........................................................................................8
Introduction

“Observation is the best method to use in searching for patterns. Stop, look, and

listen, and then think about what you have seen and heard” (Shimek, 5). As you walk

down the street, as you listen to music, as you sit in a classroom, you’ll find patterns of

shapes, notes, or color. “This knowledge can help you better understand how the world

works” (Shimek, 5). Patterns are used to create and to predict. Recipes are patterns

that every time we follow, we get the same thing. Architects use blueprints as their

pattern to build a building. Musicians put patterns of notes together to create melodies,

songs, and symphonies. Artists use patterns to create masterpieces. “Patterns used as

aids in creating things can often be thought of as models” (Shimek, 8). They can be

used to predict the weather. Patterns can predict election outcomes. Doctors use them

to prescribe medicine. Scientists use patterns in experiments. In mathematics,

Pascal’s Triangle is a pattern that predicts probability outcomes.

“When we observe a repeated pattern in wallpaper or fabric, we find that an

object has simply been moved up or down or to the side. This kind of order of

symmetry is called translational” (Hillen, 39). A frieze is a decorative horizontal band.

([Link]) In mathematics, patterns that are repeated along a line are called

frieze patterns. They have translational symmetry with the part that repeats being a tile.

Strip patterns or frieze patterns are decorative and found in many cultures. Native

American baskets and pottery, Chinese and Persian carpets, and on the walls, the

floors, and the ceilings of ancient Greek, Roman, and Islamic buildings display these

frieze patterns. They can also be seen in border patterns, needlepoint stitches, and

ironwork railings among other places. (Serra)

History

Stemming from the history of symmetry, man found the seven possible strip

patterns and the seventeen possible wallpaper patterns, along with thirty-two types of

repetitive patterns in crystals. From these patterns we have modern day tiling,

wallpaper, and border prints – or frieze patterns. (Hay)

The ancient Greeks used the frieze as part of a stone entablature, and then later

it was applied to wall paper as simply a decorative band at the top of a wall. Yet “there

is nothing simple about the history of the wallpaper frieze” (Kelly). In 1841, one

decorating authority complained about the large patterns on walls that were making

rooms seem very small. “So out with the large, in with the small” (Kelly). Thin borders

at the top of a white or gold papered wall were considered the most elegant.

In the late 1860s, English tastemaker Charles Eastlake created a wall treatment

that included frieze, sidewall, and dado. This didn’t catch on right away since the

market for custom-made wall treatment was small. But by the 1880s, friezes became

more elaborate while the sidewall and dadoes more plain. Eventually the dado fell

away and the sidewall/frieze scheme continued to be popular until after 1900. What has

lasted even through today is the frieze as a wallpaper border. The friezes were custom-

made, hand-stenciled, to match furniture or carpet, with complimenting embroidered

pillows and dyed linen tablecloths. After 1925 though, this custom product died away as

it required a mass market to survive. (Kelly)

As far as the frieze goes in the mathematical world, mathematician John Conway

created names that relate to footsteps for each of the frieze groups. The first group

being a hop, the second a step, the third a sidle, the fourth a spinning hop, the fifth a
spinning sidle, the sixth a jump, and the seventh a spinning jump. This made for a more

practical approach to visualizing the seven different frieze groups.

Seven Pattern Types

A frieze is a pattern that repeats itself in one direction. There are seven different frieze

patterns possible.

A translation is the first pattern. A translation slides all the points in the plane

the same distance in the same direction. All frieze patterns map onto themselves

under a translation. The only transformation in the figure below is a translation.

The second pattern is a glide reflection which slides the figure to the right and

then reflects it over a horizontal mirror. This pattern in this figure is a glide

reflection.
The third pattern is a vertical reflection. A reflection flips all the points in the

plane over a line (called a mirror). The pattern below is an example of a

reflection across a vertical mirror. The dashed line is an example of a vertical

mirror.

The fourth pattern is a rotation. A rotation turns all the points in the plane 180

degrees around a point. The pattern in the following figure has two half turns.

The green point is an example of a rotation point.

A vertical reflection, rotation and a glide reflection make up pattern number

five. The following pattern is a reflection across a vertical mirror, rotation, and a

glide reflection. The green point and the dashed line are examples of a rotation

point and a vertical mirror, respectively.

The sixth pattern is a horizontal reflection and a glide reflection. This is

displayed in the figure below.

The last pattern contains a rotation, horizontal reflection, vertical reflection,

and a glide reflection. The following figure displays this pattern. The green

point and the dashed line are examples of a rotation point and a vertical mirror,

respectively.
 Frieze Patterns
Hands-On Activity

Materials
- set of six R’s
- room to investigate

Objectives
- understand transformations: translation, reflection, rotation
- observe how these transformations form frieze patterns

Application
- identify frieze patterns in our surroundings

Frieze Pattern 1 : ____________________________________________________

Frieze Pattern 2 : ____________________________________________________
Frieze Pattern 3 : ____________________________________________________
Frieze Pattern 4 : ____________________________________________________
Frieze Pattern 5 : ____________________________________________________
Frieze Pattern 6 : ____________________________________________________
Frieze Pattern 7 : ____________________________________________________
Conclusion

A frieze pattern consists of repeated copies, along a line, of a single figure or

block called a tile. Frieze patterns are classified by the isometries that formed the

pattern. They can be found in many places such as, wallpaper borders, pottery,

buildings, quilts, and many other forms of art. Frieze patterns sometimes prove to be

difficult to classify; using the above chart should make the isometries that form the frieze

pattern a little easier to identify and help to classify the pattern!

References

“Frieze”. 23 April 2006. <[Link]

Hay, Frances R. 23 April 2006.

<[Link]

Hillen, Judith A. Pieces & Patterns: A Patchwork in Math & Science. AIMS Education
Foundation, 1986.

Kelly, Robert M. Frieze Frame. 23 April 2006.

<[Link]

McDonald, Judi. “Frieze Designs in Indigenous Art”. 22 April 2006.

<[Link]

Reid, David A. “Frieze Patterns”. 4 April 2003.

<[Link]

Serra, Michael. Discovering Geometry: An Inductive Approach. Key Curriculum Press,

1997.

Shimek, William. Patterns: what are they? Lerner Publications Company, 1969.