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Symbols
Search researched meanings first, then narrow by tradition, era, object, practical use, style, or emotion.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Axe-Shaped Amulet — Medieval Rus’ and Baltic-Slavic Contact Zones
A miniature axe pendant distributed across 11th–12th-century Rus’, Baltic and Central European contact networks.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Bull-Man (gud-alim / kusarikku) — Documented Sumerian/Akkadian Motif, Early Dynastic–Akkadian
Upright hybrid with human head and torso, bovine horns, and bull hindquarters: the Early Dynastic–Akkadian contest figure later named kusarikku.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Crescent Lunula Pendant — Early Medieval Slavic Contexts
A crescent pendant type widespread in 10th–13th-century Rus’, with debated origins and religious meaning.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Equal-Armed Cross Motif — Early Medieval Slavic Material Culture
A simple cross form documented on early medieval pottery and Christian-period objects in Central and Eastern Europe.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Concentric Circle-and-Dot Motif — Early Medieval Slavic Objects
A drilled ring-and-dot ornament widely used on early medieval bone and antler objects, including combs.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Cross-in-Circle Motif — Slavic Archaeological and Folk Contexts
A cross enclosed by a circle, documented in early medieval European coinage, pottery and other material contexts.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Diamond-with-Dot Field Motif — Slavic Embroidery
A dotted rhombus or lozenge documented within Ukrainian and other Slavic-region embroidery traditions.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Eight-Point Rosette — Eastern Slavic Folk Ornament
An eight-point star or rosette documented in Ukrainian and wider Eastern European textile ornament.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Herringbone Band — Slavic Pottery and Textile Ornament
A repeated chevron or diagonal-stroke band used in medieval pottery and later regional textile decoration.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Hooked Cross Motif — Historic Slavic Textile and Ceramic Ornament
A hooked-cross design recorded on an early Slavic ceramic vessel from Ożańsk in present-day Poland.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Horse-and-Rider Folk Motif — Slavic Embroidery
A geometrically simplified horse and rider documented in 19th- and early 20th-century northern Russian embroidery.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Humbaba Frontal Face — Documented Akkadian Motif, Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian frontal monster-head plaque with a viscera-like coiled beard; the literary name is Akkadian Huwawa/Humbaba.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Interlocking Lozenges — Slavic Textile Ornament
A repeating diamond lattice documented in Ukrainian and other Central and Eastern European textile traditions.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Leaf-and-Rosette Medallion — Kyivan Rus’
Leaf-and-rosette ornament from the reverse of an 11th–12th-century Kyivan Rus’ cloisonné temple pendant.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Paired Birds and Plant Motif — Eastern Slavic Folk Embroidery
Two birds arranged around a tree or flowering plant on Eastern Slavic embroidered towels.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Paired Birds Medallion — Kyivan Rus’
Confronted birds from 11th–12th-century Kyivan Rus’ cloisonné jewellery and elite dress.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Peacock or Confronted Bird Motif — South and East Slavic Folk Art
A symmetrical pair of ornamental birds, sometimes identified as peacocks, in Balkan and Eastern European folk design.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Rod and Ring — Documented Sumerian/Akkadian Motif, Ur III–Old Babylonian
Held rod with a ring or coiled measuring line, extended by a seated deity to a standing ruler in Ur III–Old Babylonian investiture scenes.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Rosette — Documented Sumerian Motif, Late Uruk–Early Dynastic
A circular floral disc with even petals around a dotted or ringed centre: a plant-geometric form, not a pointed star.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Six-Petal Rosette — Slavic Folk Woodcarving and Architecture
A compass-drawn six-petal rosette documented on historic Carpathian domestic woodwork and architectural beams.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Spiral Motif — Slavic Folk Carving and Decorated Eggs
A spiral or curling-line design documented in Ukrainian pysanky and other regional folk decoration.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Thunder Mark / Gromoviti Znak — South Slavic Vernacular Carving
A compass-drawn radial rosette carved on Carpathian domestic beams and later described in folk interpretation as a thunder or protective mark.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Tree-of-Life Pot Motif — Eastern Slavic Folk Embroidery
A stylised tree or flowering plant rising from a vessel, documented on Eastern Slavic embroidered towels.
Original Meaning Unknown · reviewed meaning
Tulip-Palmette Motif — South Slavic Folk Ornament
A stylised tulip-and-palmette composition reflecting Ottoman influence on later Balkan and South Slavic decorative arts.