“We may conclude from this that the fish-bone arrangement is as much the clue to the construction of a more advanced order of key-borders as it was in the case of simpler examples, and it seems obvious that a great variety of keys can be produced by this very single means. The process of interlocking the ends of the elements is of course the point at which the artists ingenuity comes into play ; but it is precisely the same ingenuity, exercised in precisely similar circumstances, as that which was required for the construction of the diapers out of the same elements.”
https://archive.org/stream/decorativeartjapan00pigg/decorativeartjapan00pigg#page/n135/mode/2up
Image from page 136 of “Studies in the decorative art of Japan” (1910)
Identifier: decorativeartjapan00pigg
Title: Studies in the decorative art of Japan
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Piggott, Francis Taylor, Sir, 1852-1925
Subjects: Decoration and ornament Design
Publisher: London : B.T. Batsford
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Getty Research Institute