Description
An overlapping circles lattice is a geometric pattern of repeating, overlapping circles of equal radii in two dimensions. The two most common designs are based on circles centered on a triangular square lattice pattern of points. Patterns of seven overlapping circles appear in historical artifacts from the 8th century BC. They are found on a Cypro-Archaic I cup from the 8th-7th century BC in Cyprus; at the Temple of Osiris at Abydos in Ancient Egypt; and in Roman mosaics, for example, at Herod's Palace in the 1st century BC. The patterns are widely used to construct girih decorations, including 6- and 12-pointed stars in Islamic art. Patterns based on a square grid of overlapping circles are found in quilt design, in Ancient Egypt, as noted in the 1856 book The Grammar of Ornament, and in the Hindu temple at Prambanan in Java.
