The rosette derives from the natural shape of the botanical rosette, formed by leaves radiating out from the stem of a plant and visible even after the flowers have withered.
The rosette design is used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity, appearing in Mesopotamia, and in funeral steles' decoration in Ancient Greece. The rosette was another important symbol of Ishtar which had originally belonged to Inanna along with the Star of Ishtar.[1]
One of the earliest appearances of the rosette in ancient art is in early fourth millennium BCEgypt.[2] Another early Mediterranean occurrence of the rosette design derives from MinoanCrete; Among other places, the design appears on the Phaistos Disc, recovered from the eponymous archaeological site in southern Crete.[3]
Ancient Greek funerary stele with three rosettes at the top, c.150 BC, marble, Louvre
Rosette decorations have been used for formal military awards. They also appear in modern, civilian clothes,[4] and are often worn prominently in political[5] or sporting[6] events. Rosettes sometimes decorate musical instruments, such as around the perimeter of sound holes of guitars.
Sumerian bull with rosettes, c.3000 BC, black marble, Louvre
Baroque rosettes on a carpet with fame and fortitude, by the Savonnerie manufactory, 1668–1685, knotted and cut wool pile, woven with about 90 knots per square inch, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical rosettes on a vase, by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts, Louvre[12]
Neoclassical rosette on a handle of the lateral wing that faces Strada Edgar Quinet and Strada Academiei of the University Building, Bucharest, Romania, probably designed by Nicolae Ghica-Budești, 1914-1934[13]
Rosettes on Beaux-Arts balconies of Strada Episcopiei no. 2-4, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1920
Art Deco rosettes on Strada Grigore Cobălcescu no. 56, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, ISBN0-7141-1705-6, p. 156
Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017). Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide. Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p.37. ISBN978-973-0-23884-6.
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