Palmette

A palmette is a fancy word for a leaf design that looks like a hand with fingers splayed out. Imagine putting your hand on a piece of paper and tracing around it, then coloring it in. That's kind of what a palmette looks like! They were often used in ancient art and architecture, like on the tops of columns or as decorations on pottery. Some palmettes were very simple, while others were really intricate and detailed with lots of curves and swirls. People still like to use palmettes today in art and design, too!