Motif
Plant motif, Taj Mahal
In art, a motif 
(pronunciation) (info • help) is a repeated pattern, image, or theme. Paisley designs are called motifs. Many designs in mosques in Islamic culture are motifs. Two major Roman motifs are egg and tongue, and ball and reel.
Motifs may have iconographic significance within a work of art.
Gallery
Illustration from The Grammar of Ornament (1856)
