Islamic geometric patterns
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Islamic geometric patterns are one of the major forms of Islamic ornament, which tends to avoid using figurative images, as it is forbidden to create a representation of an important Islamic figure according to many holy scriptures.
The
Geometric patterns occur in a variety of forms in
Interest in Islamic geometric patterns is increasing in the West, both among
Background
Islamic decoration
Islamic geometric patterns are derived from simpler designs used in earlier cultures:
Islamic art mostly avoids figurative images to avoid becoming objects of worship.[4][5] This aniconism in Islamic culture caused artists to explore non-figural art, and created a general aesthetic shift toward mathematically based decoration.[6]
Purpose
Authors such as Keith Critchlow[a] argue that Islamic patterns are created to lead the viewer to an understanding of the underlying reality, rather than being mere decoration, as writers interested only in pattern sometimes imply.[7][8] In Islamic culture, the patterns are believed to be the bridge to the spiritual realm, the instrument to purify the mind and the soul.[9] David Wade[b] states that "Much of the art of Islam, whether in architecture, ceramics, textiles or books, is the art of decoration – which is to say, of transformation."[10] Wade argues that the aim is to transfigure, turning mosques "into lightness and pattern", while "the decorated pages of a Qur’an can become windows onto the infinite."[10] Against this, Doris Behrens-Abouseif[c] states in her book Beauty in Arabic Culture that a "major difference" between the philosophical thinking of Medieval Europe and the Islamic world is exactly that the concepts of the good and the beautiful are separated in Arabic culture. She argues that beauty, whether in poetry or in the visual arts, was enjoyed "for its own sake, without commitment to religious or moral criteria".[11]
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Tiles inside thevegetal patterns
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Fes, Morocco, originally c. 1350, with geometric patterns in zellijtilework
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A variety of vernacular decorative Islamic styles in Morocco: wooden panels, zellij tilework, stucco calligraphy, and floral door panels
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Arch in theMocárabestalactite work
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Ayyubid Raqqa ware stoneware glazed jar with overlapping circles gridpattern. Syria, 12th/13th century
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An archway in the OttomanGreen Mosque, Bursa, Turkey (1424), with girih 10-point stars and pentagons
Pattern formation
Many Islamic designs are built on squares and circles, typically repeated, overlapped and interlaced to form intricate and complex patterns.[1] A recurring motif is the 8-pointed star, often seen in Islamic tilework; it is made of two squares, one rotated 45 degrees with respect to the other. The fourth basic shape is the polygon, including pentagons and octagons. All of these can be combined and reworked to form complicated patterns with a variety of symmetries including reflections and rotations. Such patterns can be seen as mathematical tessellations, which can extend indefinitely and thus suggest infinity.[1][13] They are constructed on grids that require only ruler and compass to draw.[14] Artist and educator Roman Verostko argues that such constructions are in effect algorithms, making Islamic geometric patterns forerunners of modern algorithmic art.[15]
The circle symbolizes unity and diversity in nature, and many Islamic patterns are drawn starting with a circle.[16] For example, the decoration of the 15th-century mosque in Yazd, Persia is based on a circle, divided into six by six circles drawn around it, all touching at its centre and each touching its two neighbours' centres to form a regular hexagon. On this basis is constructed a six-pointed star surrounded by six smaller irregular hexagons to form a tessellating star pattern. This forms the basic design which is outlined in white on the wall of the mosque. That design, however, is overlaid with an intersecting tracery in blue around tiles of other colours, forming an elaborate pattern that partially conceals the original and underlying design.[16][17] A similar design forms the logo of the Mohammed Ali Research Center.[18]
One of the early Western students of Islamic patterns,
The Topkapı Scroll, made in Timurid dynasty Iran in the late-15th century or beginning of the 16th century, contains 114 patterns including coloured designs for girih tilings and muqarnas quarter or semidomes.[19][20][21]
The mathematical properties of the decorative tile and
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Two-dimensional designs for two quarter-dome muqarnas – as a seashell (top), as a fan (bottom). Topkapı Scroll, 15th century
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Construction of girih pattern in Darb-e Imam spandrel (yellow line). Construction decagons blue, bowties red. The strapwork cuts across the construction tessellation.
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Analysis of octagonal patterns in Mughal architecture by Ernest Hanbury Hankin, 1925. 8-pointed stars emerge (lower right) where heavy black lines cross.
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Decoration in Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, Agra, showing correct treatment of sides and corners. A quarter of each 6-point star is shown in each corner; half stars along the sides.
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Architectural drawing for brick vaulting, Iran, probably Tehran, 1800–70
Evolution
Early stage
The earliest geometrical forms in Islamic art were occasional isolated geometric shapes such as 8-pointed stars and lozenges containing squares. These date from 836 in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, and since then have spread all across the Islamic world.[25]
Middle stage
The next development, marking the middle stage of Islamic geometric pattern usage, was of 6- and 8-point stars, which appear in 879 at the Ibn Tulun Mosque, Cairo, and then became widespread.[25]
A wider variety of patterns were used from the 11th century. Abstract 6- and 8-point shapes appear in the Tower of Kharaqan at Qazvin, Persia in 1067, and the Al-Juyushi Mosque, Egypt in 1085, again becoming widespread from there, though 6-point patterns are rare in Turkey.[25]
In 1086, 7- and 10-point girih patterns (with heptagons, 5- and 6-pointed stars, triangles and irregular hexagons) appear in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan. 10-point girih became widespread in the Islamic world, except in the Spanish Al-Andalus.[25] Soon afterwards, sweeping 9-, 11-, and 13-point girih patterns were used in the Barsian Mosque, also in Persia, in 1098; these, like 7-point geometrical patterns, are rarely used outside Persia and central Asia.[25]
Finally, marking the end of the middle stage, 8- and 12-point girih rosette patterns appear in the
Late stage
The beginning of the late stage is marked by the use of simple 16-point patterns at the Hasan Sadaqah mausoleum in Cairo in 1321, and in the Alhambra in Spain in 1338–1390. These patterns are rarely found outside these two regions. More elaborate combined 16-point geometrical patterns are found in the Sultan Hassan complex in Cairo in 1363, but rarely elsewhere. Finally, 14-point patterns appear in the
Artforms
Several artforms in different parts of the Islamic world make use of geometric patterns. These include ceramics,[27] girih strapwork,[28] jali pierced stone screens,[29] kilim rugs,[30] leather,[31] metalwork,[32] muqarnas vaulting,[33] shakaba stained glass,[34] woodwork,[28] and zellij tiling.[35]
Ceramics
Ceramics lend themselves to circular motifs, whether radial or tangential. Bowls or plates can be decorated inside or out with radial stripes; these may be partly figurative, representing stylised leaves or flower petals, while circular bands can run around a bowl or jug. Patterns of these types were employed on Islamic ceramics from the
Girih tilings and woodwork
Girih are elaborate interlacing patterns formed of five standardized shapes. The style is used in
Jali
Jali are pierced stone screens with regularly repeating patterns. They are characteristic of Indo-Islamic architecture, for example in the Mughal dynasty buildings at Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal. The geometric designs combine polygons such as octagons and pentagons with other shapes such as 5- and 8-pointed stars. The patterns emphasized symmetries and suggested infinity by repetition. Jali functioned as windows or room dividers, providing privacy but allowing in air and light.[29] Jali forms a prominent element of the architecture of India.[39] The use of perforated walls has declined with modern building standards and the need for security. Modern, simplified jali walls, for example made with pre-moulded clay or cement blocks, have been popularised by the architect Laurie Baker.[40] Pierced windows in girih style are sometimes found elsewhere in the Islamic world, such as in windows of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo.[41]
Kilim
A kilim is an Islamic
Leather
Islamic leather is often embossed with patterns similar to those already described. Leather book covers, starting with the Quran where figurative artwork was excluded, were decorated with a combination of kufic script, medallions and geometric patterns, typically bordered by geometric braiding.[31]
Metalwork
Metal artefacts share the same geometric designs that are used in other forms of Islamic art. However, in the view of
Even where metal objects such as bowls and dishes do not seem to have geometric decoration, still the designs, such as arabesques, are often set in octagonal compartments or arranged in concentric bands around the object. Both closed designs (which do not repeat) and open or repetitive patterns are used. Patterns such as interlaced six-pointed stars were especially popular from the 12th century. Eva Baer[f] notes that while this design was essentially simple, it was elaborated by metalworkers into intricate patterns interlaced with arabesques, sometimes organised around further basic Islamic patterns, such as the hexagonal pattern of six overlapping circles.[46]
Muqarnas
Muqarnas are elaborately carved ceilings to semi-domes, often used in mosques. They are typically made of stucco (and thus do not have a structural function), but can also be of wood, brick, and stone. They are characteristic of Islamic architecture of the Middle Ages from Spain and Morocco in the west to Persia in the east. Architecturally they form multiple tiers of squinches, diminishing in size as they rise. They are often elaborately decorated.[33]
Stained glass
Geometrically patterned
Zellij
Illustrations
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Safavidbowl with radial and circular motifs, Persia, 17th century
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Sufisymbols for the divine breath
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Side of a wooden Minbar (pulpit) with 12-point stars. 14th century. Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
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Woven wool Kilim from Turkey
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Leather prayer book cover, Persia, 16th century
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Iron gate with 10-point stars and kites at Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Cairo (1869–1912)
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Detail ofMosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, Cairo, decorated with strapwork
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Traditional Window,Sana'a, Yemen
Outside Islamic art
In Western culture
It is sometimes supposed in Western society that mistakes in repetitive Islamic patterns such as those on
Major Western collections hold many objects of widely varying materials with Islamic geometric patterns. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds at least 283 such objects, of materials including wallpaper, carved wood, inlaid wood, tin- or lead-glazed earthenware, brass, stucco, glass, woven silk, ivory, and pen or pencil drawings.[55] The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has among other relevant holdings 124 mediaeval (1000–1400 A.D.) objects bearing Islamic geometric patterns,[56] including a pair of Egyptian minbar (pulpit) doors almost 2 m. high in rosewood and mulberry inlaid with ivory and ebony;[57] and an entire mihrab (prayer niche) from Isfahan, decorated with polychrome mosaic, and weighing over 2,000 kg.[58]
Islamic decoration and craftsmanship had a significant influence on Western art when Venetian merchants brought goods of many types back to Italy from the 14th century onwards.[59]
The Dutch artist M. C. Escher was inspired by the Alhambra's intricate decorative designs to study the mathematics of tessellation, transforming his style and influencing the rest of his artistic career.[60][61] In his own words it was "the richest source of inspiration I have ever tapped."[62]
Influence on the sciences
Cultural organisations such as the
Computer graphics and computer-aided manufacturing make it possible to design and produce Islamic geometric patterns effectively and economically. Craig S. Kaplan explains and illustrates in his Ph.D. thesis how Islamic star patterns can be generated algorithmically.[72]
Two physicists,
In 2016, Ahmad Rafsanjani described the use of Islamic geometric patterns from tomb towers in Iran to create
Notes
- ^ Critchlow is a professor of architecture, and the author of a book on Islamic patterns.
- ^ Wade is the author of a series of books on pattern in various artforms.
- SOAS.
- ^ One such place is the Mustansiriyya Madrasa in Baghdad, as illustrated by Broug.[26]
- ^ Leaving the flask porous allowed evaporation, keeping the water cool.[36]
- ^ Baer is Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies at Tel Aviv University.[45]
- ^ Bier is a historian of Islamic art who studies pattern.[64]
- ^ Bonner is an architect specialising in Islamic ornament.[65]
- ^ Broug writes books and runs courses on Islamic geometric design.[67]
- ^ Necefoğlu is a professor of chemistry at Kafkas University interested in pattern and crystallography.[68]
- ^ Sarhangi is the founder of The Bridges Organization. He studies the mathematics of Persian architecture and mosaic design.[69]
- ^ Illustrated above.
References
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- ^ Bouaissa, Malikka (27 July 2013). "The crucial role of geometry in Islamic art". Al Arte Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
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- ^ a b Wade, David. "The Evolution of Style". Pattern in Islamic Art. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
Much of the art of Islam, whether in architecture, ceramics, textiles or books, is the art of decoration – which is to say, of transformation. The aim, however, is never merely to ornament, but rather to transfigure. ... The vast edifices of mosques are transformed into lightness and pattern; the decorated pages of a Qur'an can become windows onto the infinite. Perhaps most importantly, the Word, expressed in endless calligraphic variations, always conveys the impression that it is more enduring than the objects on which it is inscribed.
- ISBN 978-1-558-76199-5.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28721-7.
- ^ Hussain, Zarah (30 June 2009). "Introduction to Islamic art". BBC. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Bellos, Alex; Broug (Illustrator), Eric (10 February 2015). "Muslim rule and compass: the magic of Islamic geometric design". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Verostko, Roman (1999) [1994]. "Algorithmic Art".
- ^ a b Henry, Richard. "Geometry – The Language of Symmetry in Islamic Art". Art of Islamic Pattern. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ a b Lockerbie, John. "Islamic Design: Arabic / Islamic geometry 01". Catnaps.org. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Islamic Art and Geometric Design". MOHA. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015. The logo's construction is demonstrated in an animation on the MOHA website.
- ^ Gülru Necipoğlu (1992). Geometric Design in Timurid/Turkmen Architectural Practice: Thoughts on a Recently Discovered Scroll and Its Late Gothic Parallels (PDF). E.J. Brill. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
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- ^ van den Hoeven, Saskia, van der Veen, Maartje. "Muqarnas-Mathematics in Islamic Arts" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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- ^ a b "For Educators: Geometric Design in Islamic Art: Image 15". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ a b Thompson, Muhammad; Begum, Nasima. "Islamic Textile Art and how it is Misunderstood in the West – Our Personal Views". Salon du Tapis d'Orient. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Geometric Decoration and the Art of the Book. Leather". Museum with no Frontiers. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
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- ^ "Carved stucco and stained glass window". Islamic Arts & Architecture. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- ^ Hansen, Eri c (21 December 2011). "Sana'a Rising – "a Venice built on sand."". Islamic Arts & Architecture. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
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- ^ Thompson, Muhammad; Begum, Nasima. "Islamic Textile Art: Anomalies in Kilims". Salon du Tapis d'Orient. TurkoTek. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
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- ^ Backhouse, Tim. "Only God is Perfect". Islamic and Geometric Art. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
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- ^ "Prof.Dr. Hacali Necefoğlu (Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi)". Akademik Bilgi Sistemi (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
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