Islamic Design by Daud Sutton

Author:Daud Sutton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mint Associates Ltd

Dual square grids, dotted and solid, and

the key four-fold points.

Eight, two times four, and four, in a

pattern related to those on page 11.

Another elegant pattern combining eight

and four, at the key points, with six.

Twelve and four in the square repeat

version of a fundamental pattern.

Twelve and eight, the petals are the

same shape as on page 23, top right.

Sixteen and four at the key points,

with eights in between.

Pieces of Eight

barbary brilliance

Over the centuries artisans in the Maghrib, the West of the Islamic world, explored a remarkable form-language based on the square repeat and, in particular, the possibilities inherent in the eight-fold khaātam. The Breath of the Compassionate is shown below unfolding from the semiregular tiling of octagons and squares. Tracing octagram stars by joining every third corner within each khātam creates a simple pattern using this set of shapes.

Opposite is an example of the way simple geometric relationships build upon each other from an initial square grid to generate a whole series of different square repeat patterns. The shapes that arise from generating these patterns are collected in the central panel. Together with many other related shapes they are cut to this day in Morocco in brightly coloured friable tiles to create a vast puzzle set with countless solutions.

The two-fold hexagon found third down in the left hand column of the central panel opposite, known as a saft, is a particularly important shape in this system. The saft plays a fundamental role in the generation of more complex zillīj patterns such as the one covered on the following page.

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