Knowra Islamic geometric patterns Islamic geometric patterns Repeated designs built from circles, polygons, stars, and interlaced lines, used in many artistic traditions across the Islamic world. Their forms vary by region, period, material, and purpose.
Islamic star patterns : Geometric designs organized around star polygons, often combined with interlacing bands and surrounding polygons. Star polygons provide many patterns’ central motifs and determine how surrounding shapes fit together.
Alhambra : A palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain, built and embellished chiefly under the Nasrid dynasty. Its walls and ceilings preserve an exceptionally rich range of geometric decoration.
Islamic art : The artistic traditions associated with Muslim societies, shaped by diverse regions, periods, and cultural exchanges. Geometric ornament is one strand within a much broader and varied artistic history.
Islamic calligraphy : The artistic practice of writing Arabic and other scripts in forms developed across Muslim societies. Calligraphy conveys language directly, while geometric ornament organizes visual form without relying on text.
Tessellation : A covering of a surface with shapes that fit together without gaps or overlaps. Repeating geometric designs often cover walls, floors, and ceilings through tessellation.
Darb-e Imam Shrine : A shrine in Isfahan, Iran, whose 1453 tiled entrance includes complex interlocking geometric patterns. Its tiles have been studied as a striking example of sophisticated medieval pattern construction.
Islamic architecture : Architectural traditions developed in Muslim societies, encompassing diverse forms, materials, and regional styles. Mosques, palaces, and other buildings provided major settings for geometric ornament.
Arabesque : A decorative motif of flowing, interlaced plant forms used in many artistic traditions. Arabesques emphasize vegetal growth, whereas geometric designs foreground constructed shapes and relations.
Compass and straightedge construction : A method of geometric construction using an unmarked straightedge and a compass. Builders and designers could lay out precise circles, divisions, and polygons with these tools.
Topkapi Scroll : A late fifteenth-century pattern scroll preserving designs for architectural ornament, now held in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace Library. Its drawings document patterns and construction practices used by Islamic artisans.
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