Tiles Across Time
Islamic Tiles
Moorish Architecture - Andalusia at its Zenith
The Islamic Conquest of Spain
710–912: The Islamic Conquest and the Emirate of Córdoba
Architecture of the 8th and 9th Centuries
Architecture of the Taifa Period
Almoravid and Almohad Architecture
Nasrid Architecture
Architecture of the 8th and 9th Centuries
Architecture of the Taifa Period
Almoravid and Almohad Architecture
Nasrid Architecture
710–912: The Islamic Conquest and the Emirate of Córdoba
Architecture of the 8th and 9th Centuries
- Foundation of the Great Mosque of Córdoba
- Extension of the Friday Mosque
- Architectural Developments in Seville and Mérida
- The Fortress of Bobastro
- Vitality and Richness of Form
- Andalusia at its Zenith
- Madinat al-Zahra
- Expansion of the Great Mosque of Córdoba
- Smaller Mosques and Religious Architecture
- The Babita de Guardamar
- Fortifications: Fortresses and Bridges
- Urban Development: The Case of Vascos
- Evolution of Ornamentation
Architecture of the Taifa Period
- Fortresses and Castles
- The Aljafería in Zaragoza
- The Palace of Balaguer
- Other Palaces and Works of Art
Almoravid and Almohad Architecture
- Almoravid Remains in North Africa and Andalusia
- Murcia and Monteagudo
- Advances in Craftsmanship
- New Directions in Religion and Aesthetics
- Seville as the Capital and the Expansion of the Friday Mosque
- Almohad Mosques in the South-Western Province
- Palaces and Fortresses
- Murcia Province: Cieza
- Architectural Influence on the Christian North
Nasrid Architecture
- The Alhambra: From Fortress to Palace City
- Principal Architectural Themes of the Alhambra
- Nasrid Architecture in the City and Sultanate of Granada
- Nasrid Ornamentation
Architecture of the 8th and 9th Centuries
- Foundation of the Great Mosque of Córdoba
- Extension of the Friday Mosque
- Architectural Developments in Seville and Mérida
- The Fortress of Bobastro
- Vitality and Richness of Form
- Andalusia at its Zenith
- Madinat al-Zahra
- Expansion of the Great Mosque of Córdoba
- Smaller Mosques and Religious Architecture
- The Babita de Guardamar
- Fortifications: Fortresses and Bridges
- Urban Development: The Case of Vascos
- Evolution of Ornamentation
Architecture of the Taifa Period
- Fortresses and Castles
- The Aljafería in Zaragoza
- The Palace of Balaguer
- Other Palaces and Works of Art
Almoravid and Almohad Architecture
- Almoravid Remains in North Africa and Andalusia
- Murcia and Monteagudo
- Advances in Craftsmanship
- New Directions in Religion and Aesthetics
- Seville as the Capital and the Expansion of the Friday Mosque
- Almohad Mosques in the South-Western Province
- Palaces and Fortresses
- Murcia Province: Cieza
- Architectural Influence on the Christian North
Nasrid Architecture
- The Alhambra: From Fortress to Palace City
- Principal Architectural Themes of the Alhambra
- Nasrid Architecture in the City and Sultanate of Granada
- Nasrid Ornamentation
Islamic Geometric Design and Architectural Details
Madinat al-Zahra is located some five Kilometres to the north-west of Cordova. The job of site foreman, so to speak, was entrusted to the Crown Prince, the later Caliph al-Hakam 11.
Prohibited by religious strictures from creating representational art, Muslim artists relied heavily on abstract patterns. Geometry, in particular, provided craftsmen with a fertile source of designs.
In the tile mosaic shown here, the artist started with the 12-pointed star in the centre of the panel, which is about five inches in diameter and is made of white tile inlaid with on continuous, delicately carved piece of black tile; it is regarded at the finest example of inlaid ceramic art in the Alhambra. By extending patterns from the star, the artist was able to generate the rest of his design, and by a careful arrangement of straight lines, he created figures that give the brilliant illustration of star shapes, circles and curves. LEFT: Detail of a glazed ceramic geometric composition from the Alhambra, Granada, Spain |
Mudejar Style Design in Andalusia Spain
Cordoba Synagogue, c. 1315, is an historic edifice in the Jewish Quarter and it was decorated according to the best Mudejar tradition. It is the only synagogue in Cordoba to escape destruction during the years of persecution after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Although it now longer functions as a Jewish house of worship, it is open to the public.
A Timurid tile panel (14th to 15th century) from Central Asia. The geometric composition has been skilfully designed, combining different sixfold patterns so that its design elements, such as the stars and hexagons, work together with the survey components in the tile panel.
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All images taken in museums (marked by "RN") are not for sale and are for educational purposes only
Architectural Wall Tiles
In the Middle East, tilework was originally developed as a decorative cladding for brick structures. By 1160, it was in use in Turkey, where tiles were later applied to stone buildings using mortar. The most accomplished type had colourful design painted on a brilliant white background. These were produced in the town of Iznik from about 1550.
Wall Tiles from Turkey - Iznik style
This panel of tiles may once have appeared over a door or window in an Istanbul palace or mosque. With its crisp and vividly coloured forms against a brilliant white background, its exemplifies the finest work made by Ottoman ceramicists in the town of Iznik, fifty miles from Istanbul.
CREATING THE COLOURS
Iznik potters made their colourful works using several key techniques. First, they created a white artificial clay and covered it with a thin layer of white slip to create a brilliant surface. Second, they developed a range of vividly coloured glazes and used contour lines to prevent them from running during firing. The deep blue was made from cobalt, probably mined in Iran, while the green came from copper filings. The coral red came from an iron-rich local clay called Armenian bole, it stands our in slight relief after firing, giving extra depth to forms in that colour.
CREATING THE COLOURS
Iznik potters made their colourful works using several key techniques. First, they created a white artificial clay and covered it with a thin layer of white slip to create a brilliant surface. Second, they developed a range of vividly coloured glazes and used contour lines to prevent them from running during firing. The deep blue was made from cobalt, probably mined in Iran, while the green came from copper filings. The coral red came from an iron-rich local clay called Armenian bole, it stands our in slight relief after firing, giving extra depth to forms in that colour.
Iznik Tiles, Ottoman, Rusrem Pasa Cami (Mosque), 16th C, decorated famous floral and geometric tile designs, Istanbul
An illustrative book was produced for the exhibition on The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 25 January - 17 May 1987.
The reign of Sultan Suleyman 1 (1520-1566) marked the zenith of Ottoman political and economic power as well as the golden age of Turkish art and architecture. Suleyman was the tenth ruler of the house of Osman, the sultan who founded the Ottoman dynasty in northwestern Anatolia around 1300. Osman's descendants expanded into western Asia, eastern Europe, and northern Africa and established a powerful state. During his forty-six-year reign Suleyman double the territories of his realm, extending its boundaries from Iran to Austria. |

On the Tulip
The tulip is an exceptional flower that has accompanied the Turks during their migrations from Central Asia through to Anatolia, whence it has spread to Europe. This survivor adapts to every imaginable condition; it trives on arid rocky hillsides, mountains and meadows. Its distinctive, graceful lines make it perfectly suited to design and pattern creation, be it bud or full bloom. In the 16th century Ottoman art world, roses and tulips came to symbolize beauty and love. Wild tulips were domesticated into countless new cultivars, the vanguard of the tall and slender perfection that is the Ottoman 'Istanbul' tulip emerged, and names were conferred upon these new varieties.
The tulip is an exceptional flower that has accompanied the Turks during their migrations from Central Asia through to Anatolia, whence it has spread to Europe. This survivor adapts to every imaginable condition; it trives on arid rocky hillsides, mountains and meadows. Its distinctive, graceful lines make it perfectly suited to design and pattern creation, be it bud or full bloom. In the 16th century Ottoman art world, roses and tulips came to symbolize beauty and love. Wild tulips were domesticated into countless new cultivars, the vanguard of the tall and slender perfection that is the Ottoman 'Istanbul' tulip emerged, and names were conferred upon these new varieties.
Syria - Damascus Tiles
The Ottoman Empire extended into Syria, where its artistic expressions were adopted. Syrian potters could not achieve the brilliant red of Iznik, but their designs were often more robust.
Tile panel: Syria (Damascus), about 1600. Fritware with polychrome decoration under transparent glaze.
Inside the arches on this tile panel appear hanging lamps like the glass on the right. They may symbolize God; the garden beyond the arches stands in for the garden paradise where the chosen will reside after Judgement Day. Arabic inscriptions make these sacred references clear: under the central arch one declares "Glory to God" and, at top and bottom, other name God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the first four leaders of Islam that succeeded Muhammad.
Inside the arches on this tile panel appear hanging lamps like the glass on the right. They may symbolize God; the garden beyond the arches stands in for the garden paradise where the chosen will reside after Judgement Day. Arabic inscriptions make these sacred references clear: under the central arch one declares "Glory to God" and, at top and bottom, other name God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the first four leaders of Islam that succeeded Muhammad.
Tunis - North Africa
All images taken in museums (marked by "RN") are not for sale and are for educational purposes only