Islamic Patterns: An Analytical and Cosmological Approach [Paperback]

Keith Critchlow (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 1, 1999

• The classic study of the cosmological principles found in the patterns of Islamic art and how they relate to sacred geometry and the perennial philosophy.

• 150 color and black-and-white drawings of Islamic patterns.

• Explains how these patterns guide the mind from the mundane world of appearances to its underlying reality.

For centuries the nature and meaning of Islamic art has been wrongly regarded in the West as mere decoration. In truth, because the portrayal of human and animal forms has always been discouraged on Islamic religious principles that forbid idolatry, the abstract art of Islam represents the sophisticated development of a nonnaturalistic tradition. Through this tradition, Islamic art has maintained its chief aim: the affirmation of unity as expressed in diversity.

In this fascinating study the author explores the idea that unlike medieval Christian art, in which the polarization of such forms and patterns was relegated to a background against which to set sacred images, the geometrical patterns of Islamic art can reveal the intrinsic cosmological laws affecting all creation. Their primary function is to guide the mind from the mundane world of appearances toward its underlying reality.

Numerous drawings connect the art of Islam to the Pythagorean science of mathematics, and through these images we can see how an Earth-centered view of the cosmos provides renewed significance to those number patterns produced by the orbits of the planets. The author shows the essential philosophical and practical basis of every art creation--whether a tile, carpet, or wall--and how this use of mathematical tessellations affirms the essential unity of all things. An invaluable study for all those interested in sacred art, Islamic Patterns is also a rich source of inspiration for artists and designers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterly exposition of Islamic pattern and the underlying cosmological principles." (Art Review)

About the Author

Keith Critchlow is Director of Research and Director of Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts at the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture. An internationally known lecturer on Islamic art, he is the author of Pythagorean Geometry. He lives in England. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892818034
• ISBN-13: 978-0892818037
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.6 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More than just a collection of cute patterns February 11, 2001

By Martyn Richard Jones

Format:Paperback

This book is a must for artists, mathematicians, philosophers and anyone else interested in the foundations and rationale of Islamic art.

This book provides a comprehensive insight into Islamic Patterns in a clear and concise way. I have used this book on a number of occasions when I have needed inspiration for drawings, paintings and even for works of management strategy - curiously enough. It has a wonderful way of both focusing and relaxing the mind that seems to encourage channeled creativity.

regards,

[e-mail]

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the complex designs of Islamic art and architecture deciphered June 30, 2008

By Henry Berry

Format:Paperback

El-Said writes about the designs seen in a lot of Islamic art and architecture with a scientific precision. What he does is isolate the fundamental, simplest forms--the building blocks--of the Islamic art, and explain and demonstrate how artists and artisans built on these (as one might build on the basic pieces of an erector set) and manipulate these by turning them this way and that to create the incredibly complex geometric patterns. Sometimes as filigree, sometimes as a part of a structure such as a dome or panel, and sometimes a structural element, such patterns are a prime feature by which Islamic art is recognized. El-Said died in 1988 at the age of 50, before he could put the final touches on his outstanding study of the Islamic geometric designs. The two editors are experts in Islamic art and architecture who have compiled and organized El-Said's work for this book. El-Said's previous book Geometric Concepts on Islamic Art published in 1976 was a source of guidance for this book.

The geometric designs are an ancient art who beginnings El-Said, among others, has traced to Egyptian Pharaonic dynasties and Mesopotamian city-states of the third millennium B.C. The precision comes not from astronomical phenomena or scientific instruments, but from "elaborate rules of mensuration" involving signifying numbers, multiplication, division, geometrical forms, and other elements. Operations within these and combinations of them could grow very complex; but they could always be broken down into elementary factors and basic functions. The ancient Islamic architects and artists were both inspired and bound by the systems of mensuration. The palaces, temples, monuments, and other buildings they made were paragons for following generations. Thus while there is an almost infinite variation in the designs because the rules of the classical mensuration were so elaborate, the reliance on the elementary geometric forms gives a superficial resemblance to all the designs. The uniqueness of an Islamic design is in its details; not in any experimental, sensational, or idiosyncratic composition or effects as in Western modernist art for example.

Although the principles of the geometric design have remained basically the same for centuries, there have been only a handful of works explaining and discussing these principles in an analytic and demonstrative way such as El-Said does. El-Said's book is outstanding for its lucidity and pithiness. The large portion of many pages are illustrations of the principles of geometric design by diagrams of how designs are formed from the fundamental forms and mathematical functions. These diagrams look something like the diagrams of chemical compounds seen in chemistry textbooks or pictures of snowflakes. This combination of lucid text and instructive visual matter make this an outstanding book for learning about the geometric design. What one learns applies to Islamic architecture and art throughout history and in different geographical areas.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Islamic Patterns March 26, 2012

By Liviu Ivanov

Format:Paperback

For someone who likes geometric artwork this is one amazing and extraordinary revelation into a beautiful world. I absolutely loved this book and studied it with much attention, creating some things inspired by it. For me the book is about circles, how they combine, how they intersect and the patterns that emerge if one is willing to look for the patterns. There are interesting visual notes on how to divide a circle. To divide a circle in 3 parts is simple, to divide in 5, 7 or 9 parts becomes more complex and reveals worlds that are interesting. Mix a circle divided in 7 parts with one divided in 9 parts and beautiful patterns emerge. The book does have a religious aspect to it, it is totally secondary to me and that had no meaning to me. The edition that I have was published in 1976 - I still treasure this book.