Illustration: Mosaic pattern work from Cairo.
The origin of mosaic work is lost in the mists of time. The earliest identifiable work can be found in ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). However, this does not necessarily mean that this is then the first occurrence of the craft, as it may well have been used long before this period in a number of guises and with a range of materials that would not have been limited to ceramic or glass.
Mosaic work has always been an important interior decorative tool, just as it was in classical Greece and Rome, and to a lesser extent in medieval Europe. While the classical mould of the discipline dealt with both abstract and representational work, the Islamic tended towards the purely abstract design. Some have attributed the Islamic desire for pure pattern work to the iconoclastic nature of Islam itself, which forbids representational work as a form of idolatry. However, this only ever applied to religious buildings, domestic interiors were free to use both representational and non-representational decoration. Nevertheless, there is still a preponderance for abstract pattern work within the domestic setting, so perhaps religious beliefs, although not being as strictly adhered to as we often imagine, could still have influenced decorative habits outside of the mosque.
Illustration: Mosaic pattern work from Cairo.
The five examples shown in this article all originate from Cairo and are all strictly abstract in pattern and shape. They all follow a vague arabesque mould and appear both adaptable and to a certain extent interchangeable. The pattern work tends to follow a very clearly defined colour palette with the decoration work itself heavily relying on the contrast system, whereby pattern is either negative or positive, dark or light. In some respects, it is very reminiscent of cutwork, or paper stencils. However, the seeming restrictions to abstract pattern work, rather than limiting the scope and adaptability of this form of decoration, instead lends itself towards the infinite, much more so than the structured and limited nature of realism. These patterns can either be self contained, or indeed they can meander indefinitely across any surface whether through architecture, textile, or manuscript.
Illustration: Mosaic pattern work from Cairo.
It is perhaps the contemplative nature of the abstract pattern that lent itself so readily to Islamic religious decoration. It is said that the nature of the complexity and infinite variety that can be obtained through the use of abstraction, can be likened to the complexity of life itself and the interconnectedness of the natural world. Therefore, these seemingly innocuous systems of pattern and decoration can be imbued with layers of scientific meaning and spiritual understanding that belie their transient nature.
As to the decorative ideal of Islamic surface pattern, it has proved to be infinitely imitated, particularly in medieval Europe where it was endlessly repeated throughout the system of infinite variety achieved through the arabesque pattern, which was very often used in religious buildings, often with little or no clear idea as to its original purpose or meaning. Southern Europe, with its closer proximity to Islamic North Africa, proved to be particularly influenced by the decorative format of Islam. The decorative mosaic and tile work of many Italian medieval religious buildings follow the general system of decoration set out by the Islamic world. These particular examples will be featured in a future article of The Textile Blog.
Illustration: Mosaic pattern work from Cairo.
With the reintroduction in Britain of medieval inspired decoration and ornament in the nineteenth century, after centuries of classically devoted art and architecture, a change in style of mosaic pattern work was also introduced. This often took the form of either true or inspired Islamic pattern work, sometimes seen through the lens of medieval Europe and sometimes directly from the source.
Although in the nineteenth century there was a certain amount of hesitancy in a still largely fundamental Christian Britain, for Islamic decoration that was obviously religiously based, it was relatively easy to produce decorative work that was Islamic inspired but was abstracted enough to be seen as pure pattern work. In many respects the five examples shown in this article would have proved perfect candidates for interior settings for mosaic work, though could well have been used for an infinite variety of surface pattern examples.
Illustration: Mosaic pattern work from Cairo.
What is interesting is the way that much of this Islamic pattern work proved to be so interchangeable with the European medieval. Both decorative systems seem to have common ancestral roots that are not necessarily just the classically inspired ones. There seems to have been a richly creative exchange of architectural and decorative ideas and pattern work that has proved immeasurably useful on a practical and theoretical level to both Europe and Islam over the centuries. More recently, these generations of inspirational decorative work have been copied, reimagined and resurrected for the use of the Victorian. However, future generations have also had access to the Victorian vocabulary of pattern, in order to integrate their own contemporary pattern work into new orders, styles and ideals that will probably prove endlessly intuitive and innovative.
Further reading links:
Islamic Decoration and Ornament as seen by Owen Jones
The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art: From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries
Venice & the East: The Impact of the Islamic World on Venetian Architecture 1100-1500
Splendors of Islam: Architecture, Decoration and Design
Persian Designs and Motifs for Artists and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Arabesques. Decorative Art in Morocco
Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam (Revealing Antiquity)
The Art of Decorative Mosaics
Mosaics in Roman Britain: Stories in Stone (Revealing History)
Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa (Conservation & Cultural Heritage)
Mediterranean Mosaic Designs (International Design Library)
Roman Mosaics: Over 60 Full-Color Images from the 4th Through the 13th Centuries
Mosaics of Roman Africa: Floor Mosaics from Tunisia
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World
Ancient Mosaics
The Mosaic Decoration of San Marco, Venice
Geometric Patterns from Roman Mosaics
Piazza Armerina - The Mosaics at "Villa del Casale"
Image In Stone: Tunisia In Mosaics
