Have you ever wondered how the breathtaking geometric patterns in mosques and palaces are created? It is surprisingly simple — a compass, a ruler, and a good deal of know-how. Eric Broug unlocks the beauty of Islamic geometric design in four minutes.
A journey through Iranian tilework
For centuries, artisans in Iran elevated the humble art of tile making into breathtaking displays. Their vibrant mosaics adorn mosques, palaces and tombs, showing the exquisite beauty of Islamic and arabesque aesthetics. This tradition is deeply intertwined with Iranian architecture, and it has left a legacy that still captivates the world.
The roots of Iranian tilework extend far back into the pre-Islamic era, with early examples featuring geometric patterns and vibrant glazed bricks.
Finely ground clay, often mixed with quartz for added strength, formed the base of the tiles. Natural minerals produced a dazzling array of colours: cobalt for an intense blue, copper for turquoise and green, manganese for rich browns and blacks.
Among the most iconic motifs are the arabesque, with its stylised floral and vegetal forms, and the geometric patterns that use tessellation and interlacing lines to create mesmerising optical effects. Calligraphy played a significant role too.
Where our patterns come from
Papital motifs are not invented. Each one is taken from a real building — the monuments, mosques and palaces of Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran and Yazd, drawn from the golden age of Persian and Islamic architecture. What you wear on your ear has an address.
Yazd Design, from Papital’s signature collection, is inspired by the mosaic tile decoration of the Jameh Mosque of Yazd, which dates to the 14th century. The cobalt, turquoise and white of that collection are the colours of that particular wall.
The connection runs deeper than the picture. The same compass-and-ruler geometry that set out those walls sets out our tiles, and the shapes we cut — crescent, arch, octagon, rhombus — are the shapes that repeat across the facades they came from.