Islamic pottery and other decorative art forms feature elaborate patterns that seem to flow in a consistent and repetitive manner. Earlier patterns and innovations convey a certain integrity, which manifests in the way craftsmen repeat infinite patterns consistently and patiently.

1. Silsal Design House
http://www.silsal.com
The Middle East in a Cup:
Consistency and
Anonymity in Islamic
Patterns

2. Islamic pottery and other decorative art forms feature elaborate patterns that seem to
flow in a consistent and repetitive manner. Earlier patterns and innovations convey a
certain integrity, which manifests in the way craftsmen repeat infinite patterns
consistently and patiently.
From pottery to tile revetment, Islamic ceramic art presents an aura of submission to a
particular style, where individuality and symbolism are almost insignificant.
Social and Artistic Consistency
Islamic art, just like the basic system of belief all Muslims hold, express the same
preferences with regards to styles and patterns. The strong sense of identity that
Muslims have manifests in the consistency of their artistic preferences. In spite of
national, geographic and ethnic differences, their taste in art is the same.

3. The geometrical designs expressed in Islamic ceramics render a sense of orderliness
and pervasiveness. There is a lack of focal point or symbolic meaning in their patterns
to evoke a different idealized state of being. This is what sets Islamic art apart from
other religious and cultural forms.
Islamic art conveys some kind of anonymity. The repetition in the patterns and the idea
of artistic consistency and continuity conveys the irrelevance of distinction for Islamic
craftsmen and artists. It is somewhat a variation of their submission to the will of Allah.

4. Sources:
 http://www.silsal.com/
 http://patterninislamicart.com/background-notes/the-evolution-of-style
 http://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/islamic_pottery_a_brief_histor
y_the_metropolitan_museum_of_art_bulletin_v_40_no_4_spring_1983
 http://www.folklife.si.edu/online-exhibitions/modern-islamic-
ceramics/smithsonian
In the Modern World
Beyond the religious context, what makes these patterns so unique and beautiful is the
seemingly flawless symmetry in the patterns. Islamic art achieved stylistic maturity
sometime between the 11th to 12th centuries, where craftsmen and designers
documented the three elements of the decorative canon. These elements are
calligraphy, geometric patterns and vegetal Arabesque.
Since then, amid tumultuous times, a series of political and economic turmoil, and
migrations and conquest, the tradition was still passed on and remained in the
background. As technologies improved and different art mediums flourished, Islamic
patterns and styles remained the same.
Perhaps this ubiquitous and consistent quality of Islamic patterns is what makes it so
tightly ingrained in their culture and sensibility. Complex patterning and arabesques
hold a special place in modern decorations, kitchenware and architectural components.