Islamic art features geometric patterns built from repeated squares and circles that often exhibit symmetry, rotation, and a central point. These patterns incorporate curved, organic shapes as well as geometric forms and have developed over centuries in Islamic decoration, which typically avoids figurative images. Interest in Islamic geometric patterns has increased in the West among artists, craftsmen, mathematicians and physicists who are drawn to their complex, mathematically-inspired designs. Calligraphy is also prominent in Islamic art, featuring decorative handwriting.

1. Islamic Art

2. symmetry
patterns
rotation
centre point

7. What are the common features?

8. Curved shapes - organic

9. Geometric
shapes

10. Islamic geometric patterns
• Islamic decoration, which tends
to avoid using figurative images,
makes frequent use of geometric
patterns which have developed
over the centuries.

11. Islamic geometric patterns
• Islamic geometric designs are
often built on combinations of
repeated squares and circles,
which may be overlapped.

12. Islamic geometric patterns
• Interest in Islamic geometric patterns
is increasing in the West, both
among craftsmen and artists
including M. C. Escher in the
twentieth century, and among
mathematicians and physicists

15. Calligraphy
Calligraphy
• Decorative handwriting or handwritten
lettering.
• The art of producing decorative handwriting
or lettering with a pen or brush.