Islamic Geometric Ornament from Twelfth-Century Architecture in Azerbaijan

Islamic geometric ornament from twelfth-century architecture in Azerbaijan Peter R. Cromwell http://girih.wordpress.com Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 The Seljuk environment 2 3 Source material 4 3.1 Gunbad-iSurkh,Maragha(1148) . ... 5 3.2 Mausoleum of Yusif ibn Kuseyir, Nakhchivan (1161/2) . ......... 5 3.3 Round Tower, Maragha (1168/9) . 5 3.4 Gunbad-iSeh,Orumiyeh(1184). ... 8 3.5 Mausoleum of Mu’mina Khatun, Nakhchivan (1186) . ...... 8 3.6 Mudhafaria Minaret, Erbil (1190) . ..... 8 3.7 Gunbad-i Qabud, Maragha (1196/7) . 13 3.8 Gulustan Mausoleum (about 1200) . 13 4 Methods of design 13 4.1 Modifyinganexistingpattern . 13 4.2 Creatingstarsbydoublingedges . 19 4.3 Designingwithstarmotifs. 24 4.3.1 Regularstars,basicgrids . 24 4.3.2 Otherstars,othergrids . 25 4.3.3 Wheel construction for stars . 29 4.3.4 Decoratedtiles .............................. 30 4.3.5 Constellation patterns . 31 4.4 Rosettemotifs .................................. 35 4.5 Colouredpatterns ................................ 38 4.6 Complementarypatterns. 40 4.7 Spiralmotifs ................................... 43 5 Observations 44 5.1 Patternre-use................................... 44 5.2 Archimedeantilings .............................. 46 5.3 Brokensymmetry................................. 46 5.4 Designingwithcolour ............................. 48 6 Concluding remarks 49 1 1 Introduction In most branches of fine art or architecture, studying the work of a particular school, region, period, or other cultural group is routine and unremarkable. However, in studies of the decorative arts such as geometric ornament, this is an uncommon approach. For example, Islamic geometric patterns are often treated as a homogeneous collection and grouped according to various intrinsic geometric properties, rather than by regional or dynastic styles. With this form of presentation, patterns can become detached from any local context, and the aggregates may contain items separated by large distances in time or space. This, in turn, can obscure trends in the evolution of form and style, and could leave the misleading impression that Islamic ornament has a single, unified, universal style. While there are a few ubiquitous patterns that provide a shared foundation for artistic development, many patterns do have a style that is historically identifiable, and they can be assigned to a particular time or place with quite high confidence. In this paper we focus attention on a small region to explore the state-of-the-art at a time of rapid development and innovation. In particular, we examine forty patterns from eight twelfth-century buildings in the area around Azerbaijan. The examples do not constitute an exhaustive catalogue of each monument, but the sample is large and provides a representative snapshot of the work being produced at this time and place. These patterns provide enough material to illustrate a range of methods for composition: they feature motifs of different complexity (spirals, stars, rosettes), the motifs are organised around different structures (simple lattices, Archimedean tilings, circle packings), and the inspiration seems to come from an empirical approach to design driven by a range of experimental processes (modification, dissection, cropping, threading, colouring). This collection is supplemented with around twenty other contemporary patterns from the wider area of Iran and Turkey to provide a broader context and further examples of the methods we describe. 2 The Seljuk environment The Seljuks originated from a Turkic nomadic tribe who lived on the steppes between the Caspian and Aral Seas. In the mid-eleventh century, they conquered lands from Afghanistan westwards through Iran to Azerbaijan and Iraq, and later expanded into Syria, Armenia and Turkey. They established a prosperous environment that sustained cultural and intellectual development in a range of fields, including poetry, science and architecture. New ideas were also introduced into geometric ornament, and the many Seljuk buildings that survive display a rich diversity of patterns. The Seljuks adopted many Persian ways and used local architects and craftsmen who, initially, developed or consolidated earlier ideas. However, by the twelfth century, it is clear that innovative approaches were being tried, and there is a level of complexity, organisation, and systematic enumeration of possibilities that is not seen before. Evidence of their freedom to explore can be found in the stucco mihrab (1105) of the Barsian Mosque. The mihrab is like a sketchbook of ideas and we shall refer to it several times. Many of the patterns are just small fragments that give glimpses of recognisable motifs, and sometimes there is insufficient information to see how a pattern develops beyond the panel. Brick was the standard building material in Iran long before the Seljuks. It was also used for decoration. There are fine examples of relief brick patterns on the eleventh-century 2 minarets in Damghan at the Tarikhaneh Mosque [14, Pl. 196] and the Friday Mosque (1058) [14, Pl. 197]. In each case, the whole surface of the cylindrical column is divided into a stack of zones, each filled with a band of ornament. Many brick patterns were made by setting standard bricks in horizontal and vertical arrangements, but bricks were also cut or carved, and sometimes specially moulded. Brick patterns were originally made through variations in the bonding pattern of structural walls; later, walls were covered with a brick revetment, decoupling the functions of structural integrity and ornament, and leading to a richer variety of patterns. The Sassanians built large brick domes over square halls, using squinches to make the transition from the square plan to the octagonal support for the base of the dome. Islamic architects continued to use this characteristic Persian form to provide dome chambers at the heart of mosques. The domed chamber archetype was also used with circular or polygonal plans in the mausoleums known as tomb towers. These mausoleums are distributed across the northern part of Iran, and Turkey where they are called türbe (tomb) or kümbet (dome). Many examples are described and illustrated in [1, §3c], and there are some comparative studies [5, 18]. Some eleventh-century tomb towers have survived near Damghan: the Gunbad-i Qabus at Gorgan (1006) [14, Pl. 176], and the mausoleum of Pir-i Alamdar (1026) [14, Pl. 198] date from the Ziyarid dynasty, and the Gunbad-i Mehmandust, also known as the mausoleum of Ma’sum Zadeh, (1096) is a Seljuk example. They are all circular and are rather plain. The Gunbad-i Qabus has ten prominent flange-like buttresses, giving it a star-like plan, but has no other decoration. Both of the other towers carry narrow bands of ornament in relief brickwork running just below the roof — two bands of meander patterns either side of a band of calligraphy. At Kharraqan, on the plains southwest of Qazvin, stand two octagonal tomb towers built in 1067/8 [14, Pl. 558] and 1093 [14, Pl. 559]. They once had double-shell domes, but the outer domes have not survived. Apart from this, they were were well preserved until recently, but suffered some earthquake damage in 2002. These towers are the earliest representatives of a new fashion for decorating mausoleums that took hold in the Azerbaijan area: they are completely covered with ornament, in this case with a revetment of brick patterns. Not everyone adopted the new style: a twelfth-century mausoleum at Hamadan known as the Ghorban Tower is a 12-sided brick tower with a pyramidal roof; each face has an arch-shaped panel recessed into wall but there is no ornament. The buildings we shall study are located in the area shown in Figure 1. Known historically as Arran in the north and Azerbaijan to the south, today it includes the modern Republic of Azerbaijan in the north, and the north-west region of Iran. The buildings were constructed in the late Seljuk period when the area was controlled by the Eldiguzids (1136–1225), also known as the Atabegs of Azerbaijan. The founder of this dynasty, Shams ad-Din Eldigüz, was appointed governor of Arran in 1136 by the Sultan of Iraq and western Iran; he established a territory extending from Nakhchivan to Hamadan and on to Isfahan. The buildings are richly decorated towers (mausoleums and a minaret) that showcase the architect’s ability in pattern design. Unlike mosques, which are often adapted or incorpo- rated into larger complexes in later periods, these freestanding towers have maintained their integrity. The buildings are dated, and each one is the work of a single designer, implying that the patterns were assembled as a coherent decorative scheme for the building. This gives us a reliable foundation for comparative analysis. Finally, a remark on the colour-coding used in the figures. The monuments include some 3 Araxes Nakhchivan Gulustan Caspian Marand Sea Tabriz Lake Orumiyeh Urmia Maragha Soltaniyeh Qazvin Damghan Erbil Z a g r o s M o u n t a i n Kharraqan s Varamin Hamadan Kashan Euphrates Golpayegan Baghdad Natanz Tigris Barsian Isfahan Figure 1. Azerbaijan and surrounding region. early examples of coloured patterns. In the figures elements in blue are an integral part of the design and correspond to the use of turquoise glaze in the original artwork; elements in red are additional lines overlaid on the design to aid explanation, indicate structure, or illustrate stages in a construction. 3 Source material In this section we present brief notes on the eight buildings that are the focus of our study. Their locations are marked in Figure 1. The seven mausoleums share the same basic construction, which is outlined here. They stand on their own, not attached to other buildings. They have central symmetry so that the footprint is a circle, square, or other regular polygon. They are divided into two chambers, one above the other. The lower chamber is built of stone and is partially below ground, forming a crypt; a brick tower is built on this base to form the upper chamber.

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