Geometric Decoration
Geometric Decoration in Architecture
‘The repetitive character made it easy for craftsmen to faithfully reproduce complicated compositions.’
Geometric designs dominate architectural decoration above all other patterns. The linear and repetitive character of geometric ornamentation made it easy for craftsmen to faithfully reproduce complicated compositions, thus ensuring their continuity and formal similarity over time and in different lands. Moreover, the great variety of geometric motifs and the possibility of adapting them to materials as diverse as tile, plaster, brick and wood encouraged their use throughout buildings in floors, skirting boards, walls, cornices and ceilings.
Fragment from a mosaic floor

Hegira 303 / AD 916
Fatimid
Museum of Islamic Art
Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia
Inspired by antiquity, mosaics were used in geometric compositions on the floors of Muslim buildings.