Volume

11,

(1992)

number

Geometric and Group

theoretic Methods for ComputerGraphic Studies of Islamic Symmetric Patterns

Abas and A. Salman

School

Mathematics, University College

North

Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd,

LL57

1UT,

U.K.

Abstract

Over the last several years the authors have used computer graphics to generate, study and analyze more than

300

Islamic geometrical repeat patterns. These patterns offer a rich source for exploitation by artists and arealso of interest to mathematicians, crystallographers, architects, archaeologists and others. They can serve aselegant test beds for research into hierarchical programming and texture mapping. The paper discusses theevolution of classical geometric methods for Islamic patterns and goes

to develop algorithms based

grouptheory for efficient generation

all crystallographic repeat patterns using modern computer graphics.

1. Introduction

Visually appealing symmetric patterns and forms occureverywhere and

every scale. They occur in elementaryparticles and in great swirling galaxies. They occur incrystals, flowers, bubbles, fish, birds, tigers, logos, flags,cathedrals and in myriads of other objects

natural aswell as those produced by humans.Furthermore, the concepts of pattern and symmetryare not restricted to visually appealing forms. Pattern canrefer to any regularity that can be recognized by the brainand more generally, symmetry is defined mathematicallyin terms of invariance of properties of sets undertransformations

. With these generalizations the sets thatmight possess “symmetric patterns” are not confined tothose whose elements are geometrical entities. They maybe abstract in extreme. When the sets are restricted tothose whose elements are geometrical objects and thetransformations are restricted to isometries then werecover the familiar case which appeals at the visual eye

catching level.When generalized from its visual origins, symmetrybecomes a vast and unifying subject. It is seen to besignificant, not only in such areas as art, design, archi

tecture and archaeology, but also in many of the sciences.It becomes of importance in mathematics, theoreticalphysics, crystallography, chemistry, biology and manyothers. Indeed, symmetry turns out to be the very cornerstone of modern scientific thought

.Studies of symmetric patterns, with which this paper isconcerned, can therefore have significances which go wellbeyond their immediate appeal. They provide a visuallead into powerful abstract notions of pattern andsymmetry. The interested reader is referred to thepioneering treatments by Hermann Wey1and Shubnikovand Koptsik

and the more recent collection of papersgiven in reference

as sources which discuss an enormousrange of applications of symmetry.

2. Islamic Geometrical Patterns

Unlike the arts of other cultures, Islamic art, underreligious injunction, set out deliberately to shun anthro

pomorphic forms. It was led into geometrical explorationof symmetry, an enterprise which resulted in an extra

ordinarily large, complex and elegant collection of periodic patterns

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Colour was another dimension which was system

atically and brilliantly explored by Islamic artists.

quote Owen Jones

:When we examine the system of colouringadopted by the Moors, we find that as withform,

with colour, they followed certain fixedprinciples, founded on observations of nature’slaws..

. .

Most readers would be surprised to learn that it was torecord and display the colours of Islamic architecture

S.J. Abas and A. Salman / Islamic Symmetric Patterns

that colour lithography was first employed in book printing in Britain. Owen Jones’streatise on the Arabpalace of Alhambra in Granada, published in stagesduring 1842

46 was the first colour

printed book to beproduced in Britain

.For these reasons, the geometric designs of Islamic arthave a universal and timeless significance which goesbeyond their original decorative and religious purposes.Modern computer graphics offers a powerful tool for thestudy of these designs and their further development.In this paper, we shall first comment on the evolutionof geometric methods for Islamic patterns. This offersinsight into how simple geometric methods may beutilized with computer graphics to generate classicalIslamic patterns and also new patterns based on the samemethods. Next we shall develop algorithms which rely oninsights provided by group theory for their analysis andgeneration.

How did the sophisticated Islamic geometrical patternswhich are to be found on monuments dating from tenthcentury onwards evolve? Clearly, they did not evolvespontaneously.The artists, artisans, architects and designers whocreated and perpetuated Islamic patterns and designswere secretive. They disclosed their methods only to achosen few. The long established tradition where themaster reveals his jealously guarded notebooks only to afew devotee apprentices

still very much the modeemployed in Islamic cultures of today

.Although recent researches by Chorbachi

have un

earthed a few documents in a few libraries and museums,no comprehensive treatise on the subject has come downfrom the past. Relatively recently, starting with thepublication of the pioneering work of Bourgoin6 in

1879,

several

authors

7, 8, 9

have published large collections of Islamic patterns and offered their own analysis on themethods of constructions. The methods offered, however,are often unnecessarily elaborate and offer no expla

nation as to how the patterns have evolved. The overallimpression that is created is that from the earliest of timesthe inventors of Islamic patterns where dedicated geo

meters inspired by theoretical compass/ruler based con

structions of the classical Greek geometry.

thought orcredit has been given to the practical experience

tilingwith real shapes.If one asks the question as to how the Islamic patterns,or indeed patterns of any culture, originated, then itwould seem most logical to start with the practicalexperience of tiling and covering with simple naturallyoccurring shapes. The shapes would then be worked ongiving rise to triangles, rectangles, squares, hexagons and

Origins

Islamic Geometrical Patterns

circles. The shapes would have been decorated withsimple colours and patterns. From this beginning, thenext stage, would be to experiment with multiple

shapedtiles, with shapes produced by overlapping tiles, and toinvent more pleasing decorations. As we shall showshortly, an enormous stock of patterns can be producedvery simply in this practical way without having to rely onelaborate geometrical constructions.It is this practical experience rather than an ab

initio

involvement with compass/ruler based constructions,which seems to

to be the more satisfying explanation of the origins of Islamic patterns. It is this initial experiencewith tiling which would lead ultimately to sophisticatedemployment of geometrical ingenuity, such as the use of complex hidden grids. We shall illustrate the full evol

utionary range through a series of examples.

3.1.

Patterns Based on Single

shaped Tiles

Many popular patterns to be found in Islamic culture,some of which pre

date Islam, can be made quite easily byusing just one simple tile. Figs. la and1cshow two suchexamples. Through varying the orientation of neigh

bouring pieces, or through removing pieces, relateddesigns emerge. For example, the design with star

shapedholes shown in Fig. 1b can be thought of as arising froma different placing of hexagonal tiles compared to thatused in Fig. la or can be obtained by removing everyother tile from alternate rows in Fig. la. This immediatelysuggests a tiling with two tiles, one hexagonal and onestar

shaped. Even, for such simple and obvious cases,some previous authors on Islamic designs have chosen toapproach them through grids and elaborate Greek inspired compass/ruler based constructions, see forexample Bowgoin

, p.

Wade

, (p. 28), El

Said and

Figure

S.J. Abas and A. Salman / Islamic Symmetric Patterns

Parman

, (p. 11). Let

emphasize, that here we arereferring to the specialist writers

Islamic geometricpatterns. The excellent recent treatise on

“Tilings

and

Patterns”

by Grünbaum and Shephard

does show atiling approach.Many other more complicated patterns can be derivedrelies only

an overlapping placement of

S2.

Themethod suggested, by El

Said and Parman is reproducedin Fig. 4a.

3.3. Patterns from Geometrical Constructions onFamiliar Shapes

equally simply by using other shapes and using multipletile shapes, e.g. hexagonal with rectangular, and throughplacing simple linear decorations

tiles. For a numberof interesting examples of patterns produced by simplevariations in a single shape, the reader is referred toreference

3.2. Patterns from Overlapping Tiles

One would expect that the experience of storing andstacking simple tiles would naturally lead to someexperimentation with tiles that overlap. Many interestingtile shapes and patterns could be discovered in this way.Fig.

shows examples of these.The top row shows how a square tile when rotated by

degrees and placed on top of an identical tile gives rise

to an eight

pointed star shape. This is the most familiarshape in Islamic tiling. Let

refer to it as S1. When

is placed as shown in the right diagram of the top row, weobtain the most frequently occurring star

cross pattern inIslamic decoration. Again, compare this explanation of the pattern with that of El

Said and Parman8, (p. 13).By joining the vertices in

S1,

we obtain an octagonaltile

S2.

The bottom right diagram Fig. 2b, shows apattern which occurs frequently in Islamic carvings. ItThe examples of patterns given in the last two sectionsrequire no knowledge of geometry whatsoever. Theycould be discovered purely through practical experiencewith tiling with simple shapes. It is only in the next stage

evolution that some geometrical construction is addedto familiar shapes. We shall illustrate this stage with twotypical examples.Fig. 3a shows a shape obtained by an overlappingplacement of eight squares. Fig. 3b shows the patternproduced when we try to tile with the shape in Fig. 3a.This gives rise to octagonal holes, which can be filled invery obvious ways by extending the sides of the squareswhich form the vertices of the octagon. These extensionsare shown in Fig. 3c. With this addition we obtain thepattern in Fig. 3d. For comparison, Figs. 4b and

showthe construction methods for this pattern proposed by El

Said and Parman, and Bourgoin respectively. Bourgoin’sconstruction is very difficult

comprehend and is quitetypical.

Figure 2 Figure 3