Symmetry in Art and

Architecture

A/P Helmer Aslaksen

Dept. of Mathematics
National Univ. of Singapore
www.math.nus.edu.sg
aslaksen@math.nus.edu.sg
Where in Singapore is this?

Lau Pa Sat
Polygons and polygrams

Reuleaux triangle
Patterns in Islamic art

Fez, Morocco, 1325

Patterns in Islamic art

Isfahan, Iran, end of 15th century

Patterns at Plaza Singapore
Mystery pattern

Fullerton Hotel
Where in Singapore is this?
Shaw House
Symmetry at Scotts Road

C8 D6
Marriott Hotel
Bugis Junction
Suntec
Tampines
More cool stuff in Singapore
Not so cool stuff in Singapore
 What does math have to
do with art?
 What is math?
 Math is the abstract study of patterns
 What is a pattern?
 Concrete geometrical patterns or abstract
numerical or logical patterns
 What is abstract study?
 Generalize to get the underlying concept
Why are these patterns nice?
 Symmetry
 What is symmetry?
 Most people think of vertical mirror
symmetry (left/right)
What is symmetry in general?
 A pattern is symmetric if it is built up
from related parts
 A plane pattern has a symmetry if there
is an isometry of the plane that
preserves the pattern
What is an isometry?
 An isometry of the plane is a mapping that
preserves distance, and therefore shape
 Translation
 A translation moves a fixed distance in
a fixed direction
 Reflection
 A reflection flips across an axis of
reflection
Rotation
 A rotation has a centre of rotation and
an angle of rotation
N-fold rotation
 If the angle is θ and n = 360o/θ is a
whole number, then we call the rotation
an n-fold rotation
 Rotational symmetry
Order of Angle of Figure Symmetry Regions
Rotation Rotation

2 180°

3 120°

6 60°
Glide reflection
 A glide reflection is a combination of a
reflection and a translation
Four types of plane isometries
 Translation
 Reflections
 Rotations
 Glide reflections
Warning!
Sumerian symmetry
Symmetric patterns
 A plane pattern has a symmetry if there
is an isometry of the plane that
preserves it. There are three types of
symmetric patterns.
 Rosette patterns (finite designs)
 Frieze patterns
 Wallpaper patterns
Rosette patterns
 Leonardo’s Theorem: There are two
types of rosette patterns.
 Cn, which has n-fold rotational
symmetry and no reflectional symmetry
 Dn, which has n-fold rotational
symmetry and reflectional symmetry
Examples of rosette patterns
Frieze patterns
 Frieze patterns are patterns that have
translational symmetry in one direction
 We imagine that they go on to infinity
in both directions or wrap around
Frieze patterns on cloth
The 7 frieze groups
 No sym
 Glide ref
 Hor ref
 Ver ref
 Half turn
 Hor and ver ref
 Glide ref and ver ref
Examples of frieze patterns
 No sym LLLL
 Half turn NNN
 Hor ref DDD
 Ver ref VVV
 Glide ref
 Hor and ver ref HHH
 Glide ref and ver ref
Chart for the 7 frieze groups
Wallpaper floor tilings
Wallpaper cloth
The 17 types of wall paper
groups
Chart for the 17 wall paper
groups
Examples of the 17 groups
What does this have to do
with art?
 Every culture has a preference for certain
symmetry type of patterns.
 The important thing is not the motif in the
patterns, but the symmetry types.
 This can be used to date objects and detect
connections between different cultures.
Distribution in Islamic art
Ming ceramics
 We will study Ming ceramics as an
example
No symmetry
 The p111 pattern (no symmetry)
Horizontal reflection
 The p1m1 pattern (horizontal reflection)
Vertical reflection
 The pm11 pattern (vertical reflection)
Half turn
 The p112 pattern (half turn)
Horizontal and vertical
reflection
 The pmm2 pattern (horizontal and vertical reflections)
Glide reflection and vertical
reflection
 The pma2 pattern (glide reflection and vertical reflection)
Glide reflection
 The p1a1 pattern (glide reflection)
Ming porcelain patterns
66
Seven Types of Frieze Pattern
60

40 29
21 20
20 13 9
1
0
pm11 p111 p1a1 p112 pma2 pmm2 p1m1

Frieze Patterns Types

 Ming porcelain patterns by
emperor
Distribution of Frieze Patterns Types in
Different Time Periods
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Yuan Yongle Xuande Jiajing Wanli T&C
Time Period

p111 p112 p1a1 pm11 pmm2 pma2 p1m1

Regular tilings
Semiregular tilings
More fun stuff!
False viewpoints

 Pozzo’s ceiling (1694) and cupola (1685) in St. Ignatius, Rome

Perspective at SAM