While much of the Christian west was enduring a period of struggle and strife known as the dark ages, the Islamic world was thriving. The scholarship of the Islamic world was not only able to regain much of the Alexandrian knowledge such as advances in mathematics and astronomy but they were also busy adding to […]
The term Kazak can refer to:
1) A person from Kazakhstan
2) A descendent of those who left the mongol horde (ordu)
3) Rugs made in the style of the above peoples
Calligraphy is an art form of much prominence in the Islamic world. Not only is it in books, but its influence can also be seen in architecture and pottery. It is thought that the Muslim taboo against pictorial representations greatly increased the importance of calligraphy. This taboo led many Muslims to ornament the writing rather […]
One form of Islamic art that has been preserved well over the ages has been calligraphy. The majority of this calligraphy is expressed as writing in the Qur’an; however, there were secular volumes that this art was also applied to (such as al-Sufi’s astronomical treatise). At times the writing is so expanded or contracted for […]
Continuing our “repetition is cool” series, here is a picture of a tree that follows fractal-like rules. Out of the side of large branches come smaller branches and out of their sides even smaller branches and so forth.
In a sense this ‘repetition’ in nature has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Similar repetition has […]
This is an image of the first four iterations of the Koch snowflake fractal. With each iteration a smaller triangle is placed in the middle of each straight line. Theoretically one could continue such iterations indefinitely. By following this relatively simple set of rules one is able to create an extremely complex shape. Here is […]
This is an image of the ceiling of the Khan as’ad Pacha in Damascus. This image is helpful in seeing some important themes in Islamic art, mainly those of repetition and symmetry. In order to create the symmetry and powerful complexity of many Islamic works of art repetition of patterns was often used. This building […]
I don’t know if this really counts as a rug. It is more of an anti-rug. If you have carpet and long for the sturdiness of a hardwood floor, this can help. On the other hand if you have a hardwood floor and the noise of your own footsteps is driving you crazy, I would […]
At first glance this rug may look like a little patch of grass to put in your house. However, do not let first appearances deceive you. I must admit putting the labyrinth pattern on a rug is quite a creative idea. While hazaad.com won’t be selling anything like this anytime soon. I have to admit […]