Thames & Hudson Islamic Geometric Design

Excellent book!

This book was shipped sealed in plastic well-- it was a waterproof unit. Further, it was packed with airbags to be well-protected. Very impressed with the shipment, since too many items are sent in a box without packing material. Any hardback book should be sent carefully to avoid damages to the dustcover and corners. The book itself is a wonderful survey of patterns and designs, especially in architecture. The diversity and scope of its coverage, especially in a geographical sense, is just phenomenal. I have borrowed it enough times from my public library that I already knew its incredible value. A goodly number of the designs I had only seen hand-drawn, so the current photographs are a joy to observe the proper proportions and symmetry in details and the overall treatments. It was a pleasure to find it available at a fantastic price (used, but like new). As said in the heading, it feels like a special gift from me to me. Definitely worth all five stars! Be well. Be safe.

Sono veramente contenta di aver scelto questo testo per la qualità dei disegni e l'approfondimento che c'è dietro ognuno di essi. Ovviamente è un libro per chi è interessato a questo tipo di studio. Penso che sia il più completo in circolazione.

I have 11 books specifically on Islamic geometric design on my shelf excluding this one. The others fall into 3 categories: catalogues of designs with little descriptive text (e.g. Bourgoin "Arabic Geometrical Pattern and Design"), attempts to impose spiritual and religious meaning on to the designs (e.g. Critchlow "Islamic Patterns: An analytical and Cosmological approach"), and analyses that attempt an academic analyses of the different patterns (e.g. Abas & Salman "Symmetries of Islamic Geometrical Patterns"). Although these books contain many beautiful patterns, they contain little text that is either useful or readable (he only exception is Broug's other book "Islamic Geometric Patterns"). It is therefore with great delight that I can wholeheartedly recommend this book which is well written, engrossing, encyclopaedic and beautifully illustrated. Instead of trying to impose some religious or artistic "meaning" on the patterns, Broug simply describes how, when and where the patterns were developed. He understands the construction of these designs intimately ("for the first ten years of my studies of this topic, I only ever worked with a pair of compasses and a ruler"), and attempts to pass that knowledge on. It is a great resource book for crafts people, and the only book that you will need on how to design Islamic patterns. It is not, however, an encyclopaedia of patterns, and would be best used in conjunction with one such as the Bourgoin book.

Full of beautiful patterns to inspire but for me the best part of the book were clear visual instructions for creating the patterns with a compass and straight edge which provided many hours of enjoyment.