Inlay, arabesque and mosaic arts
You will definitely lose the game if you look at the details of this work of art. No item is like another, no clothing is like another, and even floor tiles! They are all different and all have distinct creative details and high quality. Let's see how such hand-made inlay of stones and shells is made. How are all these diverse details taken care of in making arabesques?
-
A brief history of the arts of inlay with mother-of-pearl and arabesque
Arabesque is a term meaning relative to the Arabs, and this term has been adopted to indicate the drawing of abstract shapes or distorted from reality carried on architecture, manuscripts, and various Arab artistic pieces, which the maker creates in his drawing, engraving, or engraving. The word arabesque was also used to refer to the flowing, toned lines in simile drawing. The word was used in music to express the rhythm of the melody, as an analogy to the lines of Arabic drawing. (The Arab Encyclopedia)
The arabesque begins from the point, and from this point endless groups of points are generated, coalescing to form a cosmic line that returns to the starting point. In order to form a circle that is the typical basis from which all geometric shapes emerge; The triangle, hexagon, and square, which form double polygons linked to the numerical and geometric series of numbers, instead of the number one, which symbolizes the Creator, the source of all beings and things. (Arabic Encyclopedia)
Arabic Encyclopedia - Arabesque. Online and available at: http://arab-ency.com.sy/artifacts/details/285
The Fatimids were famous for their decoration of engraved and perforated wood, which was known as “arabesques,” and their mosques and palaces were adorned with it. The most famous of them was the Western Palace built by Caliph Al-Aziz, and it contained the Golden Hall where the king would sit and meet with his guests, which was decorated with curtains and silk curtains embroidered with gold. There was also the Palace of the Oracle and the Palace of the Sea. Which was described by “Ibn Falkan” as having nothing similar to it in the East or the West, and the Lulu Palace, and nothing significant of these palaces remains. (Cultural Papers, January 2021)
As is the case with various ancient Arab handicrafts, generations were raised and taught by skilled hands, and they passed them down from generation to generation. What distinguishes the arts of inlay and decoration with stones and arabesques is that they are arts in which it is very difficult to rely on machines. The passion of many people for the beauty of these arts, especially Arabs, has never diminished or disappeared. We find inlay and arabesque arts in many products, such as antiques, watches, furniture, board games, musical instruments, and many other products to which inlay gives a beautiful and attractive character.
Cultural Papers - Fatimid Arts and the extent to which they were influenced by Coptic, Asian and Islamic Arts Schools, 2021 - online and available at: http://www.awraqthaqafya.com/1121
- How to inlay shells and Arabesque handicrafts
An artist always starts by imagining, drawing and planning artistic artifacts. He always wants to imagine all the details and how to complete the work before starting to implement it to avoid wasting time and resources. This stage requires sufficient experience to manage resources and exploit them optimally.
The art of inlaying with stones and shells is a process that revolves around using different types of stones, shells, and sometimes wood to decorate a piece of art made of wood or marble. Sometimes the product is a mixture of all of these materials.
This elegant plate, for example, is handcrafted from more than a dozen stones and shells. Besides wood and marble particles. The creative artist knows very well the approximate number of pieces that will reach the shape in his imagination. He collects stones and shells and begins building the structure and preparing it for the mosaic inlay stage.
You may have imagined that forming the structure would be easy in the case of a square chessboard, but now look at these two products. Imagine the effort and technical precision required in someone's hands to shape timber this way. The difficulty of the matter is not limited only to shaping the wood in this way. What is more difficult is preparing this structure in the next stage to receive the stones and shells.
Every small stone and smooth shell has a place ready to be received on the wooden structure. A place carefully excavated and set by an artist working with arabesque/mosaic. He imagined the product before it was manufactured, designed the appropriate structure for it, then drew and engraved the inlay locations with precision to result in a product with a flat surface in this image.
This is the difficulty of it. Arabesque “shell inlay” products are certainly not smooth to the touch in most images. But you find them compact, precisely shaped and centered, and surprisingly harmonious in colours. There is great difficulty in combining all this number of stone pieces in terms of size, shape, and color.
Harmonious and beautiful. And he did the work
Make sure they all rotate like this
The surface of the product is like this!
It's very difficult, so difficult
The possibility of developing technological mechanisms for such
And various arabesques and mosaics.
