Like a garment wrapped around a body Islamic ornament is both a supplement anda selfcontained piece of art. Drawing on an endlessly rich arsenal of patternsand ... » 

Like a garment wrapped around a body Islamic ornament is both a supplement anda selfcontained piece of art. Drawing on an endlessly rich arsenal of patternsand motifs geometrical vegetal epigraphic figural Islamic artisanscover surfaces densely filling space with an eye toward continuity andinfinity. The results are visually stunning and philosophically complex andadorn the architecture objects and paintings of the Islamic world.The first comprehensive study on the history function and significance ofornament in Islamic art Eva Baers Islamic Ornament unravels the complexity ofthis artistic tradition as ir developed over 900 years across the terrain ofthe Middle East and Central Asia Baer offers the reader a lavishly illustratedhistorical survey detailing the diverse patterns motifs and ornamentaldesigns which compose Islamic ornament and the local traditions foreigninfluences and Islamic transformations which they reflect. «