Madrasa Imami
Isafan, Iran
Islamic
Isafan, Iran
Islamic
Image Provided by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Mosaic tile work is a beautiful, yet difficult piece of art. In order to construct these pieces the artist must use precision and delicacy. They must be able to cut the tiny pieces and then place them together so that they fit together perfectly. An exquisite piece that shows of this craftsmanship is the Madrasa Imami’s mihrab. This piece is a wonderful combination of Kufic (abstracted Arabic script) and tile work. The mihrab is constructed so that the tiles flow up into a pointed arch at the top, all while maintaining the unique design. This mosaic technique is extremely difficult to construct. Potters would fire large ceramic tiles of a single color in a kiln. From there the artist would cut the tiles into small, individual pieces to fit his design. No two pieces are exactly the same and it takes a lot of overview and patience to be able to successfully put together a piece.
The mihrab of Madrasa Imami shows great craftsmanship and analytical skills. The artist had to be able to design the piece and then carry out that plan one piece at a time. This shows extreme planning and precision as the artist would have to carefully cut each and every piece. The analytical skills in constructing this piece reflect an important skill that is needed to be a marine biologist. A marine biologist must be able to detect the smallest changes in order to successful complete assignments. In experiments, some changes in numbers can completely change results. Once they detect any small changes, they must be able to piece them all together in order to gather results. It takes time and patience in order to correctly conduct research, much like constructing a mosaic tile piece. |