Islamic art techniques and materials: a complete guide

Islamic decorative art is built across six distinct material traditions: cut-tile mosaic (zellij in the Maghreb, kashi in Persia), stucco and carved plaster, brickwork, carved stone, woodwork, and book illumination on paper and parchment. Each of these has its own history, its own technical methods, its own regional concentrations, and its own characteristic role in the overall Islamic decorative program. Understanding them individually — and how they work together in major monuments — is the foundation for understanding Islamic art seriously.

This pillar guide covers all six material traditions at the right altitude, with links to the dedicated posts on each. The substance draws on Wichmann and Wade's Islamic Design: A Mathematical Approach (especially Chapter 5), the V&A and Met Museum's collection essays, Castéra's Arabesques, Behrens-Abouseif's Cairo of the Mamluks, and the broader scholarly literature on Islamic craft.

Why "techniques and materials" rather than "styles" or "regions"

Three reasons the material-based framework works well for understanding Islamic art.

The techniques drove the patterns. The mathematical properties of Islamic geometric patterns — what symmetries are workable, what scales succeed, what color palettes are available — depend on the material. Cut-tile mosaic with hand-cut tiles has different constraints from painted square tile, which has different constraints from carved stone, which has different constraints from carved plaster. The patterns associated with each material aren't arbitrary; they're shaped by what the material can do.

The materials traveled across regions. A given material technique (zellij cut-tile mosaic, for example) tends to be regionally concentrated but not absolutely region-locked. Understanding the material lets you read its appearance in different regions and contexts.

The status hierarchy among Islamic crafts ran along material lines. Manuscript illumination was the most prestigious craft, followed by woodwork and metalwork, with brickwork and stonework lower in the hierarchy. The hierarchy shaped patronage, production methods, and the social position of craftsmen.

For the broader framework of Islamic decoration, see the Islamic decorative canon and Islamic geometric art: a complete guide.

Cut-tile mosaic: zellij and kashi

Cut-tile mosaic is the most studied of the Islamic craft traditions. Two distinct branches:

Zellij (Maghreb tradition). Hand-cut glazed terracotta tiles set into plaster, dominated by the octagonal pattern family (8-pointed khatem star and related forms), concentrated in Morocco and Andalusian Spain. The technique has been continuously practiced in Fez since at least the 12th century. The canonical monuments are the Alhambra (Granada), the Madrasa Bou Inania (Fez), the Saadian Tombs (Marrakesh), and the Real Alcázar of Seville. For the full treatment, see what is zellij — a guide to Moroccan tile work.

Kashi (Persian tradition). Includes cut mosaic, painted square tile, and cuerda seca techniques, dominated by decagonal symmetry, concentrated in Iran and Central Asia. The bright turquoise-and-cobalt palette is the visual signature of the tradition. The canonical monuments are the Imam Mosque (Isfahan), the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (Isfahan), the Friday Mosque of Isfahan, and the Timurid monuments of Samarkand. For the full treatment, see what is kashi — the Persian tile tradition.

A third related tradition is Ottoman Iznik tile, distinguished from kashi by its production technique (painted square tiles fired with multiple colors at once, on a distinctive white slip ground) and its dominant motifs (floral arabesque rather than geometric pattern). The Süleymaniye Mosque and Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque in Istanbul are the canonical examples.

Stucco and carved plaster

Stucco is the carved plaster work that dominates the upper walls and arched openings of major Islamic religious buildings. The technique: wet plaster is applied to the wall surface and carved by hand before it sets, producing flowing arabesque and calligraphic compositions in shallow relief. The plaster's plasticity favors flowing organic forms over rigid geometric ones, which is why arabesque dominates carved stucco and geometric pattern dominates the tile dado below.

The Alhambra is the most famous example of carved stucco in the Western Islamic tradition; the walls of the Nasrid Palaces are essentially entirely stucco above the tile dado level. The mihrab of Öljeitü at the Friday Mosque of Isfahan (1310) is the canonical Ilkhanid Persian carved stucco. The carved stucco mihrabs of various Mamluk Cairene mosques are major surviving Egyptian examples.

The technique requires skilled craftsmen working quickly — wet plaster sets within hours of application, so the carving has to be completed in one session per panel. Master stuccateurs (in Arabic, jassasin) were among the more prestigious specialized craftsmen in Islamic decoration.

Stucco doesn't survive well in damp climates, which is part of why so much surviving Islamic stucco is in arid regions (the Maghreb, Iran, Central Asia) rather than in coastal or northern areas. The British Museum, V&A, Met, and other major collections have surviving Islamic stucco panels that have been carefully conserved.

Brickwork

Decorative brick patterning is characteristic of Iranian and Central Asian Islamic architecture from the Seljuk period onward. The technique evolves from purely structural bonds (the patterns produced by the necessities of bricklaying) to decorative bonds (patterns deliberately chosen for aesthetic effect) to glazed-brick patterns (where some bricks are glazed in contrasting colors to produce graphic patterns) to brick combined with cut tile inlay.

The early phase is best represented by the Tomb Towers of Kharraqan (1067) and the Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara (early 10th century). The decorative brickwork of the Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods produces extraordinary monumental effects — the Soltaniyeh mausoleum (1302–1312), the Friday Mosque of Isfahan's early phases, the Maraqeh tomb towers — that achieve elaborate visual programs through brick alone.

The integration of brick with tile reached its peak in the Timurid period, where vast monumental surfaces combined brick and glazed-tile work in single decorative programs. The Registan complex in Samarkand and the Shakh-i-Zindeh necropolis are the canonical examples.

For the broader Persian context, see Persian Islamic art — Isfahan, Yazd, and the Safavid flowering.

Carved stone

Stone work is less dominant in Islamic decorative art than in Western European medieval architecture, but where it appears it appears with great refinement. Two main contexts.

Mamluk Egypt produced the most extensive Islamic carved stone tradition. The Sultan Hasan complex (1356–1363), the mausoleum of Sultan Qaytbay (1472–1474), and other major Cairene monuments combine carved stone facades with stone-inlaid (rather than tile-inlaid) interiors. The geometric and calligraphic work on Mamluk stone shows extraordinary precision.

Mughal India developed the pietra dura tradition of inlaid marble — semi-precious stones inset into white marble to produce floral and geometric patterns. The Taj Mahal (1632–1653) is the canonical example, but the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula (the "Baby Taj," 1622–1628) and the Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra demonstrate the development of the technique. The patterns themselves often derive from Persian decorative traditions translated into stone.

Carved stone also appears extensively in Cordoba (the Great Mosque), in the Almoravid and Almohad monuments of Morocco and Spain, and in Ottoman architecture, but typically as an architectural medium rather than as the primary decorative surface.

Woodwork

Wood has a higher status in Islamic decorative art than its scarcity might suggest, partly because timber was expensive in most of the Islamic world (most regions had to import wood) and partly because the craft reached extraordinary technical heights.

Three signature forms:

The minbar is the elevated pulpit in a mosque from which the imam delivers the Friday sermon. Traditionally an elaborate staircase-and-platform structure with carved wooden side panels. The carved panels contain some of the finest surviving Islamic geometric woodwork. Canonical examples include the minbar of Sultan Hasan in Cairo, the V&A Cairene minbar, and the Almohad Kutubiyya minbar now in the Badi Palace Museum in Marrakesh.

The mashrabiya is the carved wooden lattice screen used in traditional Islamic domestic architecture, especially in Cairo and the Hijaz. Provides privacy and ventilation. Built from thousands of small turned wooden elements connected by mortise-and-tenon joints, often in geometric patterns.

Kündekari is the Ottoman joinery technique that produces wooden panels by assembling small carved pieces into geometric patterns held together entirely by interlocking joinery — no glue, nails, or other fasteners. Produces extraordinarily durable structures; surviving Ottoman kündekari from the 15th century often outlasts European furniture of the same age.

For the full treatment, see Islamic woodwork — minbars, mashrabiya, and kündekari.

Book illumination

Manuscript decoration was the most prestigious of all Islamic crafts. The arts of the book — calligraphy, illumination (the painted decoration around and between text), binding, and (in non-religious contexts) miniature painting — sat at the top of the Islamic craft hierarchy. Master calligraphers and illuminators were named figures with personal reputations; tile cutters and stuccateurs were usually anonymous craftsmen.

The major Islamic manuscripts to know about include:

• The Mamluk Qur'ans commissioned by Sultan Sha'ban for his mother (14th century, now in the Egyptian National Library), among the most elaborate Qur'an manuscripts ever produced
• The Shahnameh manuscripts — illustrated copies of the Persian national epic, commissioned by royal courts across the Persian and Mughal worlds for centuries. The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (1520s–1540s, now dispersed across museums and private collections) contains over 250 illustrations.
• The Topkapı Scroll — a late 15th-century roll of geometric and architectural designs, now in the Topkapı Palace Museum, one of the most important primary sources for understanding Islamic pattern construction (see the Topkapı Scroll)
• The Mughal albums and royal Qur'ans of the 16th and 17th centuries, combining Persian and Indian elements at extraordinary levels of detail

Book illumination uses pigments derived from minerals (lapis lazuli for blue, malachite for green) and organic sources (cochineal for red), often with gold leaf for highlights. The combination of calligraphic text and illuminated decoration produces objects that are simultaneously religious or literary documents and major works of art.

Wichmann and Wade make a specific claim worth noting: the earliest examples of distinctively Islamic geometric patterns appear in late 10th-century Qur'an manuscripts from Baghdad, before the patterns spread to other media. The book illumination tradition may have been the origin point for the entire Islamic geometric tradition, not just one branch of it. See a short history of Islamic geometric art.

How the materials work together

The canonical Islamic religious building uses multiple materials in coordinated roles.

The base. The lowest section of interior walls and the floors are typically the most durable materials. Cut-tile mosaic (zellij in the Maghreb, kashi in Persia, stone inlay in Mamluk Egypt and Mughal India) covers the dado area — the lower section of the wall up to roughly 1.5–2 metres above the floor. This is the section that gets touched and worn; durable hard materials make sense.

The middle. Calligraphic bands often separate the tile dado from the upper-wall decoration. Carved stucco, painted plaster, or inlaid stone forms the calligraphic band, often containing Qur'anic verses, the names of the patron, or other inscriptions.

The upper walls. Carved stucco dominates the upper walls in most major Islamic monuments. The plaster's plasticity favors arabesque over geometric work, producing a visual register that contrasts with the rigid geometric tile below.

The ceiling. Painted wood (zouak in Morocco), carved stucco mocárabes (the honeycombed three-dimensional vaulting characteristic of Andalusian and Maghreb architecture), or painted brick in larger spaces. The ceiling is the lightest, most ethereal register of the building.

Special elements. The mihrab (the niche indicating the qibla direction) often combines multiple techniques in a single composition — carved stucco surrounded by tile, with calligraphic inscription, sometimes with carved wood doors. The minbar combines carved wood with sometimes painted or inlaid elements.

Walking into the Madrasa Bou Inania in Fez, or the Alhambra, or the Friday Mosque of Isfahan, or the Sultan Hasan complex in Cairo, you experience all of these materials in coordinated programs. The materials are different but the design vocabulary is unified.

The living tradition

A note worth ending on. Several of these material traditions are still actively practiced today.

• Zellij continues in Fez, Marrakesh, and Meknes, with workshops operating in continuity with the medieval practice. Apprentices spend years learning to cut a single shape correctly. See Moroccan Islamic art — the Maghreb tradition.
• Kashi tile work continues in Iran, with Isfahan, Yazd, and Mashhad as the major centres.
• Carved stucco is still practiced in Morocco and Iran, though less commonly than the tile traditions.
• Mashrabiya woodwork has substantially declined as a domestic craft but is still produced for restoration and reproduction work.
• Kündekari is still practiced at small scale in Turkey, with significant restoration work on Ottoman monuments.
• Book illumination continues in several traditions, with active calligraphers and illuminators in Turkey, Morocco, Iran, and elsewhere.

The contemporary scene also includes artists working in new materials that extend these traditions — including my own layered paper work in the Maghreb pattern tradition. See layered paper art — a contemporary medium for Islamic geometric design.

For specific monuments to visit, see the regional posts on Morocco, Andalusia, Persia, and (forthcoming) Mamluk Egypt, Mughal India, Central Asia, and Ottoman Turkey.

FAQ

What are the main techniques of Islamic art?

Islamic decorative art uses six main material traditions: cut-tile mosaic (zellij in the Maghreb, kashi in Persia), stucco and carved plaster, brickwork, carved stone, woodwork (including minbars, mashrabiya, and kündekari), and book illumination on paper and parchment. Each tradition has its own regional concentrations and characteristic patterns.

What's the difference between zellij and kashi?

Zellij is the Maghreb (Moroccan-Andalusian) tradition; kashi is the Persian-Central Asian tradition. They differ in production technique (zellij is exclusively cut mosaic; kashi includes painted square tile and cuerda seca), color palette (zellij favors earth tones and deeper blue; kashi favors turquoise and cobalt), and dominant pattern symmetry (zellij octagonal; kashi decagonal).

Why is woodwork so important in Islamic art?

Wood was scarce and expensive in most of the Islamic world, and the craft itself reached extraordinary technical heights. The carved minbar (mosque pulpit) is one of the canonical objects of Islamic religious art. The mashrabiya carved lattice screen is one of the most recognizable elements of traditional Islamic domestic architecture. The Ottoman kündekari joinery technique produces wooden panels held together entirely by interlocking joinery, no fasteners.

Where can I see all these techniques in one place?

The Madrasa Bou Inania in Fez, Morocco (1351–1356), shows zellij, stucco, painted wood, and calligraphy in a single building. The Alhambra in Granada shows zellij, stucco, painted wood, and calligraphy across multiple connected spaces. The Friday Mosque of Isfahan shows kashi, brickwork, stucco, and calligraphy across centuries of construction. Any of these three monuments provides a complete view of the material traditions in coordinated programs.

Are these techniques still practiced today?

Several are. Zellij continues in Fez, Marrakesh, and Meknes. Kashi continues in Isfahan, Yazd, and Mashhad. Carved stucco is still practiced in Morocco and Iran. Book illumination continues in multiple traditions with active calligraphers and illuminators in Turkey, Morocco, Iran, and elsewhere. Mashrabiya has substantially declined as a domestic craft. Kündekari is practiced at small scale in Turkey. Contemporary artists in new materials extend these traditions further.

Sources

• Wichmann, Brian, and David Wade. Islamic Design: A Mathematical Approach. Springer, 2017. Chapter 5 (Materials and Media) covers all six traditions.
• Castéra, Jean-Marc. Arabesques: Decorative Art in Morocco. ACR Edition, 1999.
• Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Cairo of the Mamluks. American University in Cairo Press, 2007.
• Necipoğlu, Gülru. The Topkapı Scroll. Getty Center, 1995.
• Bloom, Jonathan, and Sheila Blair. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture. OUP, 2009.
• Met Museum essay, Tilework in Islamic Art.
• Met Museum essay, Woodwork in the Islamic World.
• V&A Collections, Islamic Middle East.