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David Wade: Pattern in Islamic Art
Overview
David Wade has partnered with ARTstor to distribute approximately 1,500 images of Islamic art in the Digital Library. These images illustrate patterns and design features found throughout the Islamic world, from the Middle East and Europe to Central and South Asia. The collection has been drawn from Wade's photographic archive of over 4000 images, which he has made available on his web site, Pattern in Islamic Art. In addition to works photographed during his travels, Wade has supplemented the collection with drawings and diagrams produced for his various publications. These additional materials reflect Wade's particular interest in symmetry and geometry. They illustrate common patterns, analyzing and breaking them down into their basic geometrical elements, thereby revealing the underlying principles of order and balance in Islamic art. Islamic artists and craftsmen employed these intricate patterns to adorn all types of surfaces, whether stone, brick, plaster, ceramic, glass, metal, wood, or textiles. The collection contains examples of all types of ornamentation from monumental architecture to the decorative arts.
David Wade is an artist and architect, as well as the author of Pattern in Islamic Art (Overlook Press and Studio Vista, 1976); Geometric Patterns and Borders (Wildwood House and Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982); Crystal and Dragon: The Cosmic Dance of Symmetry and Chaos in Nature, Art and Consciousness (Destiny Books, 1993); Li: Dynamic Form in Nature (Walker & Company, 2003); and Symmetry: The Ordering Principle (Walker & Company, 2006)
Collection information
| Total size of collection* | 1,500 |
|---|---|
| Percentage of completion | 100% |
| Search terms | patterninislamicart |
* Image totals should be regarded as an approximation until a given collection is 100% complete. Users should also bear in mind that the number of images available to them may vary from country to country, reflecting ARTstor’s approach to addressing an international copyright landscape that itself varies from country to country.
Last updated: October 16, 2008