Alhambra, various locations

This simple counterchange pattern has a wide distribution, from the earliest times, and has many variations. In the Alhambra, it occurs as ceramic mosaic in niches at the entrance to the Salon de Comares (colours are black and white); and as ceramic mosaic panels under both tiled alcove seats in the rest room in the Royal Bath House (four colours). Also in the Alhambra, curvilinear versions occur as a ceramic dado in black and white along the north wall of the Sala de la Barca, and in five colours at each end of the portico of the Cuarto Dorado at the north end of the Patio del Mexuar.

• The symmetry group of the tiling is 4*2 (p4g).
• All the internal angles of the constituent polygons are a multiple of 10°.
• There is one non-regular reflective tile.
• The tiling satisfies the interlace condition and has no finite interlace and one infinite interlace with straight cross-overs.
• The tiling is edge-to-edge.
• As drawn, contains about 63 polygons.

1. Page 58 (Eastern tomb tower, Kharraqan, Iran) from [broug] (1067-8AD, 458-9AH)
2. (Fatehpur Sikri, Turkish Sultana's House, India) from [smith2] (1571AD, 978AH)
3. E.3789-1938 (Cairo, Egypt. Sketchbook by James Wild) from [vami]
4. Figure I.3(a) (Alhambra, Salon de Comares, Spain) from [gands]
5. From Miroslaw Majewski (An old building in Abu Dhabi) from [pc]
6. Page 22 from [wade]
7. Page 299 from [orton]
8. Page 37 (top) from [cahier]
9. Plate XLIII (Appears in four colours) from [jones]

• V&A record Drawing showing...

• Monohedral tilings with symmetry p4g

v54