Matching Islamic patterns in Kufic images

In this study, we address the problem of matching patterns in Kufic calligraphy images. Being used as a decorative element, Kufic images have been designed in a way that makes it difficult to be read by non-experts. Therefore, available methods for handwriting recognition are not easily applicable to the recognition of Kufic patterns. In this study, we propose two new methods for Kufic pattern matching. The first method approximates the contours of connected components into lines and then utilizes chain code representation. Sequence matching techniques with a penalty for gaps are exploited for handling the variations between different instances of sub-patterns. In the second method, skeletons of connected components are represented as a graph where junction and end points are considered as nodes. Graph isomorphism techniques are then relaxed for partial graph matching. Methods are evaluated over a collection of 270 square Kufic images with 8,941 sub-patterns. Experimental results indicate that, besides retrieval and indexing of known patterns, our method also allows the discovery of new patterns. © 2015, Springer-Verlag London

Segmentation based Ottoman text and matching based Kufic image analysis

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2013.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2013.Includes bibliographical references leaves 80-88.Large archives of historical documents attract many researchers from all around the world. The increasing demand to access those archives makes automatic retrieval and recognition of historical documents crucial. Ottoman archives are one of the largest collections of historical documents. Although Ottoman is not a currently spoken language, many researchers from all around the world are interested in accessing the archived material. This thesis proposes two Ottoman document analysis studies; first one is a crucial pre-processing task for retrieval and recognition which is segmentation of documents. Second one is a more specific retrieval and recognition problem which aims matching Islamic patterns is Kufic images. For the first segmentation task, layout, line and word segmentation is studied. Layout segmentation is obtained via Log-Gabor filtering. Four different algorithms are proposed for line segmentation and finally a simple morphological method is preferred for word segmentation. Datasets are constructed with documents from both Ottoman and other languages (English, Greek and Bangla) to test the script-independency of the methods. Experiments show that our segmentation steps give satisfactory results. The second task aims to detect Islamic patterns in Kufic images. The sub-patterns are considered as basic units and matching is used for the analysis. Graphs are preferred to represent subpatterns where graph and sub-graph isomorphism are used for matching them. Kufic images are analyzed in three different ways. Given a query pattern, all the instances of the query can be found through retrieval. Going further, through known patterns images can be automatically labeled in the entire dataset. Finally, patterns that repeat inside an image can be automatically discovered. As there is no existing Kufic dataset, a new one is constructed by collecting images from the Internet and promising results are obtained on this dataset.Adıgüzel, HandeM.S

Historical document analysis based on word matching

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2011.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2011.Includes bibliographical references leaves 67-76.Historical documents constitute a heritage which should be preserved and providing automatic retrieval and indexing scheme for these archives would be beneficial for researchers from several disciplines and countries. Unfortunately, applying ordinary Optical Character Recognition (OCR) techniques on these documents is nearly impossible, since these documents are degraded and deformed. Recently, word matching methods are proposed to access these documents. In this thesis, two historical document analysis problems, word segmentation in historical documents and Islamic pattern matching in kufic images are tackled based on word matching. In the first task, a cross document word matching based approach is proposed to segment historical documents into words. A version of a document, in which word segmentation is easy, is used as a source data set and another version in a different writing style, which is more difficult to segment into words, is used as a target data set. The source data set is segmented into words by a simple method and extracted words are used as queries to be spotted in the target data set. Experiments on an Ottoman data set show that cross document word matching is a promising method to segment historical documents into words. In the second task, firstly lines are extracted and sub-patterns are automatically detected in the images. Then sub-patterns are matched based on a line representation in two ways: by their chain code representation and by their shape contexts. Promising results are obtained for finding the instances of a query pattern and for fully automatic detection of repeating patterns on a square kufic image collection.Arifoğlu, DamlaM.S

The Transformation of Calligraphy from Spirituality to Materialism in Contemporary Saudi Arabian Mosques

Contemporary discourses by both Western and Muslim scholars on the subject of Islamic philosophy and art, especially the influence of globalisation on Islamic Art in general and the art of calligraphy in particular, have drawn attention to the new architectural styles of mosques in Saudi Arabia and the representation of calligraphy in them. The present study aims to analyse the impact of globalisation on the transformation of calligraphy in Saudi Arabian mosques, and investigate the paradoxical nature of authenticity in relation to the art of calligraphy. In this study, the historical, theoretical and qualitative data were amassed as part of the methodology. A qualitative descriptive method to a case study approach was the primary approach for data collection. The main aim was to understand the historical mapping of the origin and development of calligraphy, analysing its outcomes in the context of the contemporary mosques in Saudi Arabia. The results section focuses on the answers obtained from a questionnaire directed at artists and calligraphers, and in the interviews conducted with experts in calligraphy. The discussion section focuses on the detailed analyses of the answers. The study demonstrates the process of change and the misrepresentation of calligraphy and its applications inside the mosques selected for study, including forces that have been influencing such change. Consequently, the results show that there is a remarkable transformation of calligraphy in its form and function in contemporary mosques in Saudi Arabia. This transformation has been caused by due to several dominant factors including the way of representing calligraphic patterns, the impact of the local culture, and spread of the culture of materialism and globalisation

The modernization of Islamic art in the realm of architecture

The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the modernization of Islamic art in the realm of architecture through six case studies representing traditional and modern mosques from an architectural and decorative perspective. By examining published materials and research papers pertaining to the artifacts and analyzing their features, this study attempts to answer the following questions: how has Islamic art and architecture evolved with modern times and technologies? What new trends have aided in the evolution of this art? and have culture and religion influenced the evolution of Islamic art and continue to play a major role in its modernization?. This paper conducted comparative studies between artifacts according to their chronological timelines and geographical locations. The findings showed that social media and technologies aided in this evolution. In addition, trends of minimalism, symbolism, and the notion of isolation became apparent. Multi-cultural influences and religion continue to empower the evolution

Early Islamic ceramics and glazes of Akhsiket, Uzbekistan

The thesis examines the technical aspects of ceramics and glazes from Akhsiket, a regional capital in the early Islamic period, which was abandoned in the early 13th century. Ceramics and glazes of the time period under discussion (9th - 13th century) in Uzbekistan are understudied, with minimal scientific analysis of the technological processes. These processes include the forming and firing of ceramic vessels, the origin of raw materials used in ceramics and glazes, and decoration methods such as slip painting and colored glazes. A variety of commonly-seen ceramic types have been studied, giving a well-rounded picture of the ceramic assemblage at Akhsiket. Comparison between ceramics from different sites in Uzbekistan, and the development of the technology over four centuries, is possible with the use of chemical and petrographical data obtained with a variety of scientific techniques - primarily the scanning electron microscope. Contemporary glazed ceramics from Kuva and Tashkent, both in Uzbekistan, were also examined for comparison, and to shed light on the transfer of technological and artistic techniques through Central Asia. Typological analysis of Islamic ceramics shows a progression of artistic and technological knowledge from the Middle East to Central Asia during the Arab expansion in the 8th – 9th centuries. Data from chemical and petrographical analysis has shown interesting similarities and differences between ceramic pastes and glazes used at Akhsiket, Kuva and Tashkent. These analyses are used as evidence for relationships in ceramic production and technology in Uzbekistan and by comparison with published data, to ceramics further afield. Along with providing a clearer picture of ceramic production in Uzbekistan, this work provides a new dimension to the discipline of Islamic ceramic studies, demonstrating the importance of archaeological ceramics of the eastern fringes to the understanding of the production of ceramics and the transmission of knowledge and cultural traditions within the Islamic caliphate

Circular Inspirations: Medieval Mediterranean Influence in the Treasury of San Marco

San Marco’s composite objects combine art of contrasting style and origin, resulting in a united piece made out of two or three discrete parts. These objects defy easy categorization; they were made into composite objects by the Venetians, far from where much of the source material was from, with specific intent. I argue that the composite objects should be viewed as translations, which requires repositioning the object\u27s exact origin point as only one component of its identity, rather than its defining aspect. Rather than classify the objects by their first life , I will instead organize them based on the different ways diversity was utilized in these objects, as the “foreign” elements of the composite objects either display a sense of shared global taste, with Venice imitating other Mediterranean composite styles, or a uniquely Venetian arrangement

Gentile da Fabriano\u27s Adoration of the Magi: Iconographic Influences of Decorative Arts from the Islamic World

This project is an exploration of Islamic influences on the Adoration of the Magi (1423) by Gentile da Fabriano. The use of pseudo-inscriptions and Eastern textiles in the painting are central to the investigation of the work. I discuss the contact between the Republic of Florence and Muslim regions and the role of trade, crusades, and political contact on the arts of Quattrocento Florence. I analyze the extent of patron\u27s contributions to the iconography in the altarpiece and the social and political implications of the piece

The Painted ceiling of the nave of the Cappella palatina in Palermo: an essay on its geometric and constructive features

Il testo illustra gli esiti di una ricerca sulle matrici geometriche e costruttive del soffitto il legno che copre la navata centrale della Cappella Palatina di Palermo. L’opera, già oggetto di approfonditi studi relativi ai temi iconografici delle pitture che la decorano, viene indagata tramite un accurato rilievo condotto con tecniche laser scanning al fine di risalire alle matrici geometriche del progetto; tale indagine viene condotta tenendo in adeguata considerazione la struttura tridimensionale del manufatto, basata sulla tecnica dei muqarnas. Al termine dello studio viene definita una ipotesi che evidenzia una stretta correlazione fra il tracciato regolatore che ne definisce l’impianto planimetrico ed il dimensionamento dei filari che ne compongono l’ alzato

The Ontology of the Venetian Halo in its Italian Context

This thesis aims to reposition the halo’s status within an artwork through arguing a reassessment of its activity 'as a sign' rather than acceptance of its passivity. This active state is further explored and expanded by a heuristic application of semiotic theory to interrogate its fluctuation between sign/non-sign and its oscillation between a seemingly real status and behaviour juxtaposed with its very consciously artificial “manifestation”. A variety of halo shapes are considered, together with texture contained in and on its surface, and this has revealed the Venetian and Venetan artistic innovation of “glass” and “silk” haloes, through artists’ utilisation of contemporaneous industrial practices and their application to halo appearance. Additionally, extant architectural vocabulary is translated and reformulated into internal halo motifs by Venetian and Venetan artists, further enhancing the halo’s somatic characteristics, contextualized by examination of halo representation in various media in Florence, Rome and Siena, and a consideration of haloes within other, mainly Italian, centres. Additionally, the fugitive and transient qualities of the nimbus are noted, with its mimesis of the dying corporeal body in its fading insubstantiality, a further factor in its inexorably reductive form as increasing realism in art challenges its ontological traits. Textual characters contained within the halo body are also examined in their many forms and languages and their contribution to an intertextual function espoused by the ideologeme. An adjunct to this function is the halo’s propagandist role presented by artists. It will be demonstrated how all these different strands of interpretation are imbricated in the changing theological, political and societal landscape, encapsulated within the halo