For instance, the RIGE shown above in fig. 4 is used by a Turkish kündekare (Mevlüt Chilar, Konya, master charpenter) in most of his mosque doors. To him, this design is full of meaning because the number of its pieces is 99, the number of Allah's names. Another case, an older one: during the roof restauration of the Salón de Comares, in Alhambra (Granada), a piece was noted to be better finished than the others. Once it was detached, an inscription appeared on its back, with an explanation for the meanings of the colours and for the number of main designs that form the ensemble [Cabanelas,1988].
All this shows that aesthetics alone does not explain completely this and other kinds of Islamic Art. See also references [Ardalan and Bakhtiar, 1979, Abou-esh, 1970, Burckhardt, 1976] on the symbology of zakhrafa.
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