Darb-e Imam Tessellations: A Mistake of 250 Years

Abstract

A particular mosaic at the Darb-e Imam mausoleum in Isfahan has caused some controversy 10 years ago when it was claimed to exhibit quasi-periodic properties and that it was 500 years old. The technical part of this claim has been disputed (and refuted) by several authors. The date, 1453, also a key part of the press coverage that medieval Islamic artisans did advanced mathematics 500 years before the West, has not been challenged. We argue that the panel in question dates from the end of the Safavid period (1715-1717). Techniques developed during the Safavid period seem to be wrongly attributed to the fifteenth century.