Bernard O’Kane, “Architectural Innovation under the Mongols: Contributions of the Ilkhanids, Golden Horde and Chaghtayids to the development of tilework”

Bernard O’Kane
Dr Bernard O’Kane is Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at The American University in Cairo, where he has been teaching since 1980. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of several books including The Mosques of Egypt and Timurid Architecture in Khorasan, as well as Studies in Arab Architecture: The Collected Papers of Bernard O’Kane (Edinburgh University Press, 2021). O’Kane is also an avid photographer and recently directed the creation of the Monumental Inscriptions of Cairo database.

Architectural Innovation under the Mongols: Contributions of the Ilkhanids, Golden Horde and Chaghtayids to the development of tilework
Before the arrival of the Mongols in Central Asia and Iran, the use of tiles for architectural decoration was in its infancy. By the middle of the 14th century dramatic changes can be seen, with the introduction of development of techniques such as sgraffito, tile mosaic, lajvardina, mina’i, banna’i, and carved and glazed terracotta tilework. Their use increased correspondingly. The combinations of these technique also resulted in a much greater range of colour effects. Previously the development of tilework under these dynasties has mostly been studied in isolation. This talk will attempt to synthesize our knowledge of these three dynasties to calculate the relative extent of cross- fertilization in their technical and artistic developments and to evaluate the impact their innovations had subsequently.