Abstract

The pseudoheptagonal mosaic panel above the entrance to the mausoleum of Hodja Ahmad, Shah-i-Zindeh Necropolis in Samarkand, Uzbekistan consists of an intercrossed rib pattern on dark green background. It is a complex combination of eightfold rosettes with heptagons which enclose sevenfold stars. Analysis shows that it is based on a mixture of underlying 3.4.32.4 and 33.42 configurations, invisible in the final pattern. Eightfold elements are regular whereas the sevenfold ones are pseudoheptagonal approximations. Additional, larger-scale circles and festoons which result from the basic geometry, further enliven the pattern. The Hodja Ahmad mosaic may be understood as an attempt to develop further the heptagonal patterns based on the underlying 3.4.32.4 tiling of squares and triangles.

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