Fig. 24. Type border used as geometric ornaments.
Fig. 25. Further use of type border to make a flat pattern or “all-over”
design. Compare the effect with that shown in the facing illustration.
In the artistic development of the various races, geometric design has often been the result of religious restrictions upon the imitation of any animate forms. The Mahometans have developed it to its highest type of expression. Arabian and Moorish architecture and handicrafts are the best examples, with the crystal beauty of the Alhambra, the wonderful palace built by the Moors in Spain, as the supreme achievement of geometric design.
Fig. 26. A niche in the Alhambra, at Granada, Spain.
Showing characteristic Moorish ornamentation.