Surface decoration has always played a fundamental role in Islamic architecture‎.‎ As human representation is forbidden in Islamic religious monuments‎,‎ designers employed mosaics‎,‎ stucco‎,‎ brickwork and ceramics‎,‎ and the vigorous use of brilliant colour to reach unparalleled heights of expression‎.‎ It is this ornamental dimension of Islamic architecture that is explored in this magnificent volume‎.‎ Rather than limiting itself to an exclusively historical or chronological perspective‎,‎ Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture presents four successive approaches to its subject‎.‎ The first part offers an overview of Islamic architecture‎,‎ discussing the great diversity it contains‎.‎ Dealing exclusively with techniques‎,‎ the second part considers the materials most often used as well as the expertise of the builders and Muslim decorative artists‎,‎ and the third part explores themes in Islamic ornamentation‎.‎ Section four discusses aesthetics‎,‎ and studies the relationship between the buildings ‎- the structures or their architectonic components ‎- and‎.‎‎.‎‎.‎