ORNAMENTAL AREA DESIGNS AND RESTITUTION SUGGESTIONS FOR SOME PIECES OF CROSS TILES FROM KUBADABAD PALACE

The patterned plaque tiles covering the walls of the Kubadabad Palace are in underglaze and lustre techniques. Squares and hexagons are also found, but the most common forms are eight-pointed and cross tiles. Cross tiles from these forms, which are parts of the same composition, constitute our study subject. Our aim is to dwell on the ornamental area designs in the cross tiles we mentioned and to make restitution proposals for some pieces, without going too much into the technical and ornamental features. The examples, most of which are in the underglaze technique, have the ornamental understanding of the Seljuk period, consisting of vegetative and geometric designs, figures, and inscriptions. There are diameters ranging from 17 cm to 27 cm in tiles, the most common being 23 cm. Although the eight-pointed stars are the first to draw attention in the stance of the geometrical arrangement on the wall, the cross tiles are also noteworthy with their unique space designs and, of course, their ornaments. According to the tiles found so far, ornamental area designs are divided into three groups. This grouping, which is determined according to the elongated arms of the cross tile and the division in the centre, shows that there is a certain design standard and provides us with important data for the restitution of the broken parts.