800 years old pattern from Mesopotamia
Graphics / relief / linoleum / pattern: A reconstruction of a 788 years old pattern.
Pattern from an archaeological find in Mesopotamia (currently Mosul, Iraq). Original dated ~1232 CE
Linoleum, puzzle technique. 2019-2020. 18x18cm
(two differently coloured prints)
Read on for info and process photos
Previous states / process
State 1: Pencil on paper. 2019. 18x18cm
The pattern was/is an ornament on a found object, unfortunately I do not recall which kind. I do not know the original size but my best guess is that this is at least 2-3 times the size of the original. While the object was found in Mosul it did not bear any stamp of origin, so the place of origin (as well as the inventor) is unknown.
State 2: drawing copied to linoleum board
First, I simply copied the drawing onto linoleum. The drawing is a pretty close copy of the original, only the size is bigger.
State 3: lino drawing erased, and grid lines added
Above, grid lines were added, after first erasing most of the copied pattern. You will see from the image that the copy does not follow the grid very well (click to enlarge). The grid is a line for each 7mm in four directions.
State 4: the re-constructed pattern emerges
So, here is the reason some lines in the original were not parallel: See the double lines? These are one line that follows the grid, and one line that follows the pattern (ie. connects the lines of the pattern irrespective of gridlines).
The master of the original solved the problem by slanting most lines so that the overall impression was one of relative harmony. And (s)he was very talented. An untrained eye would probably see the original as highly regular, which it isn't.
State 5: Half way carved lino block
The photo above reveals some information about the structure of the pattern, ie that it is in fact two identical meandering one-line patterns intertwined.