Two mathematical sources, On the Geometric Constructions Necessary for the Artisan, by Abu’l-Wafa’ (ca. 940–998 CE), and the anonymous work, On Interlocks of Similar or Corresponding Figures (ca. 1300 CE), provide us with insight into the collaboration between mathematicians and artisans in the Islamic world. In this paper (published in 2000), Alpay Ozdural presents a series of quotations from these two sources, which show that mathematicians taught geometry to artisans by means of cut-and-paste methods and geometrical ﬁgures that had the potential of being used for ornamental purposes.
Read More: Mathematics and Arts, by Alpay Ozdural