Cosmati Tile Patterns
From Prep08Wiki
Objective: To practice identifying symmetries in wallpaper patterns and classifying the patterns, in the context of the tile patterns laid by the Cosmati family in medieval Rome.
Examples of Cosmati Tile Patterns
The Cosmati were a family of artisans in Medieval Rome who laid beautiful tile floors throughout the city, notably in many of the churches of the period. The examples below are pictures taken at Santa Maria in Cosmedin by Blake Mellor.
 Pattern A |
 Pattern B |
 Pattern C |
 Pattern D |
 Pattern E |
 Pattern F |
 Pattern G |
 Pattern H |
Questions
For Questions 1-5, ignore the colors of the tiles, and just consider the shapes of the tiles themselves. Each pattern should be viewed as part of a tesselation of the plane.
1. What is the largest-order rotation symmetry in each pattern?
2. Which patterns have reflection symmetries?
3. Which patterns have glide reflection symmetries (which are not a composition of a translation symmetry and a reflection symmetry)?
4. Three of the patterns have the same symmetry type. Which three?
5. Use the Wallpaper Patterns Flowchart to find the symmetry type of each pattern.
6. Will any of your answers change if you DO consider the colors of the tiles?
Handin: Answers to all questions.
