These lustred tiles are a remarkable instance of tradition or hereditary proclivity. This art, beginning with the enamelled bricks of Babylon, and the later frieze of Susa, page 16, with its brilliant enamel and fine colour, was continued by the Persians, and, passing to the Arabs, the tradition was carried to Cairo, Spain and Majorca; thence into Italy, where enamelled lustred ware was made, differing from the original Persian by its frequent absence of utility, which was fundamental to the art of the Persians. Mahometan ornament has four broad divisions, viz.: Arabian, Moresque, Indian, and Persian; and they are characterised by strongly-marked compartments or fields which are filled with finer and more delicate enrichments. These compartments are most pronounced in the Moresque with its complex geometric interlacing and entire absence of natural forms (figs. 4, 6, 7, and 8, page 62). The Arabian style is somewhat similar, but less formal. The Indian has a conventional rendering of plants, and the introduction of the lion, tiger, and the elephant (fig. 2, plate 23); while in the Persian work there is a still less formal constructive arrangement, with floral forms clearly defined in line and mass, and the introduction of the human figure with the horse, the lion, the tiger and birds. Note the illustration in Textiles which is taken from a fine carpet in the South Kensington Museum. In this carpet, animal forms, chosen with rare selective power and judgment, are combined with the typical floral enrichment of Persia, with the wealth of colour, admirable spacing of detail and mass, beauty of incident and vigour, and appropriateness of treatment. These are features that distinguish the industrial designs of Persia, and it is doubtless due to the interest and vitality of their ornament that we owe the remarkable influence of Persian art upon the contemporary and latter craftsmanship of Europe. [Illustration: PERSIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 22. ] [Illustration: INDIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 23. ] INDIAN ORNAMENT.