thumb|left|Tiled exterior of the Friday Mosque of Herat, Afghanistan The earliest grand Islamic buildings, like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, had interior walls decorated with mosaics in the Byzantine style, but without human figures. From the 9th century onwards the distinctive Islamic tradition of glazed and brightly coloured tiling for interior and exterior walls and domes developed. Some earlier schemes create designs using mixtures of tiles each of a single colour that are either cut to shape or are small and of a few shapes, used to create abstract geometric patterns. Later large painted schemes use tiles painted before firing with a part of the scheme – a technique requiring confidence in the consistent results of firing.
thumb|left|tiled exterior of the friday mosque of herat afghanistan the earliest grand islamic buildings like the dome of the rock in jerusalem had interior walls decorated with mosaics in the byzantine style but without human figures from the 9th century onwards the distinctive islamic tradition of glazed and brightly coloured tiling for interior and exterior walls and domes developed some earlier schemes create designs using mixtures of tiles each of a single colour that are either cut to shape or are small and of a few shapes used to create abstract geometric patterns later large painted schemes use tiles painted before firing with a part of the scheme – a technique requiring confidence in the consistent results of firing