LAHORE: An exhibition titled The Art of Azulejo featuring tiles from Portugal concluded here on Thursday at a ceremony held at The City School DHA Campus. The closing ceremony was attended by Police Department DIG Shahid Hanif and Ziaul Obaid from the Armed Corp, Brigadier Zainul Abideen from Signal HQ 4 Corp, Brigadier Shahab Aslam and Sumaira Malik, the DHA public relations director. The three-week long exhibition featured 20 illustrations of Portuguese Tiles donated by the Portuguese Embassy. Addressing the ceremony, The City School regional director Iram Yousuf said azulejo, or glazed tiles, epitomised Portuguese decorative arts. “Portuguese had discovered geometric tile patterns 500 years ago when the Arabs conquered the Iberian Peninsula. The Portuguese then developed a unique style of recording historical events as pictures on tiles,” he said. Irum added the rich cultural heritage of Portuguese tile art had spread into the Subcontinent from Goa. Its influence could be seen in buildings across Sindh and southern Punjab. The City School regional director said decorative blue tiles, both plain and patterned, were a distinctive feature of Multan’s various shrines, tombs and mosques. It had been used in the mausoleum of Bahaud Din Zakariya, the tomb of Shah Rukhn-e-Alam, and the Eid Gah mosque. The blue tiles were attributed to Kashi and influences from China. Published in Daily Times, December 8th 2017.