Evaluating Tiling Restoration Practices: A Critical Analysis Informed by Theory and Six Case Studies

Statement of the problem: Tile decorations are among the most important and common architectural elements in the Islamic era. Tilework flourished from the 14th century onwards. Notably, despite the introduction of Western decorative elements in Iranian art and architecture during the Qajar era, tilework remained widely used, demonstrating its special status. Given this significance, the conservation and restoration of such architectural decorative elements should be a high priority. However, a comprehensive set of guidelines for tilework conservation and restoration remains absent.Consequently, diverse approaches have been employed in tilework restoration projects. These approaches have sometimes led to serious errors, including misinterpreting context and design neglecting the color quality, symmetry as well as proportions and other aspects has led to grave mistakes. Aiming to understand the evolution of different tilework restoration approaches, this study critically reviews past restoration cases. It explores how traditional restoration approaches were implemented and what advantages current practices offer to avoid past mistakes.  This study focuses on the restoration of tilework in five diverse monuments with four different functions. The restoration activities undertaken are critically analyzed to reveal the architectural nature of the examined monuments.This research utilizes a qualitative-analytic methodology, with data collected through field studies and library resources. The study adopts a functional objective, and the results indicate that the primary factors leading to improper restoration include the lack of a formalized restoration guide, the neglect of conservation, restoration and aesthetics, ,inattention to vernacular culture as well as lack of appropriate understanding of the monuments by the restoration expert.