multifoil arch

The first multifoil arches were developed by the Umayyads and can be found in a small mosque at Qasr al-Hallabat, one of the Umayyad Desert Castles, in present-day Jordan.Alexander Sarantis, Enrico Zanini, Luke Lavan. (2008). Technology in Transition A.D. 300-650, Brill, p. 513.Diana Darke. (2020). Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, Hurst, p. 166. The architects of this structure experimented with both hollow/concave lobes and protruding/convex lobes in the relieving arches above the doors.{{Cite book|last=Arce|first=Ignacio|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ij2wCQAAQBAJ&dq=polylobed+arch&pg=PA513|title=Technology in Transition A.D. 300-650|publisher=Brill|year=2008|isbn=978-90-474-3304-0|editor-last=Lavan|editor-first=Luke|pages=491–538|language=en|chapter=Umayyad Building Techniques and the Merging of Roman-Byzantine and Partho-Sassanian Traditions: Continuity and Change|editor-last2=Zanini|editor-first2=Enrico|editor-last3=Sarantis|editor-first3=Alexander}}{{Rp|page=513–514}} Multifoil arches also appear early on as decorative niches in the Qasr al-'Ashiq in Samarra, present-day Iraq, and in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt, both of which were built under Abbasid (and Tulunid) rule in the 9th century.{{Cite book|last=Petersen|first=Andrew|title=Dictionary of Islamic architecture|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|isbn=9781134613663|location=|pages=24–25|chapter=arch}}{{Cite book |last1=Ettinghausen |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PP1 |title=Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 |last2=Grabar |first2=Oleg |last3=Jenkins-Madina |first3=Marilyn |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780300088670 |edition=2nd}}{{Rp|page=87}} These examples have been used to support the hypothesis that multifoil arches originated in the Middle Eastern regions of the Islamic world, although Richard Ettinghausen, Oleg Grabar and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina have called this hypothesis into question.{{Rp|page=87–89}}{{Rp|page=513}}

Other early examples of multifoil arches are found in the Great Mosque of Cordoba in al-Andalus (present-day Spain), in particular the arches of the maqsura area added to the mosque in the 10th century by al-Hakam II.{{Rp|232–234}} Ettinghausen, Grabar, and Jenkins-Madina argue that the form of these arches probably developed locally in al-Andalus, noting that in Cordoba they occurred as structural elements while in the eastern Islamic world they occurred mostly as decorative elements.{{Rp|page=87–89}} Another scholar, Ignacio Arce, notes that Ettinghausen and Grabar did not take into account the earlier occurrences at the Qasr al-Hallabat mosque, where polylobed arches are used as structural elements.{{Rp|page=513–514}} Jonathan Bloom also argues that the intersecting cusped arches of the Great Mosque of Cordoba were a local development, likely the result of a deliberate elaboration from the older two-tiered round arches that were part of the mosque since its initial foundation in 785.{{Cite book|last=Bloom|first=Jonathan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ&dq=Architecture+of+the+Islamic+West%3A+North+Africa+and+the+Iberian+Peninsula%2C+700-1800&pg=PP1|title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2020|isbn=9780300218701|location=|pages=}}{{Rp|page=72}}

File:Qasr el-Hallabat mosque 0593.jpg|Polylobed arch (with convex or protruding lobes) at Qasr al-Hallabat, Jordan (7th–8th century)

File:قصر العاشق 02.JPG|Decorative niches with polylobed arches at Qasr al-'Ashiq in Samarra, Iraq (9th century)

File:WLM14ES - 17102009 182510 CRDB 1648 - .jpg|Intersecting multifoil arches in the Great Mosque (present-day cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (10th century)

The typical multifoil arches that appear in later buildings of Al-Andalus and North Africa also have precedents in Fatimid architecture in Ifriqiya and Egypt, for example at Bab Zuweila (dated to 1091). Georges Marçais argued that both the Great Mosque of Cordoba and Fatimid architecture in Ifriqiya were probably the most relevant precedents which led to the adoption and development of multifoil arches in the western regions of the Islamic world.{{Rp|232–234}} Multifoil arches appear prominently in the 11th-century Aljaferia palace of the Taifas period in al-Andalus. In the Almoravid and Almohad periods (11th–13th centuries), this type of arch was further refined for decorative functions while horseshoe arches continued to be standard elsewhere.{{Cite book|last=Marçais|first=Georges|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|location=Paris}}{{Rp|232–234}} They appear, for example, in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen (in present-day Algeria) and the Mosque of Tinmal (present-day Morocco).{{Rp|232}} The motif of intersecting multifoil arches also gave rise to the sebka motif which is frequently employed in the art and architecture of the region.{{Rp|257–258}} In Egypt, the cusped trefoil or trilobed arch became a characteristic decorative feature of portals in late Fatimid architecture and Mamluk architecture (from approximately the 12th to 16th centuries).{{Cite book|last=Graves|first=Margaret S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWBmDwAAQBAJ&dq=polylobed+arch+fatimid&pg=PA191|title=Arts of Allusion: Object, Ornament, and Architecture in Medieval Islam|date=2018-07-31|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-069592-7|language=en}}{{Rp|page=191}}{{Cite book|last=Behrens-Abouseif|first=Doris|title=Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|year=2007|isbn=9789774160776}}{{Rp|page=89}}

File:Alcazaba of Málaga, July 2017-17.jpg|Interlacing multifoil arches at the Alcazaba of Malaga in Spain (11th century)

File:Bab Zuweila 2019-11-02q.JPG|Blind polylobed arch at the Fatimid gate of Bab Zuweila, Cairo, Egypt (1087–1092){{Cite web |title=Qantara - Gates of Bāb al-Nasr, Bāb al-Futūh, and Bāb al-Zuwayla |url=https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=1078&lang=en |access-date=2021-11-19 |website=www.qantara-med.org}}

File:Grande mosquée et dépendance Minaret de la Mosquée 021.jpg|Multifoil arch in front of the mihrab in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen (11th-12th centuries)

File:Koutoubia minaret east side top tier.jpg|Blind interlacing multifoil arches on the Almohad minaret of the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco (12th century)

File:Arquitectura árabe en jardines Reales Alcázares Sevilla.jpg|Multifoil arches in the Mudéjar Patio de las Doncellas at the Alcazar of Seville in Spain (14th century)

File:Khanqah-Mausoleum of Barsbay portal DSCF0414.jpg|Trilobed (trefoil) arch in the entrance of the Mamluk-era Khanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay in Cairo (completed in 1432)

The cusped arch is attested in Hindu temple architecture such as the trilobed or trefoil arches of the Martand Temple (8th century) and the temple of Pandrethan (10th century), both in Kashmir,{{Cite book |last=Manchanda |first=Bindu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12KdMcYlCcwC&dq=indian+temple+architecture+cusped+arches&pg=PA19 |title=Forts & Palaces of India: Sentinels of History |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-7436-381-7 |language=en}} as well as at the temple of Malot (10th century) in northern Punjab.{{Cite book |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1N95DwAAQBAJ |title=Temples of the Indus: Studies in the Hindu Architecture of Ancient Pakistan |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |isbn=978-90-04-19011-5 |language=en}}{{Rp|page=58}} The example at the Martand Temple is made with a corbelled stone construction.{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajgImLs62gwC&dq=trilobed+arch+hindu+architecture&pg=PA127 |title=The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-226-53230-1 |pages=127 |language=en}} This use of a trefoil arch, typically inside a triangular pediment on the façade of temples, was a characteristic feature of Hindu architecture in Kashmir and the western Himalayan region during this time.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Percy |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.8666/page/n3/mode/2up |title=Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Period) |publisher=D.B. Taraporevala |year=1959 |isbn=978-1-4474-9857-5 |location=Mumbai |pages=157 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Handa |first1=Om Chanda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KmaKomlI-UC&dq=indian+temple+architecture+trefoil+arches&pg=PA102 |title=Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples |last2=Hāṇḍā |first2=Omacanda |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-81-7387-115-3 |pages=102 |language=en}} Some of the earliest trefoil-arched entrances in this tradition are attested in temples at Bilot and Mari-Indus, dated by Michael W. Meister to the late 6th or early 7th century and the 8th century, respectively.{{Rp|pages=31, 36–37}} Over the 9th and 10th centuries this style evolved further and sometimes incorporated five-lobed (or cinquefoil) arches, as exemplified in the Amb temples dated to this period.{{Rp|pages=|page=31}} The most important contribution of Indo-Islamic architecture to this region was the introduction the "true" arch during the Delhi Sultanate period,{{efn|The construction technique of a true arch was known in India prior to this but its use was very limited{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Aniruddha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNSNDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22true+arch%22+india&pg=PT264 |title=The Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1526): Polity, Economy, Society and Culture |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-000-00729-9 |pages=385–386 |language=en}} and was attested in isolated examples.{{Cite book |last=Loofs-Wissowa |first=Helmut |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lon7gmj040MC&dq=true+arch+indian+architecture&pg=PA246 |title=Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=1986 |isbn=978-9971-988-39-5 |editor-last=Marr |editor-first=David G. |pages=246 |language=en |chapter=The True and the Corbel Arch in Mainland Southeast Asian Monumental Architecture |editor-last2=Milner |editor-first2=Anthony Crothers}}}} which progressively replaced the trabeate or corbel arch.{{Cite book |last=Liddle |first=Swapna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rFqDwAAQBAJ |title=Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-429-80285-0 |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Himanshu Prabha |pages=158, 161 |language=en |chapter=The Qutub Minar and the village of Mehrauli: Multiple meanings in monuments |author-link=Swapna Liddle}} After this, multifoil arches later became a characteristic feature of Mughal architecture during the 17th century,{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages= |chapter=Architecture; VII. c. 1500–c. 1900; D. India |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}{{Cite book |last1=Dadlani |first1=Chanchal |title=A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture |last2=Sharma |first2=Yuthika |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2017 |isbn=9781119068662 |editor-last=Flood |editor-first=Finbarr Barry |pages=1062 |chapter=Beyond the Taj Mahal: Late Mughal Visual Culture |editor-last2=Necipoğlu |editor-first2=Gülru |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YgpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1}}{{Cite book |last=Nath |first=R. |title=Encyclopedia of India: Vol. 3 |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-684-31352-8 |editor-last=Wolpert |editor-first=Stanley A. |pages=156–165 |language=en |chapter=Monuments: Mughal}} particularly during the reign of Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658).{{Cite book |last=Parihar |first=Subhash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hlxZfrFPEoC&dq=cusped+arches+architecture+shah+jahan&pg=PA92 |title=Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1999 |isbn=978-81-7017-381-6 |pages=92 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Chaitanya |first=Krishna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EGUpX1O0hoC&dq=scalloped+arches+ancient+indian+architecture&pg=PA16 |title=Arts of India |date=1987 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-209-3 |language=en}} It was also characteristic of Rajput architecture, which developed in close relation with Mughal architecture during the Mughal era.{{Cite book |last=Dadlani |first=Chanchal |title=Histories of Ornament: From Global to Local |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-691-16728-2 |editor-last=Necipoğlu |editor-first=Gülru |pages=185 |language=en |chapter=Innovation, Appropriation, and Representation: Mughal Architectural Ornament in the Eighteenth Century |editor-last2=Payne |editor-first2=Alina |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nACCwAAQBAJ&dq=rajput+architecture+cusped+arches&pg=PA185}}

File:Martand Sun Temple Central shrine (6134368088).jpg|Ruins of Martand Sun Temple, India with a multifoil arched gateway, finished between 625-885 A.D under the Karkota empire.{{Cite journal |last=Lone |first=Shabir Ahmad |date=2022-05-26 |title=Art and Architecture of Ancient Kashmir During Karkota Dynasty with Special Reference to Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-761 A.D) |url=http://journal.hmjournals.com/index.php/JPPS/article/view/1078 |journal=Journal of Psychology and Political Science |language=en |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=11–20 |issn=2799-1024}}

File:AMB Temples, three temples inside fort big temple side view.jpg|alt=Multifoil arch at the Amb temple complex, Pakistan. An example from the Hindu Shahis period, dated between 800-950 AD.|Multifoil arch at Amb temple complex, Pakistan. An example from the Hindu Shahis period, dated between 800-950 AD.{{Cite journal |last=Talbot |first=W. S. |date=April 1903 |title=Art. XII.—An Ancient Hindu Temple in the Punjāb |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/abs/art-xiian-ancient-hindu-temple-in-the-punjab/9DE37915411750A9EB6515CFCF4431D8 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=335–338 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00030379 |s2cid=164193218 |issn=2051-2066}}

File:Malot temple 9.jpg|Trefoil arches crowning blind niches on Malot Temple, Pakistan, built around 980 AD.{{Cite journal |last=Zeeshan |first=Mahwish |date=2015 |title=Masonry art: Preservation of archeological sites in Chakwal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354450710 |journal=The Explorer Islamabad: Journal of Social Sciences |volume=1 |issue=7 |pages=251–254}}

File:Khas-Mahal.jpg|alt=Multifoil arches in Agra Fort, India, commissioned in 1565. An example of Mughal architecture.|Multifoil arches in Agra Fort, India, begun in 1565. An example of Mughal architecture.{{Cite web |title=Incredible India {{!}} Agra Fort |url=https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/agra/agra-fort.html |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=www.incredibleindia.org}}

File:Jaali eyes.jpg|alt=Multifoil arches with jali at Amber fort, India, commissioned in 1592. An example of Rajput architecture.|Multifoil arches with jali at Amber fort, India. An example of Rajput architecture, commissioned in 1592.{{Cite web |title=Incredible India {{!}} Amber Fort |url=https://incredibleindia.org/content/incredible-india-v2/en/destinations/jaipur/amber-fort.html#:~:text=Commissioned%20in%201592%20by%20Maharaja,temples%20and%20several%20ornate%20gates. |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=incredibleindia.org}}

File:Lotus Mahal (20010032278).jpg|Multifoil arches inside Lotus Mahal, Hampi, India. An example of Vijayanagara architecture from the 16th century.{{Cite web |last1=World |first1=Veena |date=2021-04-01 |title=Lotus Mahal: An Architecture Highlight of Hampi {{!}} Veena World |url=https://www.veenaworld.com/blog/lotus-mahal-an-architecture-highlight-of-hampi |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Veena World Blog |language=en-US}}

File:Diwan-e-aam.JPG|alt=Multifoil arches with parchinkari in Diwan-i-Am, Red Fort, India, built between 1631-1640. An example of Mughal architecture.|Multifoil arches with parchinkari in Diwan-i-Am, Red Fort, India. An example of Mughal architecture, built between 1631-40.{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Colin |title=[Interior of the Diwan-i-Am, Fort, Agra.] |url=https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/other/019pho0000050s2u00025000.html#:~:text=The%20Diwan-i-Am%20or,an%20elegant%20and%20harmonious%20appearance. |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=www.bl.uk}}

File:SE Gate, Pritam Niwas Chowk, City Palace Jaipur.jpg|Multifoil arch with mural on lotus gate, City Palace, Jaipur, India. An example of Rajput architecture, built between 1727-32.{{Cite web |last=Pote |first=Shareen |date=2013-11-02 |title=10 Interesting Facts About City Palace Jaipur |url=https://remotetraveler.com/city-palace-jaipur/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Remote Traveler |language=en-US}}

File:Jaisalmer, India, Jaisalmer Fort, Haveli art.jpg|alt=Multifoil arches on Nathmal Ki Haveli in Jaisalmer, India, an example of Rajput architecture, built in the 19th century|Multifoil arches with intricate arabesque on Nathmal Ki Haveli in Jaisalmer, India. An example of Rajput architecture, built in the 19th century.{{Cite book |last=Manchanda |first=Bindu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzxuAAAAMAAJ&q=Nathmal+Ki+Jaisalmer+19th+century |title=Jaisalmer: The City of Golden Sands and Strange Spirits |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers India |year=2001 |isbn=978-81-7223-434-8 |pages=81 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Incredible India {{!}} Nathmal Ki Haveli |url=https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/jaisalmer/nathmal-ki-haveli.html |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=www.incredibleindia.org}}

In the architecture of Christian Europe, multifoil arches appear occasionally in Romanesque architecture, with some early examples in France such as the chapel of Saint-Michel-d’Aiguilhe in Le Puy-en-Velay, France (10th–11th century) and the Abbey of Cluny (circa 1100).{{Cite book|last1=Giese|first1=Francine|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLMlEAAAQBAJ&dq=polylobed+arch&pg=PA272|title=Mudejarismo and Moorish Revival in Europe: Cultural Negotiations and Artistic Translations in the Middle Ages and 19th-century Historicism|last2=Keller|first2=Sarah|publisher=Brill|year=2021|isbn=978-90-04-44858-2|editor-last=Giese|editor-first=Francine|pages=269–279|language=en|chapter=The Limits of Otherness: Decoding the Entangled Heritage of Medieval Iberia}}{{Rp|page=272}} In the Christian territories of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain), the earliest examples are from the early 12th century and found in the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro in Léon and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.{{Rp|page=272}} These early Iberian examples were highly similar to the multifoil arches of contemporary Islamic/Moorish architecture in al-Andalus and were probably directly appropriated from the latter.{{Cite book|last=Martin|first=Therese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQX1DwAAQBAJ&dq=polylobed+arch&pg=PA106|title=Queen as King: Politics and Architectural Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain|publisher=Brill|year=2006|isbn=978-90-474-1851-1|language=en}}{{Rp|pages=105–107}}{{Rp|page=272}} Scholars Francine Giese and Sarah Keller argue that this initial appropriation from Muslim architecture was likely intended to express a sense of triumph and superiority over Islamic al-Andalus at the time, but that over the course of the 12th century the motif became acculturated to Romanesque art and then developed independently from al-Andalus in both Christian Iberia and France.{{Rp|page=272}} As a result, multifoil arches became more common and developed multiple variations in the Romanesque architecture of these regions during the later 12th century.{{Rp|pages=105–107}}{{Rp|page=272}} In Toledo, after its conquest by Castile in 1085, the new churches and synagogues which were built in the 12th century and after were designed in a Mudéjar style that frequently incorporated polylobed arches as part of its visual repertoire.{{Rp|page=273}} The Cathedral of Toledo, whose construction began in the 13th century, was built primarily in a Gothic style but also incorporates polylobed arches (most notably in the triforium of the ambulatory), suggesting that this motif had by then become thoroughly assimilated to local Christian architecture. Multifoil arches, particularly trefoil arches, became common in Gothic architecture for portals and decoration throughout Europe.{{Cite book|last=Hourihane|first=Colum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&dq=trefoil+arch+gothic+architecture&pg=PA132|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-539536-5|volume=2|language=en}} Cusped forms (not necessarily as arches) were also common to form the motifs used in Gothic tracery.

File:Le Puy - St Michel d'Aiguilhe.jpg|Blind polylobed arch above the door of the Romanesque chapel of Saint-Michel-d’Aiguilhe in Le Puy-en-Velay, France (10th–11th century)

File:León - Basílica de San Isidoro 54.jpg|Multifoil arch in the Church of San Isidoro in Léon, Spain (early 13th century)

File:Tolède - clocher de Santo Tomé.JPG|Multifoil arch decoration on the Mudéjar bell tower of the Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo, Spain (14th century)

File:Batalha-Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria-214-Unvollendete Kapellen-Portal-2011-gje.jpg|Decorated multifoil/trefoil portal in the Capelas Imperfeitas of the Batalha Monastery, Portugal (circa 1435)

• Lambrequin arch
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