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Multifoil arch in the Aljafería, Zaragoza, Spain. A multifoil arch (or polyfoil arch), also known as a cusped arch, [1] [2] polylobed arch, [3] [4] or scalloped arch, [5] is an arch characterized by multiple circular arcs or leaf shapes (called foils, lobes, or cusps) that are cut into its interior profile or intrados.
A foil is an architectural device based on a symmetrical rendering of leaf shapes, defined by overlapping circles of the same diameter that produce a series of cusps to make a lobe. Typically, the number of cusps can be three ( trefoil ), four ( quatrefoil ), five (cinquefoil [ 1 ] ), or a larger number (multifoil). [ 2 ]
A common feature in classical Indian architecture, most prominent in Rajasthan. [ citation needed ] It is supported on two or more brackets or corbelling , has two pillars or pilasters , balustrade and a cupola or pyramidal roof; technically closed by jali but generally partly open for the residents to peep out to see passing processions.
The architects of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, at the end of 10th century AD, broke the tradition by mixing horseshoe arches and multifoil arches at the Villaviciosa Chapel . [2] The creators of the Taifa mixtilinear arch took a hint from this arrangement (and the similar ones at Mosque of Cristo de la Luz), producing early designs at Aljaferia.
Adjacent on the southwest side of the main chamber and portico is a small annex. A square chamber at the entrance of this annex is surrounded on all four sides by pairs of intersecting multifoil arches, although the arches on the southwest side (looking towards the city and the sea) were created by Torres Balbás. [5]
The mihrab is preceded by a large multifoil arch and is decorated with carved stucco. Above it, the decorative plaster cupola is partly visible. (Photo circa 1860) The Great Mosque in Algiers (c. 1097), the Great Mosque of Tlemcen (1136) and al-Qarawiyyin (expanded in 1135) in Fez are important examples of Almoravid architecture. [14]
Perhaps the most characteristic arch type of Moroccan and western Islamic architecture generally is the so-called "Moorish" or "horseshoe" arch. This is an arch where the curves of the arch continue downward past the horizontal middle axis of the circle and begin to curve towards each other, rather than just being semi-circular (forming half a ...
Khurasani architecture (Late 7th–10th century) Razi Style (10th–13th century) Samanid Period (10th c.) Ghaznawid Period (11th c.) Saljuk Period (11th–12th c.) Mongol Period (13th c.) Timurid Style (14th–16th c.) Isfahani Style (17th–19th c.) Islamic (influenced) architecture in South Asia Indo-Islamic architecture (1204–1857)