Horseshoe arch explained

The horseshoe arch (;), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the arch's full span.^{[1] [2] [3]} Evidence for the earliest uses of this form are found in Late Antique and Sasanian architecture, but it became emblematic of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. It also made later appearances in Moorish Revival and Art Nouveau styles. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form.

History

Origins and early uses

The origins of the horseshoe arch are controversial.^[4] It appeared in pre-Islamic Sasanian architecture such as the Taq-i Kasra in present-day Iraq and the Palace of Ardashir in southwestern Iran (3rd century CE).^{[5] [6]} It also appeared in Late Roman or Byzantine architecture, as well as in Roman Spain. In Byzantine Syria, the form was used in the Baptistery of Saint Jacob at Nusaybin (4th century CE)^[7] and in Qasr Ibn Wardan (564 CE).^[8]

Another possible origin of the horseshoe arch motif is India, where rock-cut temples with horseshoe arches are attested at an early period, though these were sculpted into rock rather than constructed. For example, horseshoe arch shapes are found in parts of the Ajanta Caves and Karla Caves dating from around the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE.^[9]

Horseshoe arches made of baked brick have been found in the so-called Tomb of the Brick Arches in Aksum (present-day Ethiopia), built during the Kingdom of Aksum and tentatively dated to the 4th century CE.^{[10] [11]} In a 1991 publication, archeologist Stuart C. Munro-Hay suggests that these could be evidence that transmission of architectural ideas took place via routes not previously considered by scholars. He suggests that the brick-built horseshoe arches could have been an Aksumite innovation based on ideas transmitted via trade with India.

Further evidence of their use is also found in early Christian architecture in Byzantine Anatolia and became characteristic of Christian architecture in Cappadocia,^{[12] [13] [14]} though the origins of this regional feature are sometimes debated. An early example of its use in Anatolia is found at the Alahan Monastery in present-day southern Turkey, dating most likely from the 5th century CE.^[15] In Visigothic Spain, horseshoe arches are found, for example, in of the Church of Santa Eulalia de Boveda near Lugo and the Church of Santa Maria de Melque near Toledo.^[16] Some tombstones from that period have been found in the north of Spain with horseshoe arches in them, eliciting speculation about a pre-Roman local Celtic tradition.^[17] In early Islamic architecture, some horseshoe arches appeared in Umayyad architecture of the 7th to 8th centuries. They are found in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, though their horseshoe shape is not very pronounced.^{[18] [19]} They are also found in the Umayyad Palace at the Amman Citadel in present-day Jordan.

According to Giovanni Teresio Rivoira, an archeologist writing in the early 20th century, the pointed variant of the horseshoe arch is of Islamic origin.^[20] According to Rivoira, this type of arch was first used in the Ibn Tulun Mosque, completed in 879.^[21] Wijdan Ali also describes this as the first systematic use of the pointed variant.^[22] Horseshoe arches of a slightly pointed form were also used in Aghlabid architecture of the 9th century, including the Great Mosque of Kairouan (circa 836) and the Mosque of Ibn Khayrun (866).^[23]

Development in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb

It was in Al-Andalus (on the Iberian Peninsula) and western North Africa (the Maghreb) that horseshoe arches developed their characteristic form. Prior to the Muslim invasion of Spain, the Visigoths of the Iberian Peninsula used them in their architecture.^{[24] [25] [26]} Although it is possible that Andalusi architecture borrowed the horseshoe arch from Umayyad Syria, these local precedents make it just as likely that it developed locally instead. The "Moorish" arch, however, was of a slightly different and more sophisticated form than the Visigothic arch, being less flat and more circular.^{[27] [28]} The Umayyads of Al-Andalus, starting with the Emirate period, used horseshoe arches prominently and ubiquitously, often enclosing them in an alfiz (rectangular frame) to accentuate the effect of its shape. This can be seen at a large scale in their major work, the Great Mosque of Córdoba.^[29] Its most distinctive form, however, was consolidated in the 10th-century during the Caliphal period, as seen at Madinat al-Zahra, where the arches consist of about three quarters of a circle and are framed in an alfiz.^[30] The Córdoban style of horseshoe arch spread all over the Caliphate and adjacent areas, and was adopted by the successor Muslim emirates of the peninsula, the taifas, as well as by the architecture of the Maghreb under subsequent dynasties. Its use remained especially consistent in the form of mosque mihrabs.

In the northern Iberian Peninsula, where Asturias and other Christian kingdoms ruled, the use of horseshoe arches continued under the influence of previous Visigothic architecture and of contemporary Islamic architecture. The addition of an alfiz around horseshoe arches was one detail more specifically borrowed from Islamic styles. Starting in the 9th century, some Mozarabs (Christians living under Muslim rule) left al-Andalus and settled in the northern Christian territories, where they contributed to popularizing this form locally, as exemplified by San Miguel de Escalada (10th century).^{[31] [32] [33]} The Mozarabs also incorporated horseshoe arches into their art, such as in illuminated manuscripts.^{[34] [35]}

Under the Almoravids (11th-12th centuries), the first pointed horseshoe arches began to appear in the region and then became more widespread during the Almohad period (12th-13th centuries). This pointed horseshoe arch is likely of North African origin. Art historian Georges Marçais attributed it in particular to Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia), where it was present in earlier Aghlabid and Fatimid architecture.

As Muslim rule retreated in Al-Andalus, the Mudéjar style, which developed from the 12th to the 16th centuries under Spanish Christian rule, continued the tradition of horseshoe arches in the Iberian Peninsula.^[36] Horseshoe arches also continued to be used in the Maghreb, in the architecture of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.^[37]

Use in other parts of the Islamic world

Horseshoe arches were also common in Ghurid and Ghaznavid architecture (11th-13th centuries) in Central Asia, though in this region they had sharp pointed apexes, in contrast with those of the western Islamic world. Sometimes they were cusped or given multifoil flourishes.^[38] Around the same time or not long afterward, they begin to appear as far east as India, in Indo-Islamic architecture, such as in the Alai Darwaza gatehouse (dating from 1311) at the Qutb Complex in Delhi,^[39] though they were not a consistent feature in India.

Some pointed arches with a slightly horseshoe shape appear in Ayyubid architecture in Syria.^[40] It appears, exceptionally, in some instances of Mamluk architecture. For example, it appears in some details of the Sultan Qalawun Complex in Cairo, built in 1285.^[41] Andalusi-style horseshoe arches are also found alongside the minaret of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, probably dating from 13th-century renovations ordered by Sultan Lajin to the older 9th-century mosque.^[42]

Use in Moorish revival architecture

In addition to their use across the Islamic world, horseshoe arches became popular in Western countries in Moorish Revival architecture, which became fashionable in the 19th century. They were widely used in Moorish Revival synagogues.^{[43] [44]} They were employed in the Neo-Mudéjar style in Spain, another type of Moorish Revival style.^[45] They are used in some forms of Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture, a 19th-century style associated with the British Raj.

Use in Art Nouveau

Exaggerated horseshoe arches were also popular in some forms of Art Nouveau architecture, notably in Brussels.^[46] Among other examples, this can be seen on the street façade of the Cauchie House.^[47]

Notes and References

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4. Book: Arce, Ignacio . https://books.google.com/books?id=LAgxAJNXhFwC&dq=amman+citadel+horseshoe+arch&pg=PA514 . Technology in Transition: A.D. 300-650 . Brill . 2007 . 978-90-04-16549-6 . Lavan . Luke . 514–515 . en . Umayyad Building Techniques and the Merging of Roman-Byzantine and Partho-Sassanian Traditions: Continuity and Change . Zanini . Enrico . Sarantis . Alexander Constantine.
5. Book: Culture, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and . Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal Civilisation: Islamic Contributions . O.I.C. Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) . 2005 . 978-92-9063-144-6 . 256 . en.
6. Book: Ball . Warwick . Archaeology of Afghanistan: From Earliest Times to the Timurid Period: New Edition . Fischer . Klaus . Edinburgh University Press . 2019 . 978-1-4744-5046-1 . Allchin . Raymond . 508 . en . From the Rise of Islam to the Mongol Invasion . Hammond . Norman . https://books.google.com/books?id=FHsxEAAAQBAJ&dq=Palace+Ardashir+horseshoe+arch&pg=PA508.
7. Andrew Petersen: "Dictionary of Islamic Architecture", Routledge, 1999,, p. 24
8. Draper. Peter. 2005. Islam and the West: The Early Use of the Pointed Arch Revisited . 40033831 . Architectural History. 48. 1–20. 10.1017/S0066622X00003701. 194947480.
9. Book: Allen, Margaret Prosser . Ornament in Indian Architecture . University of Delaware Press . 1991 . 978-0-87413-399-8 . 63–66 . en.
10. Book: Munro-Hay, Stuart C. . Aksum: an African civilisation of late antiquity . Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press . Internet Archive . 1991 . 978-0-7486-0106-6 . 127–130 . en.
11. Book: Weber, Elizabeth Dolly . Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places . Lamontagne . Manon . 2014-03-05 . Routledge . 978-1-134-25986-1 . Ring . Trudy . 35 . en . Aksum . Watson . Noelle . Schellinger . Paul.
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14. Book: Niewöhner, Philipp . https://books.google.com/books?id=lhxpCgAAQBAJ&dq=horseshoe+arch+cappadocia+islamic&pg=PA34 . The Emperor's House: Palaces from Augustus to the Age of Absolutism . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG . 2015 . 978-3-11-033176-9 . Featherstone . Michael . 31–34 . en . The late Late Antique origins of Byzantine palace architecture . Spieser . Jean-Michel . Tanman . Gülru . Wulf-Rheidt . Ulrike.
15. Book: Alahan: an early Christian monastery in southern Turkey . Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies . 1985 . 978-0-88844-073-0 . Gough . Mary . Toronto . 21 . en.
16. Book: Collins, Roger . Spain: An Oxford Archaeological Guide . Oxford University Press . 1998 . 978-0-19-285300-4 . 242 . en.
17. Web site: Hallan una estela discoidea con arcos de herradura en las murallas de León . 21 April 2018 . www.soitu.es.
18. Book: Darke, Diana . Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe . Oxford University Press . 2020 . 978-1-78738-305-0 . 129, 166–167 . en.
19. Book: Ali, Wijdan . The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art: From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries . American Univ in Cairo Press . 1999 . 978-977-424-476-6 . 35 . en.
20. Book: Ragette, Friedrich . Architecture in Lebanon: The Lebanese House During the 18th and 19th Centuries . 1974 . American University of Beirut . 978-0-8156-6044-6 . 176 . en.
21. Book: Swelim, Tarek . Ibn Tulun: His Lost City and Great Mosque . The American University in Cairo Press . 2015 . 65 . en.
22. Book: Ali, Wijdan . The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art: From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries . American University in Cairo Press . 1999 . 978-977-424-476-6 . 62 . en.
23. Web site: Qantara - Mosque of the Three Doors . 2022-03-20 . www.qantara-med.org.
24. Book: Dodds, Jerrilynn Denise . Architecture and Ideology in Early Medieval Spain . Penn State Press . 1990 . 978-0-271-00671-0 . en.
25. Book: Marçais, Georges . L'architecture musulmane d'Occident . Arts et métiers graphiques . 1954 . Paris . 163–164.
26. Book: Barrucand . Marianne . Moorish architecture in Andalusia . Bednorz . Achim . Taschen . 1992 . 3822876348 . 43.
27. Book: Marçais, Georges . L'architecture musulmane d'Occident . Arts et métiers graphiques . 1954 . Paris.
28. Book: Barrucand . Marianne . Moorish architecture in Andalusia . Bednorz . Achim . Taschen . 1992 . 3822876348.
29. Web site: Arch . ArchNet — Digital Library — Dictionary of Islamic Architecture . 2008-10-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110525061153/http://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0025&mode=full . 2011-05-25 .
30. Book: Bloom, Jonathan M. . Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800 . Yale University Press . 2020 . 9780300218701 . 57.
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33. Book: Dodds, Jerrilynn Denise . Architecture and Ideology in Early Medieval Spain . 1990 . Penn State Press . 978-0-271-00671-0 . 48 . en.
34. Book: Qôǧman-Appel, Qaṭrîn . Jewish Book Art Between Islam and Christianity: The Decoration of Hebrew Bibles in Medieval Spain . Brill . 2004 . 978-90-04-13789-9 . 118 . en.
35. Book: Gómez, Margarita López . https://books.google.com/books?id=d_1TEAAAQBAJ&dq=horseshoe+arch+mozarabic+manuscripts&pg=PA172 . The Legacy of Muslim Spain . Brill . 2021 . 978-90-04-50259-8 . Jayyusi . Salma Khadra . 172 . en . The Mozarabs: Worthy Bearers of Islamic Culture.
36. Book: The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 9780195309911 . M. Bloom . Jonathan . Mudéjar . S. Blair . Sheila.
37. Book: Bloom, Jonathan M. . Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800 . Yale University Press . 2020 . 9780300218701 .
38. Book: The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 9780195309911 . M. Bloom . Jonathan . Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; A. Eastern Islamic lands.; 3. Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, c. 1050–c. 1250. . S. Blair . Sheila.
39. Book: The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 9780195309911 . M. Bloom . Jonathan . Delhi . S. Blair . Sheila.
40. Book: The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 9780195309911 . M. Bloom . Jonathan . Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; B. Central Islamic lands.; 5. Syria, the Jazira and Iraq. . S. Blair . Sheila.
41. Book: The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 9780195309911 . M. Bloom . Jonathan . Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; C. Central Islamic lands.; 1. Egypt and Syria. . S. Blair . Sheila.
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43. Book: Raphael, Marc Lee . The Synagogue in America: A Short History . NYU Press . 2011 . 978-0-8147-7582-0 . 73 . en.
44. Book: Wolfe, Gerard R. . The Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side:: A Retrospective and Contemporary View, 2nd Edition . Fordham Univ Press . 2013 . 978-0-8232-5000-4 . 9 . en.
45. Book: Anderson, Anne . Art Nouveau Architecture . The Crowood Press . 2020 . 978-1-78500-768-2 . en.
46. Book: Dubois, Cécile. 2018. Brussels Art Nouveau. Brussels. Lannoo. 978-2-39025-045-6. 50–51.
47. Book: Warren, Richard . Art Nouveau and the Classical Tradition . Bloomsbury Publishing . 2017 . 978-1-4742-9856-8 . 33–34 . en.