The lambrequin arch,[1][2][3][4] also known as (or related to) the muqarnas arch,[5][4] is a type of
arch with an ornate profile of lobes and points. It is especially characteristic of
Moorish and
Moroccan architecture.
The "muqarnas arch" is both another name for this type of arch as well as a more specific type of arch whose
intrados (inner surfaces) are made up of muqarnas sculpting, which has a very close resemblance to the lambrequin arch.[4] Some scholars speculate that the lambrequin arch was itself derived from the use of muqarnas in archways.[6]: 232 [3]: 123 Moreover, lambrequin arches were indeed commonly used with muqarnas sculpting along the intrados of the arch.[6][7][1] Its origins are also traced further back to the "mixtilinear" arches seen in the oratory of the 11th-century
Aljaferia Palace in
Zaragoza.[4]
This type of arch was introduced into the
Maghreb and
Al-Andalus regions during the
Almoravid period (11th-12th centuries), with an early appearance in the funerary section of the
Qarawiyyin Mosque (in
Fez) dating from the early 12th century.[6]: 232 It was a Maghrebi innovation that grew in importance during the following
Almohad period.[3]: 123 It remained common in the subsequent architecture of the region, in many cases used to highlight the arches near the mihrab area of a mosque.[6][8][9][3] Muqarnas arches are also found abundantly the
Alhambra palaces in
Granada, for example, particularly the
Court of Lions.[4]
Example of more primitive "mixtilinear" arches (left and center) in the
Aljaferia of
Zaragoza (11th century)
^
abParker, Richard (1981). A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco. Charlottesville, VA: The Baraka Press.
^Erzini, Nadia (2006). "The Survival of Textile Manufacture in Morocco in the Nineteenth Century". In Behrens-Abouseif, Doris; Vernoit, Stephen (eds.). Islamic Art in the 19th Century: Tradition, Innovation, And Eclecticism. Brille. p. 176.
ISBN9789004144422.
^
abcdBloom, Jonathan M. (2020). Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800. Yale University Press.
ISBN9780300218701.
^
abcdeDe Montéquin, François-Auguste (1991). "Arches in the Architecture of Muslim Spain: Typology and Evolution". Islamic Studies. 30 (1/2): 67–82 – via JSTOR.
^Ragette, Friedrich (2003). Traditional Domestic Architecture of the Arab Region. Edition Axel Menges. p. 47.
ISBN9783932565304.
^
abcdMarçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques.
^Maslow, Boris (1937). Les mosquées de Fès et du nord du Maroc. Paris: Éditions d'art et d'histoire.
^Salmon, Xavier (2018). Maroc Almoravide et Almohade: Architecture et décors au temps des conquérants, 1055-1269. Paris: LienArt.