page_title: Islamic art
section_title: Arches
hierarchical_section_title: Islamic art / Architecture / Arches
caption_attribution_description: English: Buland Darwaza gate to Jami Masjid mosque, Fatehpur Sikiri, India. Français&#160;: La sublime porte de la Mosquée Jami Masjid de Fatehpur-Sikrī, en Inde. हिन्दी: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी की जामी मस्जिद का बुलन्द दरवाज़ा
context_page_description: Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced in the Islamic world. Islamic art is difficult to characterize because it covers a wide range of lands, periods, and genres, including Islamic architecture, Islamic calligraphy, Islamic miniature, Islamic glass, Islamic pottery, and textile arts such as carpets and embroidery.
  It comprises both religious and secular art forms. Religious art is represented by calligraphy, architecture and furnishings of religious buildings, such as mosque fittings, woodwork and carpets. Secular art also flourished in the Islamic world, although some of its elements were criticized by religious scholars.
  Early development of Islamic art was influenced by Roman art, Early Christian art, and Sassanian art, with later influences from Central Asian nomadic traditions. Chinese art had a formative influence on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles. Though the concept of "Islamic art" has been criticised by some modern art historians as an illusory Eurocentric construct,
context_section_description: Islamic arches, similar to columns, followed a style similar to Roman architecture.  Arches became quite prominent to Islamic architecture during the 8th-10th centuries. There are three distinct shapes of Islamic arches which include horseshoe, keel, and polylobuled. However, in India, Islamic arches take shape after being pointed, lobed, or ogee.
caption: Indian Islamic Arches as seen in the Buland Darvaza in Fatehpur Sikri built in the 16th Century
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