MUQARNAS

MODULE 1
Islamic Architecture – Early phase; It’s emergence in 11th century AD in
India. General characteristics
of Indian Islamic Style.
Early Phase –I :– Slave and Khilji phase – a) Monumental :
Quawat.Ul.Islam, mosque and tomb of
Iltumish , Qutb Minar , Alai Minar. b) Civic space: Enlargement of Quwaat
Ul Islam Complex and Alai darwaza

Early Phase –II :- Tugluq , Sayyid & Lodi dynasties. –

Architectural charactera) Monumental arch : Tomb
of Ghia – Suddin Tugluq, Tomb of Firoz shah Tugluq, Shish
Gumbad & Mubarak shah Sayyid’s tomb. b)
Civic Space : Khirkhi masjid Delhi, Firoz Shah kotla – public
and private space, madrassa design with Firoz
shah’s tomb
 Muqarnas is typically applied to the undersides of domes, pendentives,
cornices, squinches, arches and vaults.
 Muqarnas cells are arranged in horizontal courses, as in a corbelled vault,
with the horizontal joint surface having a different shape at each level.
 The edges of these surfaces can all be traced on a single plan view;
architects can thus plan out muqarnas geometrically, as the image illustrates.
 Muqarnas do not in most applications have a significant structural role,
remaining completely ornamental, but did have a structural role in the
earliest forms of muqarnas domes in the Mesopotamian region, and
decoration was not its primary purpose from its creation up until the
building of the Alhambra.
 Muqarnas need not be carved into the structural blocks of a corbelled vault;
it can be hung from a structural roof as a purely decorative surface.
 Muqarnas may be made of brick, stone, stucco, or wood, and clad with tiles
or plaster.
 The individual cells may be called alveoles.
 Muqarnas is generally a downward-facing shape; that is, a vertical line can
be traced from the floor to any point on a muqarnas surface.
 However, some muqarnas elements have been designed with upwards-
facing cells
High-resolution detail from the Alhambra, showing horizontal courses;
the clearer one zigzags across at about 1/3 of the way down
Medieval architect's plan of two muqarnas
vaults,
Basic principle of corbelled arch design
Corbelled vault carved into muqarnas, showing
method of suspension for pendant points
Corbelled vault carved into muqarnas
Amber Fort, near Jaipur. The marble palace Jai Mandir. Sheesh
Mahal, Hall of Mirrors
Muqarnas corbel, Qutb Minar, India
Muquarnas, single aveole. Earthenware with molded decoration under opaque
turquoise glaze, Timurid art, 1st half of the 15th century. From the Shah-i-
Zinda in Samarkand.
Muqarnas on the underside of an arch, Alhambra Palace, Granada,
Spain, with downward-projecting "stalactites
Painted muqarnas, Palatine Chapel, Palermo, commissioned by Roger II of
Sicily in 1132
Gilded tile muqarnas at Chehel Sotoon Palace (17th century), Isfahan
Upward- and downward-facing muquarnas