Amultifoil arch (or polyfoil arch), also known as acusped arch,^[1][2]polylobed arch,^[3][4] orscalloped arch,^[5] is anarch characterized by multiple circular arcs or leaf shapes (calledfoils, lobes, or cusps) that are cut into its interior profile or intrados.^[2][1][6][7] The termfoil comes from theold French word for "leaf." A specific number of foils is indicated by a prefix:trefoil (three),quatrefoil (four), cinquefoil (five), sexfoil (six), octofoil (eight). The term multifoil or scalloped is specifically used for arches with more than five foils.^[8][9][10] The multifoil arch is characteristic ofIslamic art andarchitecture; particularly in theMoorish architecture ofal-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula) andNorth Africa and inMughal architecture of theIndian subcontinent.^[11] Variants of the multifoil arch, such as thetrefoil arch, are also common in other architectural traditions such asGothic architecture.^[2]: 132 

The first multifoil arches were developed by theUmayyads and can be found in a small mosque atQasr al-Hallabat, one of theUmayyad Desert Castles, in present-dayJordan.^[12][13] The architects of this structure experimented with both hollow/concave lobes and protruding/convex lobes in therelieving arches above the doors.^{[14]: 513–514} Multifoil arches also appear early on as decorative niches in theQasr al-'Ashiq inSamarra, present-dayIraq, and in theMosque of Ibn Tulun inCairo,Egypt, both of which were built underAbbasid (andTulunid) rule in the 9th century.^{[1][15][16]: 87} These examples have been used to support the hypothesis that multifoil arches originated in theMiddle Eastern regions of the Islamic world, althoughRichard Ettinghausen,Oleg Grabar and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina have called this hypothesis into question.^{[16]: 87–89 [14]: 513}

Other early examples of multifoil arches are found in theGreat Mosque of Cordoba inal-Andalus (present-daySpain), in particular the arches of themaqsura area added to the mosque in the 10th century byal-Hakam II.^{[17]: 232–234} Ettinghausen, Grabar, and Jenkins-Madina argue that the form of these arches probably developed locally in al-Andalus, noting that in Cordoba they occurred as structural elements while in the eastern Islamic world they occurred mostly as decorative elements.^{[16]: 87–89} Another scholar, Ignacio Arce, notes that Ettinghausen and Grabar did not take into account the earlier occurrences at the Qasr al-Hallabat mosque, where polylobed arches are used as structural elements.^{[14]: 513–514} Jonathan Bloom also argues that the intersecting cusped arches of the Great Mosque of Cordoba were a local development, likely the result of a deliberate elaboration from the older two-tiered round arches that were part of the mosque since its initial foundation in 785.^[18]: 72

• 
  Polylobed arch (with convex or protruding lobes) atQasr al-Hallabat,Jordan (7th–8th century)
• 
  Decorative niches with polylobed arches atQasr al-'Ashiq inSamarra,Iraq (9th century)
• 
  Intersecting multifoil arches in theGreat Mosque (present-day cathedral) ofCordoba, Spain (10th century)

The typical multifoil arches that appear in later buildings of Al-Andalus and North Africa also have precedents inFatimid architecture inIfriqiya and Egypt, for example atBab Zuweila (dated to 1091).Georges Marçais argued that both the Great Mosque of Cordoba and Fatimid architecture in Ifriqiya were probably the most relevant precedents which led to the adoption and development of multifoil arches in the western regions of the Islamic world.^{[17]: 232–234} Multifoil arches appear prominently in the 11th-centuryAljaferia palace of theTaifas period in al-Andalus. In theAlmoravid andAlmohad periods (11th–13th centuries), this type of arch was further refined for decorative functions whilehorseshoe arches continued to be standard elsewhere.^{[17]: 232–234} They appear, for example, in theGreat Mosque of Tlemcen (in present-dayAlgeria) and theMosque of Tinmal (present-day Morocco).^[17]: 232 The motif of intersecting multifoil arches also gave rise to thesebka motif which is frequently employed in the art and architecture of the region.^{[17]: 257–258} In Egypt, the cusped trefoil or trilobed arch became a characteristic decorative feature ofportals in late Fatimid architecture andMamluk architecture (from approximately the 12th to 16th centuries).^{[19]: 191 [20]: 89}

• 
  Interlacing multifoil arches at theAlcazaba of Malaga in Spain (11th century)
• 
  Blind polylobed arch at theFatimid gate ofBab Zuweila, Cairo, Egypt (1087–1092)^[21]
• 
  Multifoil arch in front of themihrab in theGreat Mosque of Tlemcen (11th-12th centuries)
• 
  Blind interlacing multifoil arches on theAlmohad minaret of theKutubiyya Mosque inMarrakesh,Morocco (12th century)
• 
  Multifoil arches in theMudéjarPatio de las Doncellas at theAlcazar of Seville in Spain (14th century)
• 
  Trilobed (trefoil) arch in the entrance of theMamluk-eraKhanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay in Cairo (completed in 1432)

The cusped arch is attested inHindu temple architecture such as the trilobed or trefoil arches of theMartand Temple (8th century) and thetemple of Pandrethan (10th century), both inKashmir,^[22] as well as at the temple ofMalot (10th century) in northernPunjab.^[23]: 58 The example at the Martand Temple is made with acorbelled stone construction.^[24] This use of a trefoil arch, typically inside a triangularpediment on the façade of temples, was a characteristic feature of Hindu architecture in Kashmir and thewestern Himalayan region during this time.^[25][24][26] Some of the earliest trefoil-arched entrances in this tradition are attested in temples atBilot andMari-Indus, dated byMichael W. Meister to the late 6th or early 7th century and the 8th century, respectively.^{[23]: 31, 36–37} Over the 9th and 10th centuries this style evolved further and sometimes incorporated five-lobed (or cinquefoil) arches, as exemplified in theAmb temples dated to this period.^[23]: 31 The most important contribution ofIndo-Islamic architecture to this region was the introduction the"true" arch during theDelhi Sultanate period,^[a] which progressively replaced thetrabeate or corbel arch.^[22][29] After this, multifoil arches later became a characteristic feature ofMughal architecture during the 17th century,^[30][31][32] particularly during the reign ofShah Jahan (r. 1628–1658).^[33][34] It was also characteristic ofRajput architecture, which developed in close relation with Mughal architecture during theMughal era.^[35][31]

• 
  Ruins ofMartand Sun Temple, India with a multifoil arched gateway, finished between 625-885 A.D under theKarkota empire.^[36]
• 
  Multifoil arch atAmb temple complex, Pakistan. An example from theHindu Shahis period, dated between 800-950 AD.^[37]
• 
  Trefoil arches crowning blindniches onMalot Temple, Pakistan, built around 980 AD.^[38]
• 
  Multifoil arches inAgra Fort, India, begun in 1565. An example ofMughal architecture.^[39]
• 
  Multifoil arches withjali atAmber fort, India. An example ofRajput architecture, commissioned in 1592.^[40]
• 
  Multifoil arches insideLotus Mahal,Hampi, India. An example ofVijayanagara architecture from the 16th century.^[41]
• 
  Multifoil arches withparchinkari inDiwan-i-Am,Red Fort, India. An example of Mughal architecture, built between 1631-40.^[42]
• 
  Multifoil arch withmural on lotus gate,City Palace, Jaipur, India. An example ofRajput architecture, built between 1727-32.^[43]
• 
  Multifoil arches with intricatearabesque on Nathmal KiHaveli inJaisalmer, India. An example of Rajput architecture, built in the 19th century.^[44][45]

In the architecture of Christian Europe, multifoil arches appear occasionally inRomanesque architecture, with some early examples inFrance such as thechapel of Saint-Michel-d’Aiguilhe inLe Puy-en-Velay, France (10th–11th century) and theAbbey of Cluny (circa 1100).^{[1][46]: 272} In the Christian territories of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain), the earliest examples are from the early 12th century and found in theCollegiate Church of San Isidoro inLéon and theCathedral of Santiago de Compostela.^[46]: 272 These early Iberian examples were highly similar to the multifoil arches of contemporary Islamic/Moorish architecture in al-Andalus and were probably directly appropriated from the latter.^{[47]: 105–107 [46]: 272} Scholars Francine Giese and Sarah Keller argue that this initial appropriation from Muslim architecture was likely intended to express a sense of triumph and superiority over Islamic al-Andalus at the time, but that over the course of the 12th century the motif becameacculturated to Romanesque art and then developed independently from al-Andalus in both Christian Iberia and France.^[46]: 272 As a result, multifoil arches became more common and developed multiple variations in the Romanesque architecture of these regions during the later 12th century.^{[47]: 105–107 [46]: 272} InToledo, after its conquest byCastile in 1085, the new churches andsynagogues which were built in the 12th century and after were designed in aMudéjar style that frequently incorporated polylobed arches as part of its visual repertoire.^[46]: 273 TheCathedral of Toledo, whose construction began in the 13th century, was built primarily in a Gothic style but also incorporates polylobed arches (most notably in thetriforium of theambulatory), suggesting that this motif had by then become thoroughly assimilated to local Christian architecture.^[46] Multifoil arches, particularly trefoil arches, became common in Gothic architecture for portals and decoration throughout Europe.^[2] Cusped forms (not necessarily as arches) were also common to form the motifs used in Gothictracery.^[1]

• 
  Blind polylobed arch above the door of theRomanesque chapel ofSaint-Michel-d’Aiguilhe inLe Puy-en-Velay, France (10th–11th century)
• 
  Multifoil arch in theChurch of San Isidoro inLéon, Spain (early 13th century)
• 
  Multifoil arch decoration on theMudéjar bell tower of theChurch of Santo Tomé inToledo, Spain (14th century)
• 
  Decorated multifoil/trefoil portal in theCapelas Imperfeitas of theBatalha Monastery,Portugal (circa 1435)

• Lambrequin arch
• Spanish architecture

Media related toMultifoil arches at Wikimedia Commons

• Islamic architectural elements
• Moorish architecture
• Islamic architecture
• Architecture in Spain
• Architectural elements

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata