Muqarnas are small niches set above and beside one another that project from a vault, dome or recess like a honeycomb or a cluster of stalactites. They are characteristic of Islamic architecture and are also called stalactite or honeycomb vaulting.
Their origin is structural: they provide a gradual transition from a square plan to the circular base of a dome — the same problem solved elsewhere with squinches or pendentives. In their later development they became largely decorative: a suspended shell of plaster or timber that carries nothing itself.
How they are built up
- Each niche is a small vault segment with its own arch
- Row by row the niches corbel further forward, each layer offset from the one below
- All the niches derive from a limited set of standard shapes, combined according to a strict geometric grid
- The work is usually executed in plaster or gypsum on a timber or masonry backing, and occasionally in timber or stone
Application
Muqarnas are found under domes, in portals (iwan), in niches, beneath minaret balconies and as a cornice. The best-known examples are in the Alhambra in Granada; in the 19th-century Moorish Revival they were imitated across Europe in synagogues, bath houses and theatres.
Points to note:
- No structural role. Never assume in a refurbishment that a muqarnas shell carries load. Equally, nothing can be fixed to a suspended plaster shell
- Fragile. Gypsum and plaster are sensitive to moisture and vibration. Damage usually starts at the top, at a leak in the dome
- Repair. Restoration uses moulds taken from surviving sections; it is specialist plasterwork. A repair in cement-based mortar is too hard and breaks up the surrounding material
- New work. Modern versions are often set out digitally and milled in glass-reinforced gypsum or pressed timber, but follow the same geometric logic
Related terms
- Vault
- Dome
- Squinch
- Ornament
- Moorish Revival
- Plasterwork
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