arabesque

arabesque (ărəbĕsk`) [Fr.,=Arabian], in art, term applied to any complex, linear decoration based on flowing lines. In Islamic art it was often exploited to cover entire surfaces. The arabesque in modern usage derives from a Renaissance design which was Greco-Roman in inspiration.

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arabesque

Arabesque decoration on the dome of the Madar-i-Shah madrasah (“school”) …

(credit: Ray Manley—Shostal Assoc./EB Inc.)

Style of decoration characterized by interlacing plant forms and abstract curvilinear motifs. It is typical of Islamic ornamentation from c. 1000. The word was first used in the 15th or 16th century when Europeans became interested in the Islamic arts, but the motif itself was derived from Hellenistic craftsmen in Asia Minor. Arabesques were also applied to the decoration of illuminated manuscripts, walls, furniture, metalwork, pottery, stonework, majolica, and tapestry from the Renaissance to the 19th century.