AHI 001B vocab midterm 1

Tempera

egg based paint

Aniconic

symbolic or suggestive rather than literally representational

Vault

Curved ceiling

4th century

300s

Orant

a figure with both arms raised in the ancient gesture of prayer

Sarcophagus

stone coffin

Putto

A plump, naked little boy, often winged. In classical art, called a cupid; in Christian art, a cherub.

ambulatory

curved, covered walkway

Mosaic

picture made from chips of colored stone or glass

Codex

an ancient manuscript text in book form.

Vellum

Calfskin prepared as a surface for writing or painting.

illuminated manuscript

a manuscript in which the text is supplemented with such decoration as initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations.

Diptych

a painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels that may be closed like a book.

exedra

recessed area, usually semicircular

Pendentive

An inverted, concave, triangular piece of masonry serving as the transition from a square support system to the circular base of a dome.

Minaret

the tower attached to a mosque from which the muezzin, or crier, calls the faithful to prayer five times a day

Mihrab

a niche in the wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray.

Icon

small portable paintings of holy figures

Theotokos

One who gives birth to Christ

Encaustic

A painting technique in which pigment is mixed with wax and applied to the surface while hot.

Iconoclasm

destruction of images

Iconoclast

Breaker of images

Iconophiles

lovers of images

Greek cross plan

church plan in the form of a Greek cross, with a square central mass and four arms of equal length

Squinch

a straight or arched structure across an interior angle of a square tower to carry a superstructure such as a dome.

Relic

a part of a deceased holy person's body or belongings kept as an object of reverence.

Gold Glass

decorative glass where gold leaf is fused between glass

Tesserae

small pieces of stone or glass or other materials used to make a mosaic

Frescos

painting done on fresh, wet plaster with water-based paints

Caliph

Ruler

Caliphate

the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion

Martyrium

a building or chamber used by the early Christians as a burial place

Qibla

This wall in a mosque always faces Mecca.

Minbar

pulpit in mosque, usually made from wood or stone

Spoila

the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments

Arcade

A series of arches supported by piers or columns.

Maqsura

Enclosure in a mosque, situated near the mihrab and minbar, defined by a metal or timber screen, used by a ruler for purposes of protection and status

Hypostyle

a hall whose roof is supported by columns

Horseshoe arch

a round arch that widens before rounding off, used in Spanish Medical buildings

Iwan

a rectangular vaulted space in a Muslim building that is walled on three sides and open on the fourth

Sebka

Surface decoration based in a grid of rhombuses

Stilted arch

An arch that springs above the impost. The space between is occupied by a vertical member

Muqarnas

three-dimensional architectural ornament composed of tiers of niche-like elements, sometimes likened to stalactites

Madrasa

a place to study law

Mamluk

Muslim rulers of slave stock

Nave

the central area of a church

Clerestory windows

a row of windows high up in a church to admit light into the nave

Apse

a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof, typically at the eastern end, and usually containing the altar.

Narthex

an antechamber, porch, or distinct area at the western entrance of some early Christian churches

Transept

The part of a church with an axis that crosses the nave at a right angle.