A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c19.2

c19.2

Muhammadan architecture, excluding the styles most deeply affected by Hindu influence, and in spite of infinite variety in detail, presents, as we have seen in the last chapter, a character of general uniformity throughout the Muslim world, partly due to the practically universal use of pointed arches and domes, and partly to the free interchange of architects between different countries, resulting in the frequent imitation of foreign models. Muhammadan decorative art presents a similarly uniform character by reason chiefly of the Koranic prohibition of images, which, although not universally respected, was observed in all ages and countries sufficiently to impose narrow limits on the field open to the creative artist.