Arabesque

(ar´a-besk), a species of ornamentation for enriching flat surfaces, often consisting of fanciful figures, human or animal, combined with floral forms. There may be said to be three periods and distinctive varieties of arabesque—( a ) the Roman or Græco-Roman, introduced into Rome from the East when pure art was declining; ( b ) the Arabesque of the Moors as seen in the Alhambra, introduced by them into Europe in the Middle Ages; ( c ) Modern Arabesque, which took its rise in Italy in the Renai ance period of art. The arabesques of the Moors, who are prohibited by their religion from representing animal forms, consist e entially of complicated ornamental designs based on the suggestion of plant-growth, combined with extremely complex geometrical forms.