arabesker

Arabesker are stylized decorative motifs consisting of intertwining lines that form continuous, often vegetal and geometric patterns. The term is used in Scandinavian languages to refer to arabesques and corresponds to the English word arabesque. The motifs are rooted in Islamic art and decoration, where geometric interlacing and stylized foliate forms appear in architecture, manuscript illumination, metalwork, and ceramics.

Origins of arabesker trace to the Islamic world, with early examples in regions such as Persia and Syria. They reached a high level of refinement in the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid periods and later influenced decorative arts across the Mediterranean. In many contexts, arabesker combined scrolling vines with palmettes and interlaced geometry, designed to create uninterrupted, flowing surfaces.

In Europe, arabesker were absorbed through contact with Islamic art and adapted across Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The motifs are typically characterized by continuous, curvilinear lines and rotational symmetry, often arranged to produce seamless patterns that cover architectural elements, manuscripts, metalwork, and ceramics.

Media and applications include architecture (friezes, capitals, arches), plaster and stucco ornament, wood carving, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, and book illumination. While primarily decorative, arabesker convey movement and order, and they are distinguished from calligraphy by their abstract, non-linguistic form. The motif remains a hallmark of ornamental design in both traditional Islamic art and later Western decorative arts.