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A pointed doorway stepped back in five bands of terracotta, ochre and plaster, each casting a crisp shadow on the next.
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Arches

Portal

No. 2 of 20 · free · 300 dpi

What you seeA pointed doorway stepped back in five bands of terracotta, ochre and plaster, each casting a crisp shadow on the next.

What it meansRecessed, stepped portals draw the eye inward and mark the threshold between street and interior, a device shared by Gothic and Islamic builders.

Where it worksWorks as a bold anchor by an entrance or at the end of a long room.

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2:3 · 7200 × 10800 px4×6 · 8×12 · 12×18 · 16×24 · 20×30 · 24×36 in
3:4 · 5400 × 7200 px6×8 · 9×12 · 12×16 · 18×24 in
4:5 · 7200 × 9000 px4×5 · 8×10 · 16×20 · 24×30 in
11:14 · 3300 × 4200 px11×14 in
A-series · 7023 × 9933 pxA5 · A4 · A3 · A2 · A1

Everything is one ZIP: every shape and size, the phone wallpaper, the SVGs and a printing guide.

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More from Arches

All 20 prints
A single round arch in a lime-plaster wall, open to a pale sky and a low ochre sun.Sky FrameNo. 3
A freestanding terracotta horseshoe arch stands in late sun, throwing a long shadow across the floor and up a plaster wall.Long ShadowNo. 4
Round, pointed and horseshoe arches overlap like coloured glass, their crossings forming new deeper tones.OverlapNo. 5
A white stair climbs a warm clay wall and ends at an arched doorway full of sky.AscentNo. 6
A horseshoe doorway in a deep terracotta room opens onto a bright courtyard, and the sun lays a long band of light across the floor.ThresholdNo. 7
A pointed horseshoe window in a pale clay wall looks out over a garden wall to two palms against the sky.Palm WindowNo. 8
A round-arched window in a sand-coloured wall shows only sky and a flat blue sea.HorizonNo. 9
An ochre façade of slender columns and round arches at midday, the loggias behind in deep shade and a strip of sun on the floor.Noon ColonnadeNo. 10

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Low evening sun drawn out through a small square-paned screen into long gold bars across a warm brown floor.Long LightMashrabiya · No. 5
A tall wooden minbar seen from the side: a straight stair rising between panels inlaid with ivory stars, a gate with a crested top at its foot and a small domed pavilion at the head, under windows of coloured glass and a hanging glass lamp.MinbarOld Cairo Nights · No. 7
The corner of a room where two walls meet, one in light and one in shade, bridged above by a squinch: a pointed arch filled with rows of stucco cells beneath the dark base of the dome.SquinchMuqarnas · No. 6
Blue-and-white Fez plates hung on a warm terracotta wall: a zigzag rim, a ring of scallops with teal dots and a cobalt eight-point star at the centre of each. The square shows a single large plate, the portrait two, the landscape three.Fez PlatesIslamic Home · No. 19
A dark studded door in a surround of striped black and white stone, with an interlocking lintel and a white-flowered jasmine climbing from a pot over the top.Damascus JasmineDoors · No. 12
A long arcade of horseshoe arches seen straight down its length to a lit doorway at the far end. A lantern hangs from the crown of every other arch and throws a pool of light on the stone floor, the arches growing smaller and darker into the distance.Arcade at NightLantern & Light · No. 4
An oud leans in an arched window above a sadu-covered seat, with a new crescent moon and the domes of a sleeping city beyond.Window SeatOud & Majlis · No. 20
A marble bowl fountain on a slender stem, spilling into an eight-point star basin in a paved court. An orange tree in a blue pot stands on each side, and behind it a horseshoe arch edged in cobalt tiles opens onto cypresses.Fountain BowlAndalusian Garden · No. 4