Glossary · P
Pishtaq
Also called pishtaqs, pīshṭāq
A tall rectangular portal screen framing an iwan arch and rising above the roofline, bordered by inscription bands and often flanked by minarets.
Rules that use the word
The pishtaq. Set the iwan arch in a tall rectangular screen that rises above the roofline, framed by bands of inscription and flanked by minarets.
The Taj Mahal: a composition of equal heights. Balance the tomb so that the dome with its finial rises as high above the pishtaq as the pishtaq rises above the plinth, and let every element be answered by its mirror image on both axes.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters The Islamic World.
A feature of Persian Islamic (Seljuk, Timurid and Safavid), Mughal architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Pietra dura · Pilaster · Pilotis · Pinnacle · Pitch · Plate tracery · Pleaching · Plinth