Mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu, late 5th century. Learn more about 5th century masks
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A niche in the wall of a mosque which indicates the qibla (direction of the Kaaba in Mecca) and is usually covered by a wall hanging. Some of the earliest niches were constructed in Damascus and Mecca during the eight century CE, under the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I. From the Old South Arabian mhrb (palace) or the Ethiopian mekwrab (temple or sanctuary).