The absence of an expected object, person, plant, or animal in a picture or the absence of all pictorial representation may also represent the holy or divine. In the Holy of Holies of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem there was no picture of Yahweh in or on the ark of the Covenant, although it was supposed to be a sort of portable throne for God. Ancient Christian art often depicted an empty throne on which perhaps lay a folded purple robe or a book (hetoimasia) as a symbol of the invisible presence of God. In mosques the empty prayer niche ...(100 of 11146 words)