The arch closed the east side of the Court of the Universe and opened into the Florentine Court, and through it to the Court of Abundance. Barry's architect-guide described it as the Arch of Constantine and the Arch of Titus "all over again." But Todd notes a "rather daring innovation": between the outer pairs of genii sat trios of jalousied Moorish windows, which gave the arch a feeling of depth and mystery, "as though they were windows in the gate house of some forgotten Asiatic fortress."
Its engineering was bold for timber. Buildings this size would ordinarily be steel, Todd notes, but western framers had long, heavy lumber, and both great arches were "made of wood throughout," built as post-and-truss boxes strong enough to carry the enormous plaster groups on top.
Literary inscriptions, chosen by Porter Garnett, gave the arch an Asian theme. On its east face, toward the Florentine Court, were passages from Firdausi of Persia, Zuhayr of Arabia and King Phra Ruang of Siam. High on the court side were Confucius ("They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it"), the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, and the Japanese poet Hitomaro.
