Architecture of India

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 13 Nov 2012 Rare Photographs
The Asar Mahal, Bijapur - 1875

Photograph of the The Asar Mahal in Bijapur. The Asar Mahal was built by Muhammad Shah in 1646 as a Hall of Justice and later became a sacred sanctuary housing some hairs from the beard of the Prophet. The east side is an open portico supported on four wooden pil... Read More
 7 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Porch of Parvati's Temple at Chidambaram - 1847

This is plate 19 from James Fergusson's 'Ancient Architecture in Hindoostan'. Chidambaram is the sacred spot where Shiva, in the form of Nataraja, danced his powerful cosmic dance. It has been a place of pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu since about the n... Read More
 7 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
View of the Pagoda of Chidambaram - 1762

Drawing by F. Swain Ward in c.1762 of the temple at Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, part of King George III's Topographical Collection. The town of Chidambaram is a famed religious and artistic centre in south India. The temple here is dedicated to Shiva in ... Read More
 7 Nov 2012 Rare Photographs
Hutheesing's Temple (Jain), Camp Road, Ahmedabad - 1880

Photograph of the Jaina temple of Seth Hathisingh at Ahmadabad in Gujarat, taken by Charles Lickfold in the 1880s, part of the Bellew Collection of Architectural Views. Ahmadabad spreads along the river Sabarmati and is Gujarat's capital ci... Read More
 7 Nov 2012
Hutheesing's Temple, Ahmedabad - 1875

Photograph from the Macnabb Collection of the Temple of Hathi Singh at Ahmadabad in Gujarat, India, taken by Bourne & Shepherd during the 1870s. Ahmadabad is the principal city of Gujarat in western India. The architecture of the city includes interestin... Read More
 5 Nov 2012 Rare Photographs
Perforated or carved stone window in Seedee Syed's Mosque, Ahmedabad - 1880

Photograph of a perforated screen in the Sidi Sayeed mosque at Ahmadabad in Gujarat, taken by Charles Lickfold in the 1880s, part of the Bellew Collection of Architectural Views. Ahmadabad spreads along the river Sabarma... Read More
 2 Nov 2012 Rare Photographs
Palace and the City, Udaipur - 1910

Photograph of City Palace from the 'Reading Collection: Views of Udaipur taken by an unknown photographer c.1910. The photograph is part of an album containing architectural and topographical views of sites in Rajasthan, mainly of Udaipur, originally in the ... Read More
 1 Nov 2012 Rare Photographs
Tomb of Rabia Durrani, at Aurangabad - 1880

Photograph of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, or Queen's Tomb, in Aurangabad, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. This tomb, built in 1678, is the most well known building i... Read More
 31 Oct 2012 Rare Photographs
General view of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad - 1868

Photograph of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by Henry Mack Nepean in 1868. The Bibi-ka-Maqbara or Queen's Tomb built in 1678, is the most well known building in ... Read More
 31 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
Bibi-Ka-Maqbara

The Bibi-Ka-Maqbara (19°55’ N; 75°15’ E) is a beautiful mausoleum of Rabia-ul-Daurani alias Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb (1658-1707 A.D.). This mausoleum is believed to be constructed by Prince Azam Shah in memory of his mother between 1651 and 1... Read More
 30 Oct 2012 New Books
New Book:
The Complete Taj Mahal
By Ebba Koch
Published by Thames & Hudson - 2012

Book Summary:
The Taj Mahal is the masterpiece of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Yet until now, there has been no full analysis of its architecture and meaning. The lost world o... Read More
 30 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
Over all, so exquisite is the workmanship that it is said - “having been designed by the giants and finished by jewelers“.

Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to th... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Rare Paintings
Relief panel of white marble with inlaid border of pietra-dura work on the inside of the entrance to the Taj Mahal, Agra.

Marks and inscriptions : 'Panell at the Entrance of the Taje'

These drawings were from a portfolio of drawings made by Delhi artists working in Calcutta for Colonel Pown... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
Article:
Mystery of Italian ‘designer’ hanged in Lahore
By Majid Sheikh
Dawn Newspaper | 10th April, 2011

In the small ancient Christian graveyard behind the famous Ewing Hall at Nila Gumbad, where also lie buried many European indigo planters of the Mughal era, is a lonely grave to one side. T... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
Italian Architect of Taj Mahal Myth

The Taj Mahal of Agra that has been illuminating heavenly for the past three centuries and more, and attracting and inspiring millions of people from across the world. It was built up by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who wanted his beloved wife to be rememb... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
...one more theory on the Taj Mahal !!

GERONIMO VERONEO, the Taj Mahal Italian
By di Ghileana Galli

YET ANOTHER TESTIMONY OF ITALIAN CREATIVITY WINNING THE WORLD OVER. Is it possible that the structure symbolising India is the work of an Italian architect? It might be...

Italians have a... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Article/Essay
...who designed the Taj Mahal

Though the Taj Mahal is considered to be the zenith of Mughal architecture, the identity of its architect remains a mystery, in part perhaps because Shah Jahan seems to have played such an active role in its design. In his obsessive drive for perfection, he may ... Read More
 29 Oct 2012 Rare Paintings
Gateway to the Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Coloured aquatint by Thomas Daniell, 1796.
By: Thomas Daniell
Published: Published as the act directs for Tho[ma]s Daniell by Rob[er]t Bowyer,London (Historic Gallery Pall Mall) : July 1796

Credit: Wellcome Library, London Read More
 28 Oct 2012 Rare Photographs
The Taj Mahal, Agra, India. Photograph by Felice Beato, ca. 1858.
By: Felice Beato
Size: sheet 29.7 x 24.2 cm.

Credit: Wellcome Library, London Read More
 28 Oct 2012 Rare Paintings
Agra: the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
19th century

Credit: Wellcome Library, London Read More