History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s17.19

v1.c19.s17.19

The principal apartments in what is called the palace at Madurâ are situated round a courtyard which measures about 160 ft. east and west by 100 ft. north and south, surrounded on all sides by arcades of very great beauty. (The pillars which support the arches are of stone, 40 ft. in height, and are joined by foliated brick arcades of great elegance of design, carrying a cornice and entablature rising to upwards of 60 ft. in height.) The whole of the ornamentation is worked out in the exquisitely fine stucco called "chunnam" or shell lime, which is a characteristic of the Madras Presidency.¹ On the west side of the court stands the Swarga Vilâsam or Celestial Pavilion, now used as the High Court of Justice. It measures 235 ft. from north to south by