History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s24: Dîg.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s24
- Language
- English
Dîg.
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All the palaces above described are more or less irregular in their disposition, and are all situated on rocky and uneven ground. That at Dîg, however, is on a perfectly level plain, and laid out with a regularity that would satisfy the most fastidious Renaissance architect. It is wholly the work of Sûraj - Mall, the virtual founder of the Bharatpur dynasty, who commenced it, apparently in 1725, and left it as we now see it, when he was slain in battle with Najaf Khân in Dec. 1763. It wants, it is true, the massive character of the fortified palaces of other Râjput states, but for grandeur of conception and beauty of detail it surpasses them all.
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The whole palace was to have consisted of a rectangular enclosure twice the length of its breadth, surrounded with buildings, with a garden in the centre, divided into two parts by a broad terrace, intended to carry the central pavilion. Only one of these rectangles has been completed, measuring about 700 ft. square,¹ crossed in the centre by ranges of the most beautiful fountains and parterres, laid out in the formal style of the East, and interspersed with architectural ornaments of the most elaborate finish.
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¹ A plan of it is given in Lieut. Cole's 'Report on the Buildings near Agra,' (pp. 41-58 and eight plates), correct as far as it goes, but not complete.
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The pavilion on the north side contains the great audience-hall, 76 ft. 8 in. by 54 ft. 7 in., divided in the centre by a noble range of arcades, behind which are the principal dwelling apartments, two, and in some parts three, storeys in height. Opposite this is a pavilion occupied principally by fountains. On one side stands a marble hall, attached to an older palace facing the principal pavilion, which was meant to occupy the centre of the garden. As will be seen by the plan (Woodcut No. 363), it is a parallelogram of 152 ft. by 87 ft., each end occupied by a small but very elegant range of apartments, in two storeys; the central hall (108 ft. by 87 ft.) is supported on four rows of columns, and open at both sides; at each end is a marble reservoir for fountains, and a similar one exists externally on each side. The whole is roofed with stone, except the central part, which, after being contracted by a bold cove, is roofed with a flat ceiling of timber exquisitely carved. This wooden ceiling seems to have been considered a defect, nothing but stone being used in any other part of the palace. The architect, therefore, attempted to roof the corresponding pavilion of the unfinished court with slabs of stone 34 ft. in length, and 18 in. square. Some of these still exist in their places but their weight was too great for the arcades, which are only 18 in. thick, and not of solid stone, but of two facings 4 or 5 in. thick, and the intermediate spaces filled in with rubble. Besides this, though the form of the arch is literally copied from the Muhammadan style, neither here, nor elsewhere throughout the palace, is there a single true arch, the openings being virtually covered by two brackets meeting in the centre.
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[Figure: 363. Hall at Dîg. (From a Plan by the Author). Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.]
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The general appearance of the arcades of these buildings may be gathered from the annexed view (Woodcut No. 364), and may be characterised as more elegant than rich. The glory of Dîg, however, consists in the cornices, which are generally double, a peculiarity not seen elsewhere, and which for extent of shadow and richness of detail surpass any similar ornaments in India, either in ancient or modern buildings. The lower cornice is the usual sloping entablature, almost universal in such buildings. This was adopted apparently
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364. View from the Central Pavilion in the Palace at Dîg. (From a Photograph.)
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because it took the slope of the curtains, which almost invariably hang beneath its projecting shade, and which, when drawn out, seem almost a continuation of it. The upper cornice, which was horizontal, is peculiar to Dîg, and seems designed to furnish an extension of the flat roof which in Eastern palaces is usually considered the best apartment of the house; but whether designed for this or any other purpose, it adds singularly to the richness of the effect, and by the double shadow affords a relief and character seldom exceeded even in the East.
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Generally speaking, the bracket *arcades* of Dîg are neither so rich nor so appropriate as the bold bracket *capitals* of the older styles. That the bracket is almost exclusively an original Indian form of capital can, I think, scarcely be doubted; but the system was carried much further by the Mughals, especially during the reign of Akbar, than it had ever been carried by its original inventors, at least in the North. The Hindûs, on receiving it back, luxuriated in its picturesque richness to an extent that astonishes every beholder; and half the effect of most of the modern buildings of India is owing to the bold projecting balconies and fanciful kiosks that diversify the otherwise plain walls.
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The greatest defect of the palace is that the style, when it was erected, was losing its true form of lithic propriety. The form of its pillars and their ornaments are better suited for wood or metal than for stone architecture; and though the style of the Mughals, in the last days of their dynasty, was tending in that direction, it never threw off the solidity and constructive propriety to such an extent as is done in these modern palaces of the Hindûs. It is not at Dîg carried so far as to be offensive, but it is on the verge of good taste, and in some more modern buildings assumes forms more suited for upholstery than for stone architecture.
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Since the time when Sûraj-Mall completed this fairy creation, the tendency, not only with the Râjput princes, but the sovereigns of such states as Oudh, and even as Delhi, has been to copy the bastard style of Italian architecture we introduced into India. It was natural, perhaps, that they should admire the arts of a race who had shown themselves in war and policy superior to themselves; but it was fatal to their arts, and whether a revival is now possible remains to be seen.