History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c30.44

v2.c30.44

It is evident from an inspection of the figure, or from any section of the dome, how easy it must be to construct the first segment from the springing; and if this is very solidly built and placed on an immoveable basis, the architect may play with the rest; and he must be clumsy indeed if he cannot make it perfectly stable. In the East, they did play with their domes, and made them of all sorts of fantastic forms, seeking to please the eye more than to consult the engineering necessities of the case, and yet it is the rarest possible contingency to find a dome that has fallen through faults in the construction.