History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c31.s5: Shâh Jahân, A.D. 1628-1658.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c31.s5
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- English
Shâh Jahân, A.D. 1628-1658.
v2.c31.s5.1
It would be difficult to point out in the whole history of architecture any change so sudden as that which took place between the style of Akbar and that of his grandson Shâh Jahân—nor any contrast so great as that between the manly vigour and exuberant originality of the first, as compared with the extreme but almost effeminate elegance of the second. Certainly when the same people, following the same religion, built temples and palaces in the same locality, nothing of the sort ever occurred in any country whose history is now known to us.
v2.c31.s5.2
Nowhere is the contrast between the two styles more strongly marked than in the palace of Agra—from the red stone palace of Akbar or Jahângîr, with its rich sculptures and square Hindû construction, a door opens into the white marble court of the haram of Shâh Jahân (1638-1648), with all its feeble prettiness, but at the same time marked with that peculiar elegance which is found only in the East. The court is not large, 170 ft. by 235 ft., but the whole is finished with the most elaborate care. Three sides of this are occupied by the residences of the ladies, not remarkable for size, nor, in their present state, for architectural beauty; but the fourth, overhanging the river, is occupied by three white marble pavilions of singular elegance.
v2.c31.s5.3
As in most Moorish palaces, the baths on one side of this court were the most elegant and elaborately decorated apartments in the palace. The baths have been destroyed, but the walls and roofs still show the elegance with which they were adorned.¹
v2.c31.s5.4
¹ The great bath was torn up by the Marquis of Hastings with the intention of presenting it to George IV., an intention apparently never carried out; but it is difficult to ascertain the facts now, as the whole of the marble flooring with what remained of the bath was sold by auction by Lord William Bentinck, and fetched probably 1 per cent. of its original cost; but it helped to eke out the revenues of India in a manner most congenial to the spirit of its governors.
v2.c31.s5.5
Behind this, in the centre of the palace, is a great court, 500 ft. by 370 ft., surrounded by arcades, and approached at the opposite ends through a succession of beautiful courts opening into one another by gateways of great magnificence. On one side of this court is the great hall of the palace—the Dîwân-i-’Âmm—208 ft. by 76 ft., supported by three ranges of arcades of exquisite beauty. It is open on three sides, and with a niche for the throne at the back.² Behind it are two smaller courts, the one containing the Dîwân-i-Khâss, or private hall of audience, the other the haram. The hall in the former is one of the most elegant of Shâh Jahân’s buildings, being wholly of white marble inlaid with coloured stones, and the design of the whole being in the best style of his reign. It consists of an open colonnade and an inclosed room behind, and measures 65 ft. in length by 34 ft. and 22 ft. high. The carving is beautiful, and the flowers inlaid in the white marble with red carnelian and others are of fine effect.
v2.c31.s5.6
² Both care and money are now expended liberally for the protection and maintenance of such old buildings that remain in the province.
v2.c31.s5.7
One of the most picturesque features about this palace is a marble pavilion, in two storeys, that surmounts one of the circular bastions on the river face, between the haram and the Dîwân-i-Khâss. It looks of an earlier style than that of Shâh Jahân, and if Jahângîr built anything here it is this. On a smaller scale, it occupies the same place here that the Chalîs Sitûn did in the palace at Allahâbâd; and exemplifies, even more than in their larger buildings, the extreme elegance and refinement of those who designed these palaces.¹
v2.c31.s5.8
¹ Perfect plans of this palace exist in the War Department of India. Without such plans it is very difficult to make any description intelligible. That in Keene's 'Handbook of Agra,' though useful as far as it goes, is on too small a scale and not sufficiently detailed for purposes of architectural illustration.