The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.93

v4.c23.s4.93

The architectural activities of the house of Sūr were not, however, confined to Bihār. With Sher Shāh elevated to the throne vacated by Humāyūn, the building art was again revived at the imperial capital, where it was undergoing an interesting state of transition. Delhi had for some time established a tradition somewhat parallel to that of classical Rome, in that it maintained an imperial style of its own as distinct from that of the provinces. Towards the middle of the sixteenth century there were signs of a renaissance. The art was beginning to throw off that puritanical influence which had fettered it since the time of Fīrūz Tughluq, and apparently was attempting to return to the more ornate style of the Khaljīs. For two hundred years this austere method of building had prevailed, preventing the Indian artisan from exercising his natural aptitude for fine ashlar masonry, and from decorating the edifices thus constructed with rich carving, both of which were his birthright. Already indications of such a movement are observable in buildings dating from the beginning of the sixteenth century, as for instance in the Moth-kī-Masjid, where, among other innovations, in place of the “beam and bracket” opening in the centre of the façade, ordained by Fīrūz and continued by his successors, there emerges again the recessed archway of the early Tughluqs and Khaljīs. Some twenty years later a further step is seen in the treatment of the Jamālī Masjid, with its ashlar masonry laced with white marble, and, more important still, its double recessed arch enriched with “spear heads”, signifying a definite attempt to pick up the threads of the older style. What was required at this stage was intelligent patronage to stimulate the movement, now well begun, into further effort. This was supplied by the building predilections of Sher Shāh, who, had he lived longer, would undoubtedly have influenced very profoundly the character and course of the art. As it was, during the short time that he ruled at Delhi a form of architecture was initiated which was not only of a high character in itself, but was destined to affect considerably the styles which followed.