Twilight of the Sultanate c16.s1.31

c16.s1.31

This mosque¹⁹ is much larger than the one attached to the Bara Gumbad, and measures nearly one hundred and twenty-five feet across. Consequently it provided much more scope for the skill of the craftsmen and "it epitomises in itself all that is best in the architecture of the Lodīs".²⁰ In the central portion the system of squinch arches found in earlier buildings continues, but in the side aisles a form of stalactite pendentive is introduced in the angles.²¹ Free intermixture of white marble, red sandstone and enamelled tiles lends a colourful effect to the decoration, which contrasts effectively with the bold quality of the masonry. The spandrels above the arches are full of carvings in plaster with exquisite arabesque designs of typically Islamic character. Percy Brown suggests: "There was evidently a very talented group of craftsmen, engaged in this art during the fifteenth century, reminiscent of that much greater school of artists who, at about the same time were perpetuating such wonders in a similar technique on the walls of the Alhambra in Spain."²²