USAD Art Reproductions Booklet • 2015-2016

Taj MahalAgra, India, 17th Century

White marble© cinoby. iStock.

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abstracted ornamentation—leaf shapes, chevrons, dots, etc. The upper lip portion includes a small-scale repeti-tion of the chini khana structure, again with small brass elements detailing porcelain objects in niches. In this area a bird is illustrated against yet another highly fo-liated background. This bird, like the animals depicted below, is presented in a twisted posture, with its head turned back toward its body. As is typical for bidriware, the shiny ornamental details are set off by the rich, matte black surface of the overall form.

This object is a fairly unusual example of bidriware, as architectural and animal imagery are relatively rare decorative motifs for such objects. The beauty of the base overall, as well as the thoughtful composition of its or-namentation, presents the height of Mughal metalwork technique. This pipe base would have served to represent

the wealth and artistic sensibilities of the Mu-ghals when placed among the other luxurious objects on view at the court.

SELECTED WORK:tAJ MAHAL, AGrA, IndIA, seVenteentH century

MuGHAL ArcHItecture As members of the Mughal Dynasty encouraged the

production of luxury objects such as miniature paint-ings, carpets, and metalwares, they likewise supported elaborate architectural projects. These structures served as even more expansive manifestations of the royal fam-ily’s power—rather than being relegated to the interior spaces of the palace, architectural monuments were vis-ible to the entire populous. As with all other Mughal forms we have discussed, their architecture tended to be a fusion of various existing forms—Persian, Islamic, indigenous Indian—which were combined in new and unique ways under their patronage.

Architectural sponsorship began with Babur, who is perhaps best remembered for the many gardens he con-structed.51 He introduced the Timurid practice of build-ing walled grounds filled with a variety of water features such as pools, fountains, and running water courses. Of the many gardens he built, only the Rambagh in Agra, on east bank of the Yamuna River, survives.

Babur’s son Humayun continued this grand architec-tural tradition. He constructed many buildings, includ-ing a floating palace on the Yamuna in 1532, but almost nothing from his reign stands today. This is in great con-trast to the many enduring works built by his illustrious son Akbar. Not only did Akbar build the grand tomb for his father in Delhi (begun 1564), he also constructed the Fort at Agra (1565–73), and the Great Mosque at

Fatehpur Sikri (1571). All of these projects are considered early Mughal

buildings. They are characterized by post and lintel construction techniques (as mentioned earlier, Indian builders were initially unfamiliar with arching forms), and are generally built of white marble or red sandstone. As Mughal architecture evolved under Jahangir, mosque and tomb forms became increasingly complex, while his Shalimar Gardens at Kashmir (1619) elaborated upon the earlier Mughal garden tradition. However, though many of Jahangir’s projects are certainly of architectural interest, it was under his son Shahjahan that the most important designs were completed. It is here that we see the greatest refinement and expression of the Mughal style, and of Islamic architecture overall.tHe ArcHItecturAL ProJects of sHAHJAHAn

Shahjahan was perhaps the most cultivated of the Mughal rulers. In addition to his mastery of Quran cal-ligraphy, beautiful singing voice, and handsome looks, he was well versed in the principles of architecture.52 Be-fore assuming the throne, he was asked to help design various architectural projects for his father Jahangir, and he was actively involved in the planning of his own proj-

Mughal portrait of Mumtaz Mahal, shahjahan’s beloved wife.

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this photograph of the taj Mahal complex includes the two red sandstone buildings that flank the white tomb in the center.

ects once he became emperor himself.Some of the notable buildings completed under

Shahjahan include the Mosque of Wazir Khan at La-hore (1634–36), the Red Fort at Delhi (1638–47), and the Pearl Mosque, also at Delhi (1648–55). What made Shahjahan’s projects unique was their attention to detail. His buildings were as large and imposing as those of his Mughal predecessors, but in addition, they demonstrat-ed an elegance of proportion and a concern to convey a sense of delicacy and pleasure. While he oversaw the building of a wide variety of structures—gardens, forts, and mosques—it is the tomb that he built for his favorite wife that was his most important architectural contribu-tion. In fact, the Taj Mahal is generally considered one of the most important examples of Islamic architecture in existence today.tHe tAJ MAHAL coMPLex

The Taj Mahal is generally assumed to refer simply to the beautiful white building that is one of the most widely recognized structures in the world. However, it is important to note that all aspects of the site, includ-ing the extensive grounds and auxiliary buildings near-by, are considered integral to the plan.53 As with most Mughal mausoleums, the tomb structure is set within an elaborate garden. Recent archeological study of the land across the river indicates that it too was part of the original Taj Mahal site.54 The overall project is renowned for its imposing scale and immense beauty, as well as its

legendary inspiration.No doubt one of the most appealing qualities of the

Taj Mahal is the idea that it stands as a monument to enduring love. It was built as the tomb for Shahjahan’s queen, Mumtaz Mahal, the “Chosen One of the Palace.” The story of their love is legendary and highly romantic. According to tradition, the pair first met as teenagers at the Royal Meena Bazaar in 1607. The Bazaar was gen-erally a private marketplace attached to the palace ha-rem. On one day a year—“contrary day”—it was open to men and members of the lower class, and upper class women became its shopkeepers. Arjumand Banu Begam was selling silks and glass beads on that day when Prince Khurram approached her stall and asked the price of a large piece of glass on display. Arjumand Banu Begam, playfully telling the prince the glass was a diamond, asked 10,000 rupees for the item. Prince Khurram bought the glass and walked away. The next day he asked to marry her. At that time, marriages of love were almost unheard of in the Indian court. It took several years (during which the prince married his first wife, the Persian princess Quandari Begam) before the couple was allowed to wed, which they finally did on March 27, 1612.

It was perhaps not surprising that Prince Khurram fell immediately in love with Arjumand Banu Begam. She was beautiful, educated, and well-born. After her husband’s coronation on February 4, 1628, she served as a key political advisor to Shahjahan.55 She was seen

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as a particularly charitable and compassionate figure at the court. She and Shahjahan were married for nine-teen years. Together they had fourteen children, seven of which survived. She died in childbirth in 1631, and leg-end holds that as she lay dying she asked him to build her a monument of such perfection, “that no one could be in its presence without sensing somewhere within himself the eternal wonder of the power of love and the inevita-bility of its passing with death.”56 And so, the Taj Mahal is seen as both a testament to Shahjahan’s grief and as a monument to his undying love for Mumtaz Mahal (the name Arjumand Banu Begam took upon her marriage to Prince Khurram).

The fifty-five acre site for the Taj Mahal includes not only the tomb structure, but also extensive gardens, sub-sidiary tombs (including Shahjahan’s own resting place), various auxiliary buildings, and the Taj Ganj market-place. The tomb is unusually placed within this complex. Generally, such buildings would be located in the cen-ter of the garden plan, with secondary structures placed carefully around. Here, the tomb is positioned at one end

of the garden, directly on the riverbank. At the other end stands the impressive entrance gate to the site. It is from this perspective that the tomb is seen in the canoni-cal view that even those who have not visited it know so well (the same view you see illustrated in your Art Reproductions Booklet). This long view makes the tomb feel even more grand and imposing—the wide paths and reflecting pools leading to it give a sense of procession and beautifully frame it in the distance.

One very important detail that most photographs of the Taj Mahal tend to leave out is the red sandstone buildings flanking it to either side along the river. The building to the west is a mosque. The structure to the east was originally built as a jawab (“answer”)—con-structed merely for aesthetic balance, it was basically a shell structure that copied the exterior form of the mosque.57 Smaller in scale and strongly contrasting in color with the white of the tomb, these buildings none-theless harmonize with the main structure and give co-hesion to the overall site plan. The sandstone buildings, which are perfect copies of each other, echo the tomb in

floral relief carving on an exterior wall of the taj Mahal.

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the shape of their own, smaller domes (which are white, like that of the tomb) and utilize similar decorative floral relief carvings. Their main function seems to be to serve as a support and foil for the main focus of the complex, the Taj Mahal itself.tHe tAJ MAHAL: AnALysIs

It is fascinating to consider the fact that while the Taj Mahal is by far the most famous building in India, it is not particularly representative of Indian architecture or culture. It certainly represents an important moment in Indian history, but as a Muslim building and as a tomb structure, it is actually quite anomalous in the context of the country’s built environment. It is indeed ironic that, “the most identifiable visual symbol of India, its ‘place of memories,’ is a tomb built by a member of a minor-ity community as an emblem of his love for his Persian wife.”58 [The website of the Archaeological Survey of In-dia has a wealth of information about the Taj Mahal and other major sites in India. See http://asi.nic.in/.]

The Taj Mahal sits on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra. Begun shortly after the death of Mumtaz Ma-hal in 1631, it was completed by 1647. The modern name for the building, “Taj Mahal,” translates as “Crown of Palaces” and is clearly derived from Mumtaz Mahal’s own name. In Shahjahan’s time the structure was known variously as “the building of the illuminated tomb,” “the holy tomb,” or “the building of the pure tomb.”

The elaborate nature of the Taj Mahal and other tombs built under the Mughals is far evolved from the first Is-lamic burial. Muhammad himself declared that he did not want an extravagant tomb—he was buried below the floor of a room in his house (thus introducing the con-cept of burial within a mosque, as Muhammad’s home was considered to be the first mosque structure). Within a hundred years of Muhammad’s death, the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik built the Mosque of the Prophet (707) over Muhammad’s modest tomb. In-deed, it was generally considered somewhat indecent to build an elaborate burial structure, and as one scholar has noted:Many a Muslim desirous of building himself a mauso-leum would attempt to cloak such culpable egotism by sundry devices. He might embellish the monument with Qur’anic quotations, place a mirab within it to ren-der it a place of prayer, or make provisions by means of an endowment for the regular recitation of the Qur’an within its walls. The most popular palliative was to make the mausoleum part of a joint foundation. By this means it would acquire, by osmosis, the odour of sanc-tity which properly belonged to the mosque, madrasa, ribat or other religious building which it adjoined.59 Muslim rulers clearly managed to circumvent the perceived stricture against tomb building in inge-

nious ways.

From the eleventh century on, the tomb tower was perhaps the most popular Islamic burial form. A sim-ple cylinder structure capped with a conical roof, these tombs are understood to reproduce in more durable form the monumental tents of the Turkic culture.60 The Taj Mahal structure, in contrast, is based on a garden pleasure pavilion. Islamic gardens generally included such structures, intended as a place of shade within the grounds. This visual and conceptual connection relates to the Muslim idea of paradise as a garden and shade as a blessing of heaven.

These pavilion-inspired tombs follow a basic domed square plan. This simple structural form insured that most such tombs are consistent in size—they were lim-ited by the scale of the domes that Islamic architects were capable of engineering at that time. Efforts to cre-ate taller and taller structures led to refinements, such as the use of double domes for added strength, elongated drums for increased height, attached minarets to buttress the underlying foundation of the building, and even the attenuation of proportions to give a visual sense of in-creased elevation.

Mughal tomb examples of the pavilion form tend to place the dome over an octagonal base. Again, this rep-licates garden architecture—Mughal gardens often in-cluded small octagonal structures in reference to the idea of the hasht bihisht, or “eight paradises” of the Quran. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of this Mughal tomb type.

The most visible element of the Taj Mahal is its cor-beled double dome. This slightly balloon-shaped struc-ture is set on a tall drum, which is in turn set upon a two-story, flat-roofed octagonal platform. Four smaller domes are placed around and below the central dome, and small minaret-shaped pinnacles are set at each cor-ner of the platform’s roofline. The platform is built up using pointed arches, several of which are visible from the exterior, and the entire edifice is set on a low, square platform with four tall minarets at each corner.

The proportions of the building are carefully planned according to mathematical principles. Without the tall minarets, the structure is exactly as tall as it is wide. In addition, the height of the dome exactly equals the height of the main platform on which it sits. Although a viewer of the tomb may not know about these specific math-ematical elements, such details subtly create the visual sense of balance and elegance for which the building is known. The perfection of the exterior is enhanced by the fact that there is no clear means to ascend the structure. The dome appears to simply sit on a very large platform. The main stairway into the building is hidden to create this effect.

It is not clear who the primary architect of the Taj Mahal was. The three main candidates are the mathema-

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tician and architect Ustad (“Master”) Amad; Mir Ab-dul Karim, an architect who worked on earlier projects for Jahangir; and Mulla Murshid Shirazi, who helped build later Mughal palaces in Delhi. Regardless of who the formal architect was, it is assumed that Shahjahan developed the general design under their expert guid-ance. Such supervision insured that the building was es-pecially well engineered. In particular, the load-bearing piers on which the dome sits were sunk into wells, which accommodated the slope of the riverbank upon which the tomb was built.

In its scale and design, the Taj Mahal can be seen as a refinement of the earlier tomb of Humayun. Humayun’s burial pavilion shares the basic shape of the Taj Mahal, though the proportions are not as perfect, and the earlier structure is polychrome in its decoration. The Taj Mahal, in contrast, was constructed using cream-colored marble veneer. This material not only makes the building visible from a great distance, it also allows for a change of color over its surface during the course of the day. Under dif-fering lighting conditions, the building variously appears yellow, bright white, and blue.

The decoration of the tomb includes a continuous dado frieze inside and out, carved with flowering plants in low relief. This decorative element, covering the lower por-tion of the walls of the building, is echoed in red on the flanking sandstone buildings adjacent to it. Addition-ally, the tomb is covered with carved inscriptions, pri-marily verses from the Quran. Every detail is intended to contribute to the aesthetics of the building—the lush materials, the proportions, and even the sense that the dome is floating effortlessly on the structure. Inside, the building is relatively empty. The focus is clearly on its exterior form.

Overall, the tomb can be seen as a manifestation of the idea of the Throne of God above the gardens of Paradise on the Day of Judgment. This conception comes from the description of Paradise in the Quran. As the most revered place of burial is beneath the Throne of God, Shahjahan’s development of this structure for his wife’s tomb illustrates his reverence for her and Islamic ideas of eternity.

Today the Taj Mahal is considered the apex of Mughal architecture. The site has not always been so revered, however. It has been severely threatened in various ways throughout its history. In addition to the natural men-ace of the Yamuna River’s seasonal flooding, the site was generally neglected in the years that the Mughal Dynasty declined. The tomb was desecrated, and the gardens be-came overgrown. In the colonial period there was even a plan to dismantle the tomb building and send the marble to England. Fortunately, no one wanted to pay for the project, and the building stood. A major restoration was undertaken in the early twentieth century, and today the Taj Mahal is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the

most popular tourist attraction in India. The building and complex certainly suffer from this popularity—the 60,000 visitors who visit every week do not always keep to the paths in the garden, for example—but even so,

the building serves as a lasting testament to the glory of the Mughal Dynasty in India.

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the muGhal empire, 1526–1857 We can now place north Indian developments in their

proper context. The Mughal Empire is probably one of India’s best-known exports. Its imposing and exquisite monuments, built out of red sandstone and marble, are not only tourist sites, but in some cases are also still the homes of military and cultural institutions. The most fa-mous of these, of course, is the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan’s (also spelled Shahjahan) monument to his wife Mumtaz Mahal in the north Indian city of Agra. For most of its history, spanning from about 1526 until 1858, the capital of the Mughal Empire was located in Delhi or nearby Agra.

The term Mughal can be a confusing one. It comes from the term Mongol and is the basis for the modern English word “mogul.” The Mongols were central Asian, nomadic raiding groups who fought on horseback and were centered in Central Asia. Genghis/Chengiz Khan is one such well-known Mongol. Another was Timurlane (1336–1405), who converted to Islam. Five generations later, the Timurid Empire was divided into emirates. REIGN OF BABUR

Babur, the descendant of both Genghis Khan and Timurlane resented his “modest patrimony” of Fergana [modern Uzbekistan] and instead coveted Timurlane’s great city, Samarkand, 500 kilometers east. At age fif-teen, he managed to besiege it for seven months but had

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to fall back. He tried again a few years later and failed again—much ventured, including his base at Fergana, and much lost. Therefore he turned his attention south-ward, to Kabul, playing clever politics with its rulers and taking it by 1504. From there, he and his descendants would build a great territorial and agrarian empire in the Indian subcontinent. Babur defeated the Sultan of Delhi at Panipat, 110 km. north of the capital, in 1526.45

Babur 1526–30

Humayun 1530–56

Akbar 1556–1605

Jahangir 1605–28

Shah Jahan 1628–58

Aurangzeb 1658–1707[From Trautmann, India: Brief History of a

Civilization, p. 154]

Babur held two key advantages over the kingdoms he encountered in India: first, he had mastered a sophisti-cated use of artillery; second, he had a well-trained and large cavalry that had crucial advantages in agility and speed over more ponderous infantry-based armies.46

Though Babur made a start in India, he ultimately could not hold onto his gains, and it was left to his son Humayun to eventually regain and expand upon his fa-ther’s holdings. Ironically, the originator of some of the major Mughal claims to fame, Sher Shah Suri, was not actually a Mughal. Sher Shah Suri (r. 1538–45) drove Humayun to exile in Iran a mere decade after Babur’s death.47 Upstart Sher Shah Suri’s reign was stunning: in a short seven years, Suri’s genius and vigor laid the foundation for much that was to be great and lasting under the Mughals: “Even Abu al-Fazl, [the great Mu-ghal] panegyrist, grudgingly acknowledged Sher Shah’s administrative abilities and innovations.”48

REIGN OF AKBARHumayun’s successor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) is espe-

cially revered in Indian history because he is seen as one of the few rulers who successfully united almost all of India. For Indian nationalists, whose country was taken over through the clever exploitation of internal divisions by the British, Akbar’s successes represented a lost legacy of Indian unity. For example, India’s first Prime Minis-ter, Jawaharlal Nehru, described Akbar this way: “Dar-ing and reckless, an able general, and yet gentle and full of compassion, an idealist and a dreamer…In him the old dream of a united India again took shape, united not only politically in one state but organically fused into one

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people.”51 Akbar’s reign was marked by experimentation, a commitment to seeking knowledge, an expansiveness of spirit, and a concern for the welfare of his subjects.52

When Akbar came to power, the Mughal Empire extended only over part of the north Indian doab. By the end of Akbar’s reign, the empire was considerably augmented, with both western India and eastern India under Mughal suzerainty. When he first came to power, Akbar conducted successful campaigns to take central India. He addressed fissiparous tendencies by incorpo-rating and balancing Indian elites who came from di-verse backgrounds.

At first primarily reliant on Central Asian nobles, the Mughal administration began to incorporate Per-sian elites (many of whom came to seek north Indian

patronage as exiles from Iran). Akbar also turned to In-dian elites, both Hindu and Muslim. Like Krishna Deva Reya, and so many other royal houses, Akbar used mar-riage alliances and the incorporation of defeated enemies to successfully bring most Rajput kingdoms into the em-pire; such carrots were balanced by the stick of demon-strative victories over the finest examples of Rajput mili-tary might, the forts at Chittor and Ranthambhor, in the late 1560s.53 From Rajasthan Akbar turned to Gujarat, the western Indian coast, a crucial depot in global trade networks. Next was eastern India, again a crucial zone of agrarian productivity that linked land and sea trade networks; Akbar reached the ancient capital of Patna in this period, giving him the foothold he needed to push into Bengal later in his reign.54

Having secured a large and rich territorial base, Ak-bar spent the decade of the 1570s refining the Mughal administrative system put in place by Sher Shah Suri.55 This was called the mansabdari system. Mansab means rank, and a mansabdar was a rank holder. Each mansabdar was required to provide men and horses to the Mughal state set at a certain amount, starting from ten horsemen ranging up to over thirty-three ranks to five thousand. A mansabdar received either a salary denominated in cur-rency or revenue fixed to certain territories, on the prem-ise that each village produced a set amount of revenue for the center. The mansabdar was transferrable. Local bases of power were prevented from taking deep root in plac-es where the imperial military might not easily reach. While the highest ranks were reserved for members of the royal family, elites of a variety of backgrounds could become part of the Mughal aristocracy. This transferable system helped create a shared, highly effective Mughal political culture that retained legitimacy even as Mughal power waned later on. It helped prevent the growth of a landed, feudal aristocracy. The shift to cash salaries, and away from in-kind revenues, was facilitated by the flow of New World silver into India via the Indian Ocean trade routes.56

The cosmopolitan style of Mughal rule and political culture was entirely in step with other Indian develop-ments, as the discussion of Vijayanagara has already made clear. Akbar was interested in various religions and invited holy men of each to his court to give lectures. One of his explicit polices was sulh-i kul, or universal toleration.57 Akbar’s religious experiments extended to creating the din-i-ilahi, (“Religion of G-d”) akin to a new religion. The din-i-ilahi was “a discipleship order intended to bind the highest nobles in complete loyalty to the emperor.”58 Some scholars have termed Akbar’s religion alternatively a cult or a religion; most say it was an elite religion with Akbar at the center.

Succession in the Mughal Empire was never uncon-tested; in the absence of a strict rule of primogeniture, the successful claimant of the throne usually had diverse networks of support that could help him clinch this

Jesuits at akbar’s court, c. 1605, akbarnam. akbar is especially revered in indian history because

he is seen as one of the few rulers who successfully united almost

all of india.

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position. This was the case for Jahangir (r. 1605–28) who claimed the throne after his father’s death in 1605. REIGN OF SHAH JAHAN

Like father, like son. Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) was third in birth order but first in Jahangir’s eye for much of his life, and equally successful in building multiple solid bases of support among the various constituents in the empire. Thus when his father died in 1628, Shah Ja-han could claim the throne. One major source of Shah Jahan’s legitimacy was his success against the seemingly indefatigable Rajput Sisodiyas based in Chittor, Rajast-han.59 Shah Jahan’s early military success was matched bt the development of his empire in the three decades he ruled, from 1628 to 1658.60

Shah Jahan secured the empire’s base, shoring it up in the east and taking Sind in the west, and then turned his attention southward to the difficulties of subduing the Deccan.61 Generally Jahangir and Shah Jahan left the political and administrative system that had been crafted

by Akbar intact. Shah Jahan adopted a more conservative religious policy than Akbar’s experimentation; whether this was part of a natural drift from his grandfather’s re-ligion, a sop to religious conservatives within his regime, an expression of his own religious feeling, or a mixture of all three is difficult to decide for certain.62

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