album;
painting
- Museum number
- 1945,1013,0.9.16
- Description
-
Watercolour painting sparsely coloured on paper, of the plinth of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph in the Taj Mahal. The painting is a detail of the pietra dura decoration on the plinth of the cenotaph. It consists of three floral groups, two of crown imperials and the central group a lily-like plant. The plants are divided into panels by baluster columns. This is surrounded by a border of hanging blossoms above and below. The designs were created using inlaid precious and semi-precious stones on the marble. The painting is framed by a thick black line.
- Production date
- 19thC(early)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 29 centimetres
-
Width: 21.70 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- This painting comes from an album of watercolour paintings and pen and ink drawings of North Indian architectural subjects (1945,1013,0.9.1-33). These include the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandra. Albums such as this were commonly made during the early 19th century, typically for European visitors in India. Comparable albums are in the collections of the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1643 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) as a mausoleum for his wife Arjumand Banu Begum, also known by the title Mumtaz Mahal.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1945
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1945,1013,0.9.16
