| REFERENCES. |
|
A. Tomb of Gunj Buksh. B. Tomb of Mahmúd Begurra and his Sons. C. Tomb of Beebee Rájbaie, his Queen. D. The Mosque. E. Covered Gateway. F. Covered Hall overlooking the Tank. G. Well and Fountain. H. Portico leading to Terrace and Steps down to the Tank. I. Pavilion. J. Portions of the Steps surrounding the Tank. |
Mootee Musjid at Agra, to be described hereafter, there is no mosque in India more remarkable for simple elegance than this.
299. Pavilion in front of Tomb at Sirkej.
300. Mosque at Mooháfiz Khan. Scale 25 ft. to 1 in.
Besides these larger mosques there are several smaller ones of great beauty, of which two—those of Mooháfiz Khan and the Rani Sîpri—are pre-eminent. The elevation of the first is by no means happy, but its details are exquisite, and it retains its minarets, which is too seldom the case. As will be seen from the woodcut, as well as from those of the Jumma and Queen’s Mosques (Nos. 294, 296), the lower part of the minarets is of pure Hindu architecture; all the bases at Ahmedabad are neither more nor less than the perpendicular parts of the basement of Hindu or Jaina temples elongated. Every form and every detail may be found at Chandravati or Abu, except in one particular—on the angles of all Hindu temples are niches containing images. This the Moslem could not tolerate, so he filled them with tracery. We can follow the progress of the development of this form, from the first rude attempt in the Jumma Musjid, through all its stages to the exquisite patterns of the Queen’s Mosque at Mirzapore. After a century’s experience they produced forms which as architectural ornaments will, in their own class, stand comparison with any employed in any age or in any part of the world; and in doing this they invented a class of window-tracery in which they were also unrivalled. The specimen below ([Woodcut No. 301]), from a window in a desecrated mosque in the palace (the Bhudder) will convey an idea of its elaborateness and grace. It would be difficult to excel the skill with which the vegetable forms are conventionalised just to the extent required for the purpose. The equal spacing also of the subject by the three ordinary trees and four palms, takes it out of the category of direct imitation of nature, and renders it sufficiently structural for its situation; but perhaps the greatest skill is shown in the even manner in which the pattern is spread over the whole surface. There are some exquisite specimens of tracery in precious marbles at Agra and Delhi, but none quite equal to this.