310. Modern Curved Form of Roof.
It is a curious illustration, however, of how much there is in architecture that is conventional and how far familiarity may render that beautiful which is not so abstractedly, that while to the European eye this form always remains unpleasing, to the native eye—Hindu or Mahomedan—it is the most elegant of modern inventions.[522]
Even irrespective, however, of its local peculiarities, the architecture of Gaur, the Mahomedan capital of Bengal, deserves attention for its extent and the immense variety of detail which it displays. Bengal, apparently because it was so distant from the capital, was erected into a separate kingdom almost simultaneously with Delhi itself. Mahommad Bakhtiar Khilji, governor of Berar under Kutub ud-dîn, became first king of the dynasty in A.D. 1203, and was succeeded by a long line of forty-eight kings, till the state was absorbed into Akbar’s vast kingdom in A.D. 1573, under Daud Khan ben Suleiman. Though none of these kings did anything that entitles them to a place in general history, they possessed one of the richest portions of India, and employed their wealth in adorning their capital with buildings, which, when in a state of repair, must have been gorgeous, even if not always in the best taste. The climate of Bengal is, however, singularly inimical to the preservation of architectural remains. If the roots of a tree of the fig kind once find a resting-place in any crevice of a building, its destruction is inevitable; and even without this, the luxuriant growth of the jungle hides the building so completely, that it is sometimes difficult to discover it—always to explore it. Add to this that Gaur is singularly well suited to facilitate the removal of materials by water-carriage. During the summer inundation, boats can float up to any of the ruins, and after embarking stones or bricks, drop down the stream to any new capital that may be rising. It thus happens that Moorshedabad, Hoogly, and even Calcutta, are rich in spoils of the old Pathan capital of Bengal, while it has itself become only a mass of picturesque but almost indistinguishable ruins.
The city of Gaur was a famous capital of the Hindus long before it was taken possession of by the Mahomedans. The Sên and Bellala dynasties of Bengal seem to have resided here, and no doubt adorned it with temples and edifices worthy of their fame and wealth. These, however, were probably principally in brick, though adorned with pillars and details in what used to be called black marble, but seems to be an indurated potstone of very fine grain, and which takes a beautiful polish. Many fragments of Hindu art in this material are found among the ruins; and if carefully examined might enable us to restore the style. Its interest, however, principally lies in the influence it had on the Mahomedan style that succeeded it. It is neither like that of Delhi, nor Jaunpore, nor any other style, but one purely local, and not without considerable merit in itself; its principal characteristic being heavy short pillars of stone supporting pointed arches and vaults, in brick—whereas at Jaunpore, for instance, light pillars carried horizontal architraves and flat ceilings.
The general character of the style will be seen in the example from a mosque called the Kudam ul Roussoul at Gaur, and is by no means devoid of architectural merit ([Woodcut No. 311]). The solidity of the supports go far to redeem the inherent weakness of brick architecture, and by giving the arches a firm base to start from, prevents the smallness of their parts from injuring the general effect. It also presents, though in a very subdued form, the curvilinear form of the roof, which is so characteristic of the style.
In Gaur itself there are two very handsome mosques—the Golden and the Barah Durwaza, or twelve-doored. Both their façades are in stone, and covered with foliaged patterns in low-relief, borrowed evidently from the terra-cotta ornaments which were more frequently employed, and continued a favourite mode of adorning façades down to the time of the erection of the Kantonuggur temple illustrated above ([Woodcut No. 263]). In the interior their pillars have generally been removed, and the vaults consequently fallen in, so that it is not easy to judge of their effect, even if the jungle would admit of the whole area being grasped at once. Their general disposition may be judged of, however, by the plan on page 549 ([Woodcut No. 312]) of the Adinah mosque at Maldah, which formed at the time it was erected the northern suburb of the capital. From inscriptions upon it, it appears that this mosque was erected by Sikander Shah, one of the most illustrious of his race (A.D. 1358-1367), with the intention of being himself buried within its precincts, or in its immediate neighbourhood. Its dimensions are considerable, being nearly 500 ft. north and south, and nearly 300 ft. east and west. In the centre it contains a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by a thick wall of brick, divided by eighty-eight similar arched openings, only one of which, that in the centre of the west side facing Mecca, is wider and more dignified than the rest. The roof in like manner is supported by 266 pillars of black hornblende, similar in design to those represented in Woodcut No. 311. They are bold and pleasing in design, but it must be confessed wanting in variety. These with the walls support no less than 385 domes, all similar in design and construction. The only variation that is made is where a platform, called the Padshah ka Takht, or King’s Throne, divides a part of the building into two storeys.[523]
311. Kudam ul Roussoul Mosque, Gaur. (From a Photograph.)
A design, such as that of the Adinah mosque, would be appropriate