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Tomb of Akbar, Secundra.

Engraved by J. Rolph, Drawn by W. Purser and Sketched by Capt. R. Elliot.
London: Fisher Son & Co., 1833. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

The Tomb of Akbar the Great is an important Mughal architectural masterpiece, built 1605-1613, set in 48 Ha (119 acres) of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The third Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (1555–1605), himself commenced its construction in around 1600, according to Tartary tradition to commence the construction of one's tomb during one's lifetime. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. After his death, Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction in 1605-1613. Akbar was one of the greatest emperors of his time. This was not known until later on because his burial chamber laid on a 20 by 5 acre plot of land.

 
 
 
£29
 
 
 
 
 
 


Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Engraved by Robt. Wallis, Drawn by S. Prout and Sketched by R. Elliot,

London: Fisher Son & Co., 1831. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

The Taj Mahal, is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".
Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

 
 
 
£59
 
 
 
 
 
 


Jumma Musjid, Agra, India

Engraved by T. Boys, Drawn by W. Purser and Sketched by Capt. R. Elliot.

London: Fisher Son & Co., 1831. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

Jama Masjid (Jumma Masjid) in Agra is opposite the Agra fort and overlooking the Agra Fort Railway Station. The Jama Masjid is also popularly known as the Jami Masjid or "Friday Mosque". It is one of the larger mosques in India.
The Mosque was built by Shah Jahan in 1648 and dedicated to his favourite daughter, Jahanara Begum. There was a spacious, octagonal Tripolia Chowk which existed between the Jama Masjid and the Delhi gate of the Agra Fort. This Tropolia was destroyed in order to create the Agra Fort Railway Station. The cloisters have engrailed arches supported on pillars. The main entrance is through the eastern side. The prayer chamber has a façade with a broad arched iwan in its centre and is adorned with slender turrets alternated with kiosks. Its dome is the largest and highest of the three domes crowning the sanctuary.
All the bulbous domes have inverted lotus and kalash finials on the top and have narrow zigzag courses of white marble alternated by broad bands of red stone. There is a fountain with four kiosks in its corners in the centre of the courtyard. The interiors of the western wall have a beautiful mihrab and pulpit in white marble. The Persian inscription in white marble inlaid with black stone on the archway of the central portal is in praise of Jahanara and Shah Jehan. The pristine beauty of the mosque must have been awesome as indicated by its comparison with Baitul-Mamur, the fabulous mosque of rubies and pearls situated in the fourth sky. It is said that once surrounded by a market place called Tripolia set in an octagonal (Muthamman) Chowk that was built between the Delhi Gate and the Jami Masjid. But, it was later destroyed in 1871-73 to acquire space for laying down the railway tracks for the city. It required six years and 5,000 workers to finish. It was made by using red sandstone and marble.

 

 
 
 
£29
 
 
 
 
 
 


Bejapore

Engraved by T. Jeavons, Drawn by S. Prout and Sketched by R. Elliot.

London: Fisher Son & Co., 1833. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 
 
 
£29
 
 
 
 
 
 


Triad Figure, Interior of Elephanta, India

Engraved by W. Woonoth, Drawn by S. Prout and Sketched by R. Elliot.

London: Fisher Son & Co., 1833. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

The Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva.
The rock cut architecture of the caves has been dated to between the 5th and 8th centuries, although the identity of the original builders is still a subject of debate. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. All the caves were also originally painted in the past, but now only traces remain.
The island was called Gharapuri and was a Hindu place of worship until Portuguese rule began in 1534. The Portuguese called the island Elephanta on seeing its huge gigantic statue of an Elephant at the entrance. The Statue is now placed in the garden outside the Bhau Daji Lad (erstwhile Victoria & Albert) Museum at the Jijamata Udyan (erstwhile Victoria Gardens) at Byculla in Mumbai. This cave was renovated in the 1970s after years of neglect, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

 
 
 
£19
 
 
 
 
 
 


Singham Mahal, Torway, Bejapore

Engraved by H. Wallis, Drawn by D. Cox, and Sketched by Capt. R. Elliot.

London: Fisher Son & Co., 1846. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

Singham Mahal, Torway The ruins at Torway (or Toorvee) are between four and five miles distant from the West Gate of the City of Bejapore; and a little more than half a mile within the line of what remains of the great wall, which, in an earlier number of this work, has been mentioned, as having formerly defended a city of greater magnitude, or as having been raised as an outwork to protect the town that now exists. In the account given of Bejapore in the Indian Gazetteer, the only notice that is taken of these ruins is contained in the few lines that are here quoted, " About five miles from the great western gate is a village called Toorvee, built on the outskirts of the former city. At this spot there are still to be seen the remains of a royal palace, (the Singham Mahal,) of a mosque, and of various other erections of less note".

 
 
 
£29
 
 
 
 
 
 


The Cave of Karli

Engraved by J. Bishop and Drawn by G. Cattermole.

Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

The Karla Caves or Karle Caves are a complex of ancient Indian Buddhist rock-cut cave shrines developed over two periods – from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, and from the 5th century AD to the 10th century. The oldest of the cave shrines is believed to date back to 160 BC. Located in Karli near Lonavala, Maharashtra, the caves lie near a major ancient trade route, running eastward from the Arabian Sea into the Deccan. Karli's location in Maharashtra places it in a region that marks the division between North India and South India. Buddhists, having become identified with commerce and manufacturing through their early association with traders, tended to locate their monastic establishments in natural geographic formations close to major trade routes so as to provide lodging houses for travelling traders. Today, the cave complex is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
The caves were historically associated with the Mahāsāṃghika sect of Buddhism, which had great popularity in this region of India, as well as wealthy patronage. The caves house a Buddhist monastery dating back to the 2nd century BC. The monastery was once home to two 15-meter grand pillars. Now only one of these remains, and the remaining space is occupied by a temple dedicated to the goddess Ekveera, who is worshipped most notably by the Koli community of Mumbai.

 
 
 
£19
 
 
 
 
 
 


Dus Awtar, Caves of Ellora

Engraved by W. Wolnoth and Drawn by G, Catermole.

London: Fisher, Son & Co.,1850. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

This is one of the centre excavations in the range at Ellora, and its name is derived from the supposition that the ten Avatars, or Incarnations, of Vishnoo are represented in the compartments of sculptured figures, that adorn the sides of the Cave. "But on this ground," says Captain Sykes in his account of Ellora, "every other Cave has an equal claim to the appellation. Like every Braminical Cave at Ellora, (with the exception of a small one dedicated to Daivai, found in the rocky Nulla,) it is sacred to the Lingham; and Mahadeo and Vishnoo appear in attendance on, and inferior to, this mystic emblem, since it occupies the place of honour in every Cave."

 
 
 
£19
 
 
 
 
 
 


Rameswur, Caves of Ellora

Engraved by W. Woolnoth, Drawn by G. Cattermole and Sketched by R. Elliot.

London: Fisher, Son, and Jackson, 1832. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.

 

Cave temples of the Hindoos are found in various places on the western side of Hindoostan. In travelling down from the upper or northern provinces through Central India, these excavations are first met with in the Berar mountains, more than fifty miles to the northward of Aurungabad, near the Adjunteh pass, by which the north side of the Deccan table land is ascended. The Caves here spoken of lie among the hills, about four or five miles to the westward of the village of Adjunteh, and they are very beautiful excavations, though on a small scale, compared with those at Ellora, and some other places. There is an obstacle met with in exploring these caves, that at the first mention of it appears to be of a less serious nature, than those who have encountered the difficulty, have found it to present. Wild bees hive, in immense numbers, in the Caves, and on the sides of the ravine in which they are situated; and when once these vindictive animals have been disturbed, they not only prove a great annoyance to visitors, but render all attempts to enter the Caves extremely dangerous to those who have, in all probability, gone quite unprepared for such an opposition. Tigers are very numerous in this wild and unfrequented neighbourhood, which is seldom invaded by human beings, and then only for the purpose of hunting that formidable animal itself, or with the object of exploring these extraordinary excavations. Under such circumstances, together with something that a short time ago was to be apprehended from an inferior class of robbers in this country, called Bheels, these Caves have hitherto remained but comparatively little known.

 
 
 
£19
 
 
 
 
 
 


The Fortress of Dowlatabad in the Deccan

London: W.H. Allen and co., 1860. Steel Engraving, Size: 260x200 mm.


The fortress of Daulatabad, a rocky hill which in shape has been likened to a compressed bee -hive, rises abruptly from the plains with the Mughal pavilion perched at the top. This has been beautifully illustrated in the adjoining plate which also shows the powerful wall built around the city. Chand Minar, the four tiered circular tower with three balconies stands out distinctly in the distance. A few travelers walking down the winding road, the landscape sparsely dotted by trees and the setting sun on the horizon make a very pretty picture.
This extraordinary fortress which is situated some thirteen kilometers from the city of Aurangabad was built in 1187 by Bhillamraja of the Yadav dynasty and was called Devgiri. Subsequently the Mughal emperor Mohamed-Bin-Tughlak invaded Devgiri and renamed it as Daulatabad. He was so enamored with the place that he decided to make it the second capital of his empire. He forced his officials and many residents of Delhi to move there but the ill-conceived plan did not last long and had to be abandoned. In his absence the Muslim governors of Deccan revolted and took over the city.

 
 
 
£29
 
 
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