Delhi: Red Fort, Diwan-i-khas
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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Evidence of a local style in wood-carving is even more apparent in the Diwan-i-khas situated with the wall of the Red Fort. This is seen in the scalloped design around the ogival arches forming the colonnade of the building. At the four corners of the roof are the raised domes already typical of Indo-Islamic architecture, and [which] will remain an integral part of Indian palace architecture henceforth. The ruler, Akbar, who ordered this project, was a highly unusual man of great religious tolerance. This lively mixture of Hindu and Persian elements, which he fostered in his building programs, died with him, unfortunately, for his successors reinstated the pure Indian-Mohammedan style. It was due to Akbar's taste, then, that the Diwan-i-khas was built as a two-storied square pavilion for private audiences, over which a flat ceiling, supported on stalactite brackets, was raised.
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Basham Collection
Date created
circa 1970s
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This item is provided for research purposes. Contact the Australian National University Archives at butlin.archives@anu.edu.au for permission to use.
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