Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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Faithfully reflecting the old Indian style of house building is the Panch Mahal, a five-storied structure built upward in the stepped fashion of the Jodh Bai palace, and with the same emphasis on the open-halled patterns of the latter as well. We see here the first level of porches in the Panch Mahal and are at once aware of the marvelously wood-like character of the carved stone. The decorated terminals of the 'beams,' which we see thrusting out from under the first-story verandah, serve to illustrate this carved stone conception of imitating wood. Terminals such as these do not function as supporting elements in any way, nor do they 'terminate' anything which needs anchoring in place. They are purely decoration and beautifully so. Above the first colonnade fencing off the veranda is another excellent example of stone carved like wood. Here, the railing is the characteristic jali (stone grill-work) which customarily appears over doorways, screens windows, forms the cusps on the ogive arches at entrances, and, as it does in this case, comprises a highly sculptural barrier for the common balcony.
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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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