Pre-Mughal: Quwat-Ul-Islam Mosque, Arch of the Prayer Hall

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Collections	Arthur Llewellyn Basham
Title:	Pre-Mughal: Quwat-Ul-Islam Mosque, Arch of the Prayer Hall
Author(s):	Frederic, Louis Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
Keywords:	Delhi Sultanate;architecture
Series/Report no.:	Basham Collection
Description:	Ibn Batuta [sic] relates that before the conquest of Delhi there was a Hindu temple on this spot. The builders of the mosque made use of some of the foundations of the old temple, which had a simple rectangular ground-plan. This arch, in its sober elegance, is delicately decorated with friezes of words in Naskh characters and floral motifs. The pillar in the centre of the courtyard is Hindu, probably the stambha of some Vaisnavite temple. It is made of almost pure iron, is in the Gupta style and carries a Sanskrit inscription of the 4th century, recording that this pillar was erected on the Visnupada hill by a king named Chandra.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/1885/182608
Other Identifiers:	ANUA 682-1970

File	Description	Size	Format	Image
ANUA_682_1970.tif		16.91 MB	TIFF

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