Shreya Ghera

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History of Architecture (AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

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Indo-Saracenic Architecture Influence of Mughal

Architecture on British style

Term Paper for History of Architecture (AP131)

SHREYA GERA

Roll Number: 39

Sushant School of Art and Architecture

ABSTRACT


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The Indo-Saracenic ws an architectural style movement by British architects n the

late 19th century n British India. t drew elements frm native Indo-Islamic nd

Indian architecture, nd combined t wth the Gothic revival nd Neo-Classical styles

favoured n Victorian Britain.

Indo-Saracenic

Confluence of different architectural styles had been attempted before during the

mainly Turkic,Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods. Turkic and Mughal conquest n

the Indian subcontinent, introduced new concepts in the already rich architecture of

India. The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate, employing pillars, beams

and lintels. The Turkic invaders brought n the arcuate style f construction, wth its

arches and beams, whch flourished under Mughal patronage nd by incorporating

elements f Indian architecture, especially Rajasthani Temple architecture

Local influences ls lead to different 'orders' f the Indo-Islamic style. After the

disintegration

f the Turkic Delhi Sultanate, rulerso

f individual states established

their own rule nd hence ther own architectural styles, whch was heavily influenced

by local styles. Examples f these re the 'Bengal' nd the 'Gujarat' schools. Motifs

such s chhajja, corbel brackets wth richly carved pendentive decorations) ,

chhatris nd minars (tall towers) were characteristic f the Mughal architecture style,

whch ws t become lasting legacy f the nearly four hundred years f the Mughal

rule and hence there was a decline in Mughal Architecture when Shah Jahan ws

succeeded by hs puritanical son, Aurangzeb, wh hd n soft spot fr art nd

architecture.
http://www.triposo.com/section/Neoclassical_architecturehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Turkic_peopleshttp://www.triposo.com/section/Delhi_Sultanatehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Mughal_Empirehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Mughal_Empirehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Turkic_peopleshttp://www.triposo.com/section/Delhi_Sultanatehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Delhi_Sultanatehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Turkic_peopleshttp://www.triposo.com/section/Mughal_Empirehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Mughal_Empirehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Delhi_Sultanatehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Turkic_peopleshttp://www.triposo.com/section/Neoclassical_architecture


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By the early 19th century, the British had made themselves the virtual masters f the

Indian Subcontinent. However, t usher n new era, the British 'Raj', new

architectural tradition hd t be founded. Hence they contemplated marriage

between the existing styles f India wth imported styles frm the West such s

Gothic Neoclassical nd Art-Deco, Gothic even more s becuse ther design

philosophy ws inclined towards grand scale.

The following are the principal Characteristics of Indo-Saracenic Buildings

Onion (Bulbous) Domes

Overhanging Eaves

Pointed Arches, Cusped Arches, or Scalloped Arches

Vaulted Roofs

Domed Kiosks

Many Miniature Domes, or Domed Chatris

Towers or Minarets

Harem Windows

Open Pavilions

Pierced Open Arcading.

PAPER
http://www.triposo.com/section/Neoclassical_architecturehttp://www.triposo.com/section/Neoclassical_architecture


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INFLUENCE OF MUGHALS ON INDO - SARACENIC

The British should not carry into India a new style of architecture, but rather should

follow the examples of those whom they had supplanted as conqueres, the

Muslims, who seized upon the art indginous to the countries conquered, adapting

it to suit their own needs and ideas As stated by T.Roger Smith in An Imperial

Vision- Indian Architecture And Britains Raj by Thomas Metcalf.

British actually did not develop their own architectural style. The development of

Indo - Saracenic during colonial period was the amalgamation of Mughal and Hindu

architecture combined with gothic revival. Since Britishers want to legitimatize their

rule, they decided to justify their presence by relating themselves to the previous

rulers, the Mughals.

Thomas Metcalf stated that in the architecture, the British sought to incorporate

their view of Indias past into their own building, and so represent Britains Raj as

legitimately Indian, while at the same time constructing a modern India of railways,

colleges, art galleries and law courts.

Chepauk Palace (C.1768) in Chennai designed by Paul Benfield is said to be the first

Indo- Saracenic building in India, referred to as licentious eclectic incorporating

elements and motifs of Hindu and Islamic precedents. The other outstanding

examples are spread across the country - Muir College at Allahabad; Napier

Museum at Thiruvananthapuram; the Post Office, Prince of Wales Museum,

University Hall and Library, Gateway of India in Mumbai; M.S. University, Lakshmi

Vilas Palace at Baroda; the General Post Office, Law Courts, Museums and the

University Senate House in Chennai; the Palaces at Mysore and Bangalore.


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Influences of the Indo-Saracenic wave can also be seen in Lutyens design for the

Viceroys residence (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi where also a

combination of Mughal and European styles was employed.


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British emerged as composite architectural style fitted for modern building. As

precedent and justification for this 'reconstruction' of Indian architecture, the British

looked back to the work of the Mughal and other medieval Indian builders. The

architecture of those centuries they saw as a blend of Hindu and of Muslim

elements; hence most appropriately called 'Indo-Saracenic'. This melded style

reached its height in seventeenth-century Bijapur, if not even earlier, in the

fifteenth century Pathankindoms of Gaur and Mandu. The buildings of this era, as

contrasted with the ornate structures of later rulers, were, in their view, 'more

restrained and flexible', simple yet dignified, eminently suited both to decorative

elaboration and modern needs. The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate,

employing pillars, beams and lintels. The Turkic invaders brought in the arcuate

style of construction, with its arches and beams, corbel brackets with richly carved

pendentive decorations (described as stalactite pedentives), balconies, kiosks or

chhatris and minars.

In the 1870s, when the Government decided to build at Ajmer a school for the

education of the Rajput, the latter, when consulted, announced their preference for

a European classical style of architecture. The British proceeded nevertheless to put

up an Indo-Saracenic building. The onion shaped domes, chatris, harem windows,

all these architectural styles are an influence of Mughal architecture representing

the influence of Indias past and Mughals dominance. The symmetry in plan also

shows the architectural feature of Mughals.


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MAYO AJMER COLLEGE, BY MAJOR C.MANT

National Art Gallery Designed by Henry Irwin and made of red sandstone. It is

symmetrical in plan and is topped by pillars and chatris as is observed in

BulandDarwaza of Fatehpursikri.

NATIONAL ART GALLERY, BY HENRY IRWIN.


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Victoria Memorial The Memorial is compared with TajMahal. There is a certain

resemblance with, more than the details mentioned which, lends the building a

pervasive Indian character. It arises, first, from the material. The Memorial is built of

white marble, and in the event the stone was brought from the same quarries in

Makrana, Rajasthan, that supplied Shah Jahan. There is also a correspondence in the

forms: the great dome, clustered with four subsidiary, octagonal domed chattris,

the high portals, the terrace, and the domed corner towers. There is even some

correspondence in the function: like Shah Jahan, Curzon conceived the building as a

memorial to an Empress and as a powerful visual statement. This linking of the

Mughal and British periods is sustained by the collection of exhibits within.

English wonders had prolonged itself for much long period, spreading itself to every

remote corner in the country thereby creating masterpiece architecture influenced

from the past of India, finding its way into all sorts of public buildings such as

railways, post offices, high court etc.


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Bibliography

1. THOMAS R. METCALF.An Imperial Vision: India Architecture and Britain's Raj ISBN

0-571-15419-0

2. Marshall, P. J. The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire. s.l. :

Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0521002540, 9780521002547.

3. Peter Scriver, Vikramaditya Prakash.Colonial Modernities: Building, Dwelling andArchitecture in British India and Ceylon.


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