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Description: | Photograph of Itimad-ud-daulah's Tomb at Agra in Uttar Pradesh, taken by Edmund William Smith in 1893-4, from the Archaeological Survey of India. This is a general view of the façade. The mausoleum was built c. 1625 by Noor Jehan, the favorite wife of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir (r.1605-27) in memory of her father Ghayas-ud-din (Itimad-ud-Daulah), and contains both his and his wife's grave. The tomb's delicately carved marble screens let in light and air, and these, together with the inlaid pietra dura work on the walls and floors, make this a most beautiful building.
Smith wrote in Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra, 1901, "...the mausoleum stands in the midst of a large garden some 180 yards square, surrounded by a wall, except on the west or river side, where a terrace overlooks the Jumna. The entrance to the garden is on the east, through a red sandstone gateway, ornamented with marble mosaic. On the south side of the garden is another red sandstone building, whilst a third commands the river frontage. The tomb (Plate LXVIII) [this image] stands on a podium; is rectangular in shape and measures about 69 feet each way. In the centre is a large domed chamber containing Ghayas-ud-din's tomb, and on the four corners are similar chambers connected one with the other by vestibules." | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | Smith, Edmund William | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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