Ornamentation of Taj

ORNAMENTATION
The domed mausoleum can seem deceptively simple since on first sight its white marble form appears to be a matchless example of purity and simplicity. But as one moves closer, the Taj Mahal's elaborate design reveals itself. While individual elements such as the refined inlays and myriad surface details are testimony to the fine quality of this monument, it is the superb manner in which all the elements are harmonised that most clearly reveals the great complexity of its creation. An often repeated nineteenth century characterisation of the monument is that "it was built by Titans, finished by jewellers."
The major modes of ornamentation found on the monument are

PIETRA DURA INLAY
The technique known as pietra dura, whereby thin sections of precisely carved hard and semi-hard gemstones are laid in sockets specially prepared in the surface of marble, is another mode of ornamentation prominently featured on the Taj Mahal. Here, the pietra dura inlay is wrought into the form of arabesque floral tendrils which meander over the surface of the white marble in a lyrical and graceful pattern that transcends its inherently restrictive symmetry.

The use of pietra dura in India has become a matter of great controversy for years. Some have claimed that it was derived from Florentine traditions, others that it developed independently in India. Recently, it has been cogently argued that the technique was indeed Italian in origin, but that it was modified by Indian traditions of craftsmanship. The argument hinges on the recognition of the difference between two related types of inlay. Although conventional stone inlay had been known in India for a long time (stages of indigenous development from the Ranpur temple to the tomb of Akbar are perfectly clear), the practice of pietra dura, which involves inlaying stones of extreme hardness, has in every instance of its development been traced back to an Italian source, and it is quite likely that European craftsmen taught it to the Mughal artists. There is no doubt that the Mughal sovereigns freely entertained artists from Europe.

Both stone inlay and hardstone inlay are found in the tomb of Itimad-ud-daula and his wife at Agra, built between 1622 and 1628. But it was in the earliest projects of Shah Jehan's reign that the pietra dura work was fully perfected and then adopted as an important means of decoration - perhaps the ideal one to be employed at the court of an emperor who would appreciate both the high level of skill entailed by the process and the jewel-like qualities realised in its finest products.

FLOEWRS
Flowers have long been important in Islamic cultures, where they were generally seen as symbols of the divine realm. The Mughals had maintained a special interest in flowers since the days of Babur, who was an avid garden-builder.

Shah Jehan's father Jehangir had been quite fascinated with nature, and his passion for flowers is well documented by his memoirs. Shah Jehan seems to have shared this interest. Jehangir seems to have been the catalyst in the introduction of naturalistic plants into Mughal paintings, which were inspired by engravings in European herbal books that had been brought into India by foreign visitors. But it was in the time of Shah Jehan that Indian artists refined such depictions, transforming them into the hallmark of the Mughal decorative style. The Taj Mahal reveals that the importance of floral motifs in an architectural context was established early in the emperor's reign.

HARD STONE CARVING
A long tradition of hardstone carving existed in India and the Islamic courts of Iran and Central Asia. The Mughals incorporated this art form into their architectural programs and corpus of decorative objects in the early seventeenth century. Although the technique of carving white marble as a building material was first utilised during the reign of Jehangir and jade luxury items were fashioned even earlier, it was not until the reign of Shah Jehan that hardstone carving achieved its full artistic expression. The Taj Mahal displays exquisitely carved modelled floral sprays sculpted in shallow relief in white marble. The superb quality of the sculpted flowers on the mausoleum can be attributed to the ancient tradition of stone carving in India. These reliefs, however, are also indebted to European sources for their more naturalistic forms. Besides its architectural role, hardstone carving was also used to create decorative objects and vessels.

CALLIGRAPHY
The inscriptions at the Taj Mahal have been judiciously selected and artistically inscribed over the main gateway, in the Mosque and the tomb proper, in panels around the arched portals, alcoves and the niches. They are chiefly verses from the Koran, which is considered by Muslims to be the word of God as revealed to Mohammed. While inlaying this calligraphy, Shah Jehan's calligraphers have performed an amazing optical trick : the size of the lettering that runs up and over the arch appears to be consistent from top to bottom. This illusion was created by gradually heightening the size of the letters as their distance from the eye increased; from the ground the dimensions seem the same at every point.

The South Gateway which is the main entrance has, along its front and sides, the whole chapter 'Walfazr' (The Daybreak) (Sura-89, containing 30 verses), chapter 'Wad-duha' (The Glorious Morning Light) (Sura-93, containing 11 verses), chapter 'Wat-tin' (The Fig) (Sura-95, containing 8 verses), and chapter 'Alam-nashrah' (Have We Not Opened) (Sura-94, containing 8 verses).
Inside the Mosque have been inscribed fifteen verses of Sura-91, entitled 'Wash-Shams' (The Sun) and four of Sura-112 entitled 'Sura Ikhlas' (The Declaration of Gods Unity).
The portals (iwans) of the main tomb are adorned with the text of Sura-36 entitled 'Ya-Sin' (containing 83 verses). Arched niches inside the portals have verses from Sura-81 entitled 'Izash-Shamso Kuvvirat' (The Folding Up), Sura-82 entitled 'Izas-Samaun Fatarat' (The Cleaving in Sunder), Sura-84 entitled 'Iz-as-Samaun Shaqqat' (The Rending in Sunder) and Sura-98 entitled 'Lam-Yankonil Kafaroo' (The Evidence). In the mortuary hall, around the frieze and arched niches are inscribed verses from Sura-67 entitled 'Mulk' (Dominion), Sura-48 entitled 'Fath' (Victory), Sura-77 entitiled 'Mursalat' (Those Sent Forth) and Sura-39 entitled 'Zumar' (The Crowds).

Besides these Koranic verses, Persian inscriptions are found inlaid in between beautiful stylised floral patterns on the tombstones and the cenotaphs in the lower and upper hall respectively.

They are epitaphs :
1. The one's on Mumtaz's cenotaph are : o on the south side of Mumtaz's cenotaph (Upper Hall) - "Here lies Arjumand Bano Begum called Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1040 Hijri A.D. 1630)" o at the head of the tomb is the line - "He is the everlasting : He is sufficient;" and the following line from the Koran - "God is He, besides whom there is no God. He knoweth what is concealed and what is manifest. He is merciful and compassionate." On one side of it - "Nearer unto God are those who say 'Our Lord is God.'

2. The inscription on the tomb of Shah Jehan is as follows :
" The illustrious sepulchre and sacred resting place of His Most Exalted Majesty dignified as the guardian of Paradise, having his abode in Paradise, and his dwelling in the starry heaven, inhabitant of the regions of bliss, the second lord of the Qiran, Shah Jehan, the king valiant. May his tomb ever flourish, and may his abode be in the heavens. He travelled from this transitory world to the world of eternity on the night of the 28th of the month of Rajab, 1666 A.D."

INCISED PAINTINGS
In this technique, a thin layer of colour pigment (hirmich red earth) is laid over the white (safeda white lead) plaster surface. A floral or conventional design is then drawn on the colour surface, according to which the colour surface is scrapped off, thus exposing the white plaster underneath, now seen only through the scrapped off design. It is thus 'incised painting'. The most developed stage of this technique is found at the Taj Mahal, in the mosque and its jawab (the rest house), distributed in highly stylised patterns along their whole interiors, from dados to the ceilings. Here again, two colours have been used, a hirmichi red on a white background which is allowed to show magnificently through the scrapped off leaves, flowers and the outlines. The tiny curves of white thus blossom exuberantly on a red ground - portions of the background have thus artistically been brought to the foreground and the foreground recedes into background!
The exterior of the Taj Mahal is a seemingly perfect balance of ornamented and unadorned surfaces. The techniques of this decoration and the motifs used are characteristic not only of Shah Jehan's architectural projects, but also of the other arts that flourished during his reign. Intricate floral and geometric inlays, profuse surface detailing by reliefs, and the exquisitely rendered calligraphic panels are all indicative of the great attention lavished on the building. Although geometric patterns appear, such as the ripple pattern inlaid in the terrace floor, floral designs are the dominant decorative motifs. As on the monumental gateway, inlays of floral arabesques embellish the spandrels of the arches, while elegant floral sprays sculpted in high relief appear on the dado of the exterior walls. Prominent calligraphic panels of black marble frame the iwans on each facade of the tomb. The doorways inside these iwans are also adorned with calligraphy.

The Taj Mahal is entered through the large portal on its south side. The eight sides of the octagonal central chamber are outlined with bands of inlaid calligraphy - passages from the Koran - and meticulously sculpted flowers framed by borders of delicate inlay appear on the dado. These flowers emerge from vases, where as most of those on the exterior walls of the mausoleum take the form of a single plant emerging from a small mound. Flowers, especially those in vases, are well-known Islamic symbols of the bounty promised to the faithful in paradise. Moreover, the reliefs inside the Taj Mahal are unusual, as the vases are placed on small mounds. This distinctive treatment may have been due to the desire to define its inner rooms in a special way.

In the centre of the main chamber stands an octagonal screen of marble more than six feet in height. When the tomb was being constructed, a gold screen was placed around the cenotaph of Mumtaz. In 1643, the court histories record that Shah Jehan ordered this be replaced by a marble screen in order to deter vandals. Inside the screen two cenotaphs stand above the remains of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jehan, who upon his death in 1666 was buried beside his long-dead wife in the crypt below. As is customary in Islamic practice, they are oriented longitudinally north to south with their faces towards Mecca. Her cenotaph is in the centre, while her emperor's is to her right on the west side of the enclosure.

Pietra dura inlay work covers the marble surface of the screen and the cenotaphs in the form of graceful flowers, delicate arabesques, and superb calligraphy. Although obviously made much later, the designs on Shah Jehan's cenotaph are quite similar to those on Mumtaz's except that the calligraphy on hers includes verses from the Koran.

In the subsidiary chambers on both levels, delicately carved screens, now fitted with panes of milky glass, emit diffused light, subtly altering the atmosphere of the interior. The filtered light imparts a mysterious, ethereal quality to the interior and, as it changes throughout the day, it becomes almost a palpable entity, a symbol of divine presence which could never be figured.