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Untitled (The top of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph at the Taj Mahal)

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Date

19th Century

Description

Watercolour painting sparsely coloured on paper, of the top of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph at the Taj Mahal. The painting shows the white marble top of the cenotaph that is placed in the centre of the Taj Mahal, next to the cenotaph of Arjumand Banu Begum. It is decorated with pietra dura inlay using precious and semi-precious stones to create an elaborate floral pattern split into two panels. To the left of the painting is a square panel with a central medallion of flowers and radiating rays which creates an sunburst (shamsa), a solar symbol which was a common feature of imagery during Shah Jahan’s reign. Surrounding this are interlaced scrolling vines and flowers. On the second panel are elaborate flowers growing out of scrolling vines surrounding a rectangular design of repeating floral patterns – this rectangle represents a pen case, which indicates that the occupant is male. The two panels are surrounded by a floral border of scrolling flowers and vines. The painting is framed by a thick black line.

Image Licence

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Image Credit

Location

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Country

India

Medium

Watercolour