Ch. 24: South and Southeast Asia after 1200

DIWAN-I-KHAS (PRIVATE AUDIENCE HALL) 24-8

Fatehpur Sikri, India. 1570. Despite all this success Akbar was concerned about who would follow him on the throne. In desperation, he sought the advice of the Sufi mystic Shaikh Salim Chishti. This Muslim holy man foretold the birth of a prince, and when his prediction proved accurate, Akbar built a new capital near Chishti's home to commemorate and celebrate the event. Built primarily during Akbar's residence at the site from about 1572 to 1585, there are two major components to Fatehpur Sikri: one section including the Jami Mosque, which houses the tomb of Salim Chishti, and another containing the administrative and residential section. Among the most extraordinary buildings in the administrative and residential section is the private audience hall or DIWAN-I-KHAS (FIG. 24-8).

SHWEDAGON STUPA (PAGODA) 24-19

Yangon, Myanmar. 15th century; construction at the site dates from at least the 14th century, with continuous replastering and redecoration to the present. In northern Burma from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, rulers raised thousands of religious monuments—temples, monasteries, and stupas—in the Bagan Plain, following the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. To the south arose the port city now called Yangon (founded as Dagon and also formerly known as Rangoon). Established by Mon rulers before the eleventh century, Yangon is the site of the SHWEDAGON STUPA (FIG. 24-19), which enshrines relics of the four past Buddhas, including hair from Shakyamuni.

MINARET, KUDUS MOSQUE 24-22

1549. Kudus, Java, Indonesia. Islamic monuments in Indonesia, like the earlier Hindu and Buddhist ones, draw from a rich and diverse repertoire of styles and motifs. One of the earliest examples of Islamic architecture in Java is the Kudus mosque, dedicated to one of Java's nine great saints. Although the mosque itself has been renovated, most of the tower-like MINARET still survives from the earliest phase of construction in 1549 (FIG. 24-22). Its brickwork and decorative niches are reminiscent of earlier Hindu shrine towers, but this structure served to call Muslims to worship five times daily. In a traditional Javanese fashion, this was done with a large drum (bedug) along with the sung prayers typical in other parts of the world. The lower bands of the tower are decorated with inset porcelain plates imported from China, which add color to the exterior. The various indigenous and international influences that helped shape this tower speak to the remarkably cosmopolitan nature of sixteenth-century Java.

Abanindranath Tagore BHARAT MATA (MOTHER INDIA) 24-25

1905. Watercolor on paper, 10½ x 6" (26.7 x 15.3 cm). Rabindra Bharati Society, Kolkata. Well before Britain's consolidation of imperial power in New Delhi, a new spirit of Indian independence and pan-Asiatic solidarity was awakening. For example, working near Calcutta (Kolkata), the painter Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951)—nephew of the poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913—deliberately rejected the medium of oil painting and the academic realism of Western art. Like the Nihonga artists of Japan (SEE Figure 26-18) with whom he was in contact, Tagore strove to create a style that reflected his ethnic origins. In BHARAT MATA (MOTHER INDIA) he invents a nationalistic icon by using Hindu symbols while also drawing upon the format and techniques of Mughal and Rajput painting (FIG. 24-25).

TAJ MAHAL 24.1

Agra, India. Mughal period, reign of Shah Jahan, c. 1631-1648. the visitor beholds the majestic white marble structure that is one of the world's best-known monuments. Its reflection shimmers in the pools of the garden meant to evoke a vision of paradise as described in the Qur'an. The building's façades are delicately inlaid with inscriptions designed by India's foremost calligrapher of the time, Amanat Khan, and floral arabesques in semiprecious stones: carnelian, agate, coral, turquoise, garnet, lapis, and jasper. Above, its luminous white marble dome reflects each shift in light, flushing rose at dawn, dissolving in its own brilliance in the noonday sun. This extraordinary building—originally and appropriately called the Illuminated Tomb and only since the nineteenth century known as the TAJ MAHAL (FIG. 24-1)—was built between 1631 and 1648 by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth, and likely as a tomb for himself. Inside, the Taj Mahal invokes the hasht behisht ("eight paradises") with the eight small chambers that ring the interior—one at each corner and one behind each iwan, a vaulted opening with an arched portal that is a typical feature of eastern Islamic architecture. In two stories (for a total of 16 chambers), the rooms ring the octagonal central area, which rises the full two stories to a domed ceiling that is lower than the outer dome. In this central chamber, surrounded by a finely carved octagonal openwork marble screen, are the exquisite inlaid cenotaphs (funerary monuments to someone whose remains lie elsewhere) of Shah Jahan and his wife, whose actual tombs lie in the crypt below. On one side is a mosque, while opposite and very similar in appearance is a building that may have served as a rest house.

TAJ MAHAL, DETAIL 24-12

Agra, India. Mughal period, reign of Shah Jahan, c. 1631-1648. The pristine surfaces of the Taj Mahal are embellished with utmost subtlety (FIG. 24-12). Even the sides of the platform on which the Taj Mahal stands are carved in relief with a blind arcade (decorative arches set into a wall) motif and carved relief panels of flowers. The portals are framed with verses from the Qur'an and inlaid in black marble, while the spandrels are decorated with floral arabesques inlaid in colored semiprecious stones, a technique known by its Italian name, pietra dura. Not strong enough to detract from the overall purity of the white marble, the embellishments enliven the surfaces of this impressive yet delicate masterpiece.

SEATED BUDDHA 24-18

From Angkor Thom. Reign of Jayavarman VII, late 12th-early 13th century. Sandstone, 4′6″ (1.4 m). National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. When Khmer king Jayavarman VII took the throne of Angkor in 1181, it marked the end of a long struggle against internal rebellions and foreign invaders. During his reign, he raised up the kingdom of Angkor in a final flowering, building more than any of his royal predecessors. In an unusual move, he elected to associate himself with the Buddha, rather than with a Hindu deity, and in so doing adapted Buddhist ideas to the Khmer concept of the god-king or, in his case, the buddha-king (buddharaja). Before starting construction of his massive temple-mountain complex at Angkor Thom, he sought legitimacy for his claims of Buddhist authority by dedicating large temples to each of his parents in the guise of bodhisattvas. This process reached its logical conclusion when he associated himself directly with the Buddha (as well as with the bodhisattva Lokeshvara). Although Jayavarman VII's artists and architects produced a staggering number of spectacular sculptures and grand temples, few are as sublime as a simple sandstone Buddha image in the collection of the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh (FIG. 24-18). A few similar images exist, and in each example the seated Buddha displays similar facial features. This consistency has led scholars to believe that these works are in fact portraits of Jayavarman VII seated serenely in the guise of the Buddha. Just as his ancestors had linked themselves with Hindu deities, Jayavarman VII represented himself as a Buddha: with downturned, meditative eyes, distended earlobes, hair pulled back into a topknot, and a simple garment. The authority of the king and Buddha are here expressed in a single understated, almost humble, image.

THE BODHISATTVA AVALOKITESHVARA 24-2

From Kurkihar, Bihar. Pala dynasty, 12th century. Gilt-bronze, height 10″ (25.5 cm). Patna Museum, Patna. The practices of Tantric Buddhism, which include techniques for visualizing deities, encouraged the development of images with precise iconographic details, such as the twelfth-century gilt-bronze sculpture of THE BODHISATTVA AVALOKITESHVARA (FIG. 24-2) from the site of Kurkihar in eastern India. Bodhisattvas are compassionate beings who are well advanced on the path to buddhahood (enlightenment) and who have vowed to help others achieve enlightenment. Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of greatest compassion who vowed to forgo buddhahood until all others become buddhas, became the most popular of these saintly beings in India and in East Asia. Characteristic of bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara is distinguished in art by his princely garments, unlike a buddha, who wears monk's robes. Avalokiteshvara is specifically recognized by the lotus flower he holds and by the presence in his crown of his "parent" Buddha, in this case Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (a Buddhist paradise). Other marks of Avalokiteshvara's extraordinary status are the third eye (symbolizing his omniscience) and the wheel on his palm (an emblem of the Buddhist dharma). Avalokiteshvara is shown here in the relaxed pose known as the posture of "royal ease." One leg angles down; the other is drawn up onto the lotus seat.

SUKHOTHAI BUDDHA 24-20

From Wat Mahathat, now in Wat Benchamabophit, Bangkok, Thailand. Bronze, 7'22" (2.2 m). Sukhothai period, 14th-15th century. The Dvaravati culture remained regionally dominant until Khmer invasions in the tenth century. During this turmoil a new ethnic group, the Thai, entered the scene from the north, gradually gaining control and adopting Buddhism, as well as some aspects of Hinduism, from the Mon. The first Thai kingdom, Sukhothai, was established in 1238 and flourished under the guidance of kings like the renowned Ram Khamhaeng before falling to rival Thai states. The Sukhothai period was a formative time of innovation in Thai art. Among the creations of Sukhothai artists was an elegant new style of Buddha image. Featuring draping, almost boneless, limbs and attenuated heads adorned with spire-like flames, the Buddha images of this period are immediately recognizable. Art historians have explored diverse explanations for the distinctive, otherworldly features of Sukhothai Buddhas. One strong possibility is that they are literally poetry given tangible form (see "Closer Look"). The artists may have been working from descriptions found in the Indian Buddhist texts, which use evocative similes to describe the Buddha's beautiful appearance. Despite its cultural importance, the kingdom of Sukhothai did not last long, giving way to a succession of dynasties. The capital was eventually moved south to Bangkok, and under the rule of the Chakri king Rama I, construction began there on a grand new temple to house the Thais' most sacred Buddha image.

Maqbool Fida Husain VEDIC 24-26

From the "Theorama" series, 1994. Limited-edition color print, 23½ x 36" (60 x 92 cm). One of India's most influential and prolific modern artists was Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011). Beginning his career in the 1940s, he embraced Modernism and used its techniques to express South Asian themes. He drew his subjects from diverse sources such as Hindu literature, historical events, and the natural world, as well as from the traditions of his Muslim upbringing. He was highly productive, and his range of subject matter at times drew objections from religious groups, who opposed his use of religious imagery. These complaints led him reluctantly to spend the final years of his life in Qatar, but he consistently returned to South Asian themes for his inspiration. His simplified and schematic style can be seen in the Theorama series, which addresses nine of the world's major religions. Pictured here is VEDIC (FIG. 24-26), Husain's tribute to Hinduism. Despite its abstraction, the figure of Krishna can be seen dancing on the serpent deity Kaliya, whose body merges with the story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk (SEE Figure 10-43). The event pivots on a triangular form with three faces reminiscent of the Shiva from Elephanta (SEE Figure 10-24), and a goddess on elephant-back dispenses abundance in the form of coins or seeds from her outstretched hand. The composition is framed on the right by a seated ascetic whose head is a spoked wheel. This wheel may reference the spinning wheels whose use Gandhi advocated to break dependence on British textiles, but it also reaches back further into the South Asian past and evokes the wheel of dharma.

AKBAR INSPECTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF FATEHPUR SIKRI 24-9

From the Akbarnama. c. 1590. Opaque watercolor on paper, 14¾ x 10" (37.5 x 25 cm). Victoria & Albert Museum, London. (I.S.2-1896 91/117). Many of the painters in the Mughal imperial workshops are recorded in texts of the period. Based on those records and on signatures that occur on some paintings, the design of this work has been attributed to Tulsi Kalan (Tulsi the Elder), the painting to Bandi, and the portraits to Madhu Kalan (Madhu the Elder) or Madhu Khurd (Madhu the Younger). Unlike most Mughal emperors, Akbar did not write his own biography; instead he entrusted its creation to his vizier Abul Fazl. This text, the Akbarnama (FIG. 24-9), details the actions and accomplishments of the emperor, including the events leading to the construction of Fatehpur Sikri. Combines elements of Persian, Soth Asian, and European art. Painting shows the Mughal emperor going through training showing his dedication to the dynasty. Doing the art of manuscript. The Akbarnama contains 116 illustrations.

KRISHNA AND THE GOPIS 24-13

From the Gita Govinda, Rajasthan, India. Mughal period, c. 1525-1550. Gouache on paper, 4⅞ x 7½" (12.3 x 19 cm). Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai. The lyrical poem Gita Govinda, by the poet-saint Jayadeva, was probably written in eastern India during the latter half of the twelfth century. The poem traces the progress of Krishna and Radha's love through separation, reconciliation, and fulfillment. The illustration here (FIG. 24-13) is from a manuscript of the Gita Govinda probably produced about 1525-1550 in what is present-day Rajasthan. The blue god Krishna sits in dalliance with a group of cowherd women. Standing with her maid and consumed with love for Krishna, Radha peers through the trees, overcome by jealousy. Her feelings are indicated by the cool blue color behind her, while the crimson red behind the Krishna grouping suggests passion. The bold patterns of curving stalks and flowering vines express both the exuberance of springtime, when the story unfolds, and the heightened emotional tensions of the scene. Birds, trees, and flowers are as brilliant against the black, hilly landscape edged in an undulating white line. All the figures are of a single type, with plump faces in profile and oversized eyes. Yet the resilient line of the drawing gives them life, and the variety of textile patterns provides some individuality. The intensity of the color and resolute flatness of the scene engage the viewer in the drama.

HOUR OF COWDUST 24-14

From the Punjab Hills, India. Mughal period, Kangra School, c. 1790. Gouache on paper, 1415⁄16 x 129⁄16" (38 x 31.9 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Denman W. Ross Collection (22.683). Quite a different mood dominates HOUR OF COWDUST, a work from the Kangra School in the Punjab Hills, foothills of the Himalayas north of Delhi (FIG. 24-14). Painted around 1790, some 250 years later than the Gita Govinda illustration, it shows the influence of Mughal naturalism on the later schools of Indian painting. The theme is again Krishna. Wearing his peacock crown, garland of flowers, and yellow garment—all traditional iconography of Krishna-Vishnu—he returns to the village with his fellow cowherds and their cattle. All eyes are upon him as he plays his flute, said to enchant all who hear it. Women with water jugs on their heads turn to look; others lean from windows to watch and call out to him. We are drawn into this village scene by the diagonal movements of the cows as they surge through the gate and into the courtyard beyond. Pastel houses and walls create a sense of space, and in the distance we glimpse other villagers going about their work or peacefully sitting in their houses. A rim of dark trees softens the horizon, and an atmospheric sky completes the aura of enchanted naturalism. Again, all the figures are similar in type, this time with refined proportions and a gentle, lyrical movement that complement the idealism of the setting.

Nadir al-Zaman (Abu'l Hasan) JAHANGIR AND SHAH ABBAS 24-10

From the St. Petersburg Album. Mughal period, c. 1618. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper; 9⅜ x 6" (23.8 x 15.4 cm). Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Purchase, F1945.9. Portraits became a major art under Jahangir. We can only speculate on the target audience for the portrait Jahangir commissioned of himself with the Safavid-dynasty Persian ruler, Shah Abbas. At first glance this painting of two rulers embracing seems to tell of a close bond of friendship between the men. The presence of a lion and lamb laying peacefully together, an ancient symbol of harmony, also appears to bolster this interpretation. Indeed, the fact that the men are framed by the sun and moon while standing on a map of the world might imply that these bonds of trust and peace extend even to their respective states. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. This painting was created in a moment of high tension between Shah Abbas and the Mughal throne. The trouble centered on Kandahar in Afghanistan. The prosperous city had been given to Shah Abbas's ancestor by the Mughal emperor Humayun, but later, in the time of Akbar, the Mughals took back control of the city. Shah Abbas then waited for a chance to reclaim it, believing it was his right to do so. When the Mughals were distracted by civil conflict in South Asia, he seized the opportunity and recaptured Kandahar in a swift assault. He immediately made conciliatory gestures to Jahangir, who was furious but unable to spare the military force needed to retake the city.

TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD BUDDHA (WAT PHRA KAEW) 24-21

Grand Palace Complex, Bangkok, Thailand. 1782, and greatly expanded in later centuries. The temple complex that houses this sacred image is suitably spectacular (FIG. 24-21). The enclosure covers over 200 acres and contains hundreds of buildings, most of which are crowned by high, pointed roofs tiled in vibrant orange and green. These colorful rooftops shade the walls and pillars, whose surfaces are inset with intricate patterns of glass, gold leaf, and tile that shimmer in the intense sunlight. Although the core of this complex dates to 1782, it has been greatly expanded since then and remains an important Thai religious and political center.

ELEPHANT STABLES, VIJAYANAGARA 24-6

Hampi, India. 15th century. While the temples in Vijayanagara tend to follow conservative South Indian architectural forms (see "Stupas and Temples"), the civic architecture exhibits hybrid forms that reflect the religious and ethnic diversity of the city's population. This appropriation of diverse architectural techniques is apparent in the royal ELEPHANT STABLES (FIG. 24-6). The structure utilizes both traditional South Indian architectural forms and elements associated with Islamic (or sultanate) architecture, namely the arch and dome, to span the large spaces needed to comfortably house such massive animals. The court stabled its elephants in grand fashion because these powerful animals had both ceremonial and military functions: They were living emblems of the state's pageantry and power. The structure contains ten chambers divided by a central structure capped with a rooftop pavilion. This pavilion most likely held musicians and served as a viewing platform from which important individuals could observe military maneuvers conducted in the parade grounds that stretch out in front of the stables. The individual chambers are placed in a row and alternate between two types, one crowned by a semicircular dome and the other by a conical vault. As with many structures in Vijayanagara this building is unique, and its style reflects the court's comfort with foreign ideas.

VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE, VIJAYANAGARA 24-5

Hampi, India. Founded before the 9th century but expanded in the 14th-16th centuries. Vijayanagara ("the City of Victory") was the capital of an empire that flourished in South India between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Scholars estimate that at its peak the city was the second most populous in the world and had fortifications encompassing an area of 250 square miles. As a center of trade, Vijayanagara housed small, itinerant communities from across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and within the settled population were devotees of Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Christianity. Among the visitors drawn by this city's wealth and fame were those who left travel accounts praising its lush gardens, expansive waterways, abundant markets, grand temples, and stone arcades. At the heart of this sprawling urban center stood the VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE (FIG. 24-5); its founding pre-dates the birth of the city, but it was expanded in size and splendor along with the empire's capital. The brothers Bukka and Harihara first enlarged this temple to Shiva in the mid fourteenth century as they prayed for the protection and success of their new empire. Most of the temple as it now stands, however, was built by later donors in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The temple is notable for its grand eastward-facing gopura (entrance gateway), whose nine-tiered tower reaches over 160 feet in height. This gateway connects the outer temple courtyard to a long, colonnaded road that was used for ceremonial processions and may also have contained stalls for vendors.

CITY PALACE, UDAIPUR 24-15

India, 1559 onward. Just as each Rajput court had a distinctive style of painting, so too was each royal household situated within its own majestic architectural setting. Due to both tradition and political reality, these massive structures often combined regal splendor with imposing fortifications. Royal families typically placed these palaces at strategic hilltop locations and gradually expanded them over the course of generations. As a result, the plans of such structures are often asymmetrical and exceedingly complex, with multiple terraces and courtyards opening into complicated arrangements of chambers and hallways, some of which were intended for public use and others reserved solely for members of the royal family. Many spectacular examples of Rajput palaces and forts remain; a fine example is the CITY PALACE in Udaipur (FIG. 24-15). Construction on the palace began in 1559 when Maharana Udai Singh II relocated the capital of the Mewar Kingdom from Chittor after the town had been sacked by Mughal forces under Akbar. The new location proved to be more defensible, and the Mewar rulers expanded both the city and their royal residences almost continuously over the next 300 years. Located on a ridge above a lake, this extensive architectural complex is better understood as a linked series of palaces rather than as a single building.

MOR CHOWK OF THE CITY PALACE, UDAIPUR 24-16

India. 17th century with 19th-century additions. The structure is built primarily of granite and marble, but architects ornamented the dull stone with bright flourishes of paint, inlaid stone, silverwork, and inset pieces of mirror and colored glass. Despite its vast size, artists lavished attention on the finest points of decoration. This attention to detail reminds us that the palace was far more than just a military center; it functioned equally well as a backdrop for political events and displays of state power. One such lavishly ornamented space in the Udaipur City Palace complex is the MOR CHOWK (FIG. 24-16) or "Peacock Courtyard." Built in the seventeenth century by Maharana Sajjan Singh, it housed ceremonial gatherings. The public nature of this space and its function as an extension of royal authority are reflected in the decoration. The court gets its name from the three molded, high-relief images of peacocks inset with colored glass that adorn the courtyard's lower level, but the decoration becomes even more elaborate on the upper story. Here images of courtiers and carved stone screens depicting trees flank a projecting balcony with Mewari cusped arches. The entire surface is ornamented with delicately inset foliage patterns of colored tile and stained glass. Although the courtyard was first constructed in the 1600s, much of the current decoration represents the work of later centuries. This longevity attests to the continued importance of display as a component of court politics.

César Pelli and Deejay Cerico PETRONAS TOWERS 24-27

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1998. The transition from colonial control varied greatly across Southeast Asia, due largely to the range of colonial powers in the region and their varying attitudes toward relinquishing control. Some nations, like Thailand, managed to avoid imperial domination entirely, whereas others fought long wars to establish their independence. In some cases, the power vacuum was filled by local regimes that brought new hardship, like the horrors perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The region has gradually achieved stability and growing prosperity, as exemplified by its internationally recognized artwork and contemporary architecture. Dominating the skyline of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are the PETRONAS TOWERS (FIG. 24-27), which from 1998 to 2004 were the tallest structures in the world. These paired skyscrapers, linked by a sky bridge at the 41st and 42nd floors, are built primarily of reinforced concrete surrounded by a casing of steel and glass. They were designed collaboratively by Argentine architect César Pelli and Filipino-Malaysian engineer Deejay Cerico, who drew inspiration for their designs from traditional Malaysian Islamic forms. The towers stand 1,242 feet tall and took seven years to build. Today they house many business offices, a shopping mall, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. They are characteristic of the growth and development across the region.

GROUP OF VIETNAMESE CERAMICS FROM THE HOI AN HOARD 24-17

Late 15th to early 16th century. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration; barbed-rim dishes: (left) diameter 14" (35.1 cm); (right) diameter 13" (34.7 cm). Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona. (2000.105-109). Before the fourteenth century, China dominated the international trade in ceramics, but with the rise of the Ming dynasty, China began to look inward, limiting and regulating most forms of international trade. The resulting scarcity of Chinese trade ceramics, sometimes called the "Ming gap," was an opportunity for the merchants and artists of Southeast Asia. Both the Burmese and Thai kingdoms produced ceramics, often inspired by stonewares and porcelains from China. Sukhothai potters, for example, made green-glazed and brown-glazed wares at the renowned kilns of Sawankhalok. But it was the potters of Vietnam who were most successful in meeting the international demand for porcelains. So many ceramics were exported from Vietnam that most of what remained to be found by archaeologists were the broken or discarded leftovers. This changed with the excavation of a sunken ship laden with ceramics for export, found 22 miles off the coast of Hoi An. This wreck brought to light over 250,000 ceramic works made by Vietnamese potters dating back to the late fifteenth to early sixteenth century (FIG. 24-17). Painted in underglaze cobalt blue and further embellished with overglaze enamels, these wares were shipped throughout Southeast Asia and beyond, as far east as Japan and as far west as England and the Netherlands.

OUTER GOPURA OF THE MINAKSHI-SUNDARESHVARA TEMPLE 24-7

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Nayak dynasty, mostly 13th to mid 17th century, with modern renovations. The enormous temple complex at Madurai, one of the capitals of the Nayaks, is a fervent expression of Hindu faith. Founded around the fourteenth century and greatly expanded in the seventeenth, it is dedicated to the goddess Minakshi (the local name for Parvati, the consort of the god Shiva) and to Sundareshvara (the local name for Shiva himself). The temple complex stands in the center of the city and is the focus of Madurai life. At its heart are the two oldest shrines, one to Minakshi and the other to Sundareshvara. Successive additions over the centuries gradually expanded the complex around these small shrines and came to dominate the visual landscape. The most dramatic features of this and similar southern "temple cities" were the thousand-pillar halls, large ritual-bathing pools, and especially the entrance gateways (gopuras) that tower above the temple site and the surrounding city like modern skyscrapers (FIG. 24-7). As a temple city grew, it needed bigger enclosing walls, and thus new gateways. Successive rulers and powerful merchants of the Chettiyar community, often seeking to outdo their predecessors, donated taller and taller gopuras. As a result, the tallest structures in temple cities are often at the periphery, rather than at the central temples, which are sometimes totally overwhelmed by the height of the surrounding structures. The temple complex at Madurai has 11 gopuras, the largest over 160 feet tall.

LUNA VASAHI, MANDAPA CEILING 24-3

Mount Abu, India. 1230. The modest exterior enclosure walls and relatively small size of the five Dilwara Temples do little to prepare the visitor for the lacelike splendor of the interior. Every inch of these spaces is filled with deeply cut relief carvings in white marble whose complicated details had to be produced through abrasion and rubbing rather than with a chisel. One of the most impressive of these temples, the Luna Vasahi, was dedicated to the 22nd Jain tirthankara, Neminatha, and was built in 1230 by two brothers, Tejpala and Vastupala, who served as ministers to the local ruler. They are known to have sponsored temples in at least two other locations. The structure has had to be repaired in places, the damage most likely caused by raids, but most of the delicate sculpture is still intact. The main sanctuary is set in a courtyard surrounded by two columned arcades. These open to reveal the temple's most impressive architectural feature, the ornate dome that crowns the mandapa hall. This corbeled dome is made of concentric bands of sculpted stone capped with a meticulously carved pendant which hangs down from the apex. Surrounding this decorative element are images of 16 goddesses of wisdom, attached individually to the surface of the dome. This, in turn, is held aloft by eight pillars linked by undulating architraves (FIG. 24-3). Every surface is adorned with narrative scenes, animals, protective deities, and plant motifs. These riotous forms highlight the calm, unadorned image of the tirthankara, which looks out from the quietude of the sanctuary. The dramatic contrast speaks to the difference between the active world of constant rebirth and the steady peace of enlightenment.

JAHANGIR AND PRINCE KHURRAM FEASTED BY NUR JAHAN 24-11

Mughal period, 1617. Paint and gold on paper, 915⁄16 x 5⅝" (25.2 x 14.3 cm). Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Gift of Charles Lang Freer (F1907.258). Despite the proliferation of portrait painting, depictions of court women occur rarely in Mughal art, due in part to the restricted access male painters had to the women's quarters. An important exception to this was Jahangir's favorite wife, Empress Nur Jahan, of whom a few images exist. As Jahangir grew older he succumbed to addiction and illness. During this period, in which he was largely incapacitated, Nur Jahan ran the empire on his behalf, carrying his seal and issuing decrees in his name. Although she ruled in Jahangir's name, the images of her at court and the imperial coins that bore her name suggest her role was no secret. The idyllic scene depicted in FIGURE 24-11 portrays Nur Jahan serving food and drink to Jahangir and his son by another wife, Prince Khurram. Seated on ornate carpets the royal family members sit near a fountain as court women bring food and wave fans. This deceptively harmonious tableau is qualified by the verses in Persian surrounding the painting. These refer to Jahangir's displeasure over Khurram's attempts to take the throne, an outcome that Nur Jahan also wished to prevent. After Jahangir died, however, and Nur Jahan was confined to her palace, Khurram managed to seize the throne, taking the royal name Shah Jahan.

Frederick Stevens VICTORIA TERMINUS 24-23

Mumbai, India. 1887. The British insistence on European styles of architecture was at its most strident in the early years of colonial rule. Even after South Asia transitioned to direct control by the British Crown in 1858, a period known as the Raj, British architects strove to emphasize difference. Nowhere is this more visible than at the VICTORIA TERMINUS (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) in Mumbai (FIG. 24-23). This massive train station built in a Gothic Revival style was designed by architect Frederick William Stevens and opened in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The building makes a few concessions to its South Asian setting, as with the inclusion of turret-like domes, but it is overwhelmingly a self-conscious statement of British imperial power. This pairing of cathedral architecture and train station celebrates ideas of British technology and authority. In place of the saints that might normally decorate a cathedral, personifications of Progress, Commerce, Agriculture, and Science adorn the exterior. Originally, this structure was crowned by an image of Queen Victoria, which was later removed.

George Wittet GATEWAY OF INDIA 24-24

Mumbai, India. 1924. Over time, the British reduced their insistence on promoting difference through their choice of architectural forms and began to appreciate aspects of indigenous style. Completed in 1924, the GATEWAY OF INDIA was built to welcome King George V on his visit to India (FIG. 24-24). The British constructed the monument in the form of a European triumphal arch, while embellishing it with South Asian architectural features. Stone screens, ornate brackets, pointed arches, and floral decorations were taken directly from earlier Hindu and Muslim architectural practices in the subcontinent. This hybrid style, known as the Indo-Saracenic style, became the preferred architectural style for British governmental buildings and elite private estates in India by the late nineteenth century; a few examples were built in England and in other parts of the empire as well. India won its independence in 1947, and the last British troops in South Asia departed through this gate a year later in 1948.

QUTB MINAR 24-4

Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Delhi. 1211-1236. The first Delhi Sultanate was founded in 1206 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak of the Slave dynasty, so named because Aibak had begun his life as a soldier-slave (mamluk) under the Ghorids. Although he did not reign long, he began construction of a large mosque adorned with a truly massive minaret. The mosque complex, called Quwwat ul-Islam ("strength of Islam"), was built over the citadel of Delhi's previous rulers, and portions of the Jain and Hindu religious structures from this location were reused in the construction of the mosque. By far the most visible element of this complex is the tower known as the QUTB MINAR (FIG. 24-4). This minaret was begun by Aibak and completed under his successor, Iltutmish. It stands over 237 feet high and was among the tallest structures in South Asia at the time. It was constructed of sandstone in five segments, each of which is marked by the presence of a balcony that encircles the tower. The stories get smaller farther up the tower, and the final balcony rests on the top. Minarets are traditionally used to call Muslims to prayer, but this tower is too tall to serve that purpose easily and serves more clearly as an expression of power and political authority than as a functioning religious structure.