The Kootub. - The façade on the south side of the outer Enclosure
Photograph
1860-1865 (photographed)
1860-1865 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Eugene Clutterbuck Impey was in the service of the British administration in India in the 19th century. He was a skilled amateur photographer and contributed to exhibitions organised by the Bengal Photographic Society.
This photograph shows the ruins of part of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque within the Qutb Minar complex, south of Delhi. The original mosque was built between 1193 and 1199 by Qutbuddin Aibak (d.1210), the military commander of the Afghan Ghurid dynasty who defeated the last Hindu ruler of Delhi and sought to establish Islam in this newly acquired territory. The mosque was extended northwards and southwards by Qutbuddin Aibak’s successor, Shamshad Iltutmish, in 1230 in order to double its size. This photograph shows the southwards extension. The façade is decorated with calligraphy and arabesque designs that differ from the floral decoration of the original building, revealing the Hindu artisans’ increasing familiarity with Islamic decorative forms.
This photograph shows the ruins of part of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque within the Qutb Minar complex, south of Delhi. The original mosque was built between 1193 and 1199 by Qutbuddin Aibak (d.1210), the military commander of the Afghan Ghurid dynasty who defeated the last Hindu ruler of Delhi and sought to establish Islam in this newly acquired territory. The mosque was extended northwards and southwards by Qutbuddin Aibak’s successor, Shamshad Iltutmish, in 1230 in order to double its size. This photograph shows the southwards extension. The façade is decorated with calligraphy and arabesque designs that differ from the floral decoration of the original building, revealing the Hindu artisans’ increasing familiarity with Islamic decorative forms.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
| Brief description | Photograph of the screen of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque within the Qutb Minar complex, Delhi, India, by E.C. Impey, 1860-65. |
| Physical description | This photograph shows the ruins of part of a screen for the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque within the Qutb Minar complex. The original mosque and screen were built between 1193 to 1199. The screen for the original mosque was extended both northward and southward by Shamshad Iltutmish in 1230 in order to double the size of the mosque. This photograph shows the southward extension. The façade is decorated with calligraphy and arabesque designs which differ from the decoration of the original screen. Made many years later the Hindu craftsmen who built it had become more used to Islamic decorative forms and the earlier floral decoration gave way to arabesque. In the photograph, two men stand underneath a tree near the arch on the right hand side and give a sense of scale to the architecture. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | The photograph was initially part of the photographic collection held in the National Art Library. The markings on the mount are an indication of the history of the object, its movement through the museum and the way in which it is categorised. The mount is green with a label on the right hand side with the title. |
| Historical context | The published caption for this photograph reads: The façade in the inner enclosure was built by Kootub-u-deen, but that in the outer by Altumsh, who died A.D. 1236. The fall of many of the arches is attributed to their having been built by Hindoo architects. The Hindoos have never built arches before, and being ignorant of the principle of voussiors, adopted that of their own domes, viz. Horizontal converging courses closed by long slabs at the top. This construction is clearly apparent in the view of the arches in plate 10. Ref: Delhi, Agra, and Rajpootana, Illustrated by Captain E.C. Impey, Cundall, Downes and Co. London, 1865, Illustration no 8 |
| Places depicted | |
| Summary | Eugene Clutterbuck Impey was in the service of the British administration in India in the 19th century. He was a skilled amateur photographer and contributed to exhibitions organised by the Bengal Photographic Society. This photograph shows the ruins of part of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque within the Qutb Minar complex, south of Delhi. The original mosque was built between 1193 and 1199 by Qutbuddin Aibak (d.1210), the military commander of the Afghan Ghurid dynasty who defeated the last Hindu ruler of Delhi and sought to establish Islam in this newly acquired territory. The mosque was extended northwards and southwards by Qutbuddin Aibak’s successor, Shamshad Iltutmish, in 1230 in order to double its size. This photograph shows the southwards extension. The façade is decorated with calligraphy and arabesque designs that differ from the floral decoration of the original building, revealing the Hindu artisans’ increasing familiarity with Islamic decorative forms. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ref: Delhi, Agra, and Rajpootana, Illustrated by Captain E.C. Impey, Cundall, Downes and Co. London, 1865, Illustration no 8 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 43848/A |
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| Record created | January 31, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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