The book brings the outstanding features of the places, pavilions and residences of the ruling class in medieval India - from the 13th century to the 18th century. The focus is on structures that represent a group of religious and ethnic lines, i.e. Hindu / Islamic rulers, Indo-European Hindu or Dravidian Hindu or Afghani or Turk or Indian rulers, and structures characteristic of particular periods and locales. Presenting some 31 famous buildings including the city place of Udaipur and Jaipur and the Lal Qila, Delhi and pleasure pavilions like the Hauz Khas, Delhi and Farah Bagh, Amadnagar, the work studies places and pavilions from the different regions of India. It illustrates the layout plan of each building in detail.
Dr. Fredrick W. Bunce discusses the size, elaborateness or luxury of the royal structures which underlined the king's right to rule. With elaborate notes, he showcases their characteristics such as their tendency towards axiality and their symmetrical aspect, the Hindu ruler's choice of the immutable square for the plan and their reliance on the silpa-sastras, the east-west alignment of the structures, the labyrinthine character of residences / places, and their iconography that is unique to Indian subcontinent. The volume has appendices that give the plans of other great structures of India and the world, list the major rulers of kingdoms in India's different regions and provide a chronological list of major Indian monuments.
The book will be extremely useful to students and scholars of Indian cultural history, particularly relating to architecture and iconography.
About the Author:
Fredrick W. Bunce, a Ph.D. a cultural historian of international eminence, is an authority on ancient iconography and Buddhist arts. He has been honoured with prestigious awards/ commendations and is listed in Who's Who in American Art and the International Biographical Dictionary, 1980. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Art, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana.
List of Plates | VII |
List of Figures | XI |
Abbreviations | XVII |
Introduction | 2 |
Iconography | 5 |
Beginnings | 5 |
Ratios and Proportions | 5 |
Basic Plans | 8 |
Physical Iconography | 17 |
The Palace | 17 |
Axiality | 18 |
Symmetry / Asymmetry | 22 |
Orientation | 22 |
The High place | 23 |
The Labyrinth | 25 |
Implied Iconography | 26 |
"By the Grace of God" | 26 |
Dynasty | 29 |
Royal Accoutrements | 30 |
Power | 31 |
Defensive | 31 |
Property - Religious / Cultural | 32 |
Qila, Garh Mahal or Mandir | 33 |
Conclusions | 34 |
Places, Residences and Pavilions | 35 |
Hauz Khas, Delhi (a. 1290 CE) | 36 |
Kotla Firuz Shah (a. 1351 CE) | 40 |
Vijayanagara Kotila, Vijayanagara (a. 1350 CE) | 44 |
Shadiabad Mandir, Mandu (a. 1410 CE) | 50 |
Bidargarh, Bidar (a. 1424 CE) | 56 |
Kumbhalgarh, Chittor (a. 1433 CE) | 60 |
Meherangarh, Jodhpur (a. 1459 CE) | 64 |
Man Mandir, Gwalior (a. 1486 CE) | 68 |
Gingee Mandir, Gingee (a. 1490 CE) | 74 |
Wav Dada Harir, Asarwa (1499 CE) | 78 |
Ainapur Mahal, Ainapur (c. 1500 CE) | 82 |
Water Pavilion, Kumatagi (c. 1500 CE) | 84 |
Raja Mandir, Orchha (a. 1554 CE) | 86 |
Gagan Mahal, Bijapur (a. 1561 CE) | 92 |
Lal Qila, (Red Fort), Agra (a. 1565 CE) | 94 |
Fatehpur Sikri (c. 1569-1658 CE) | 102 |
Chandragiri Palace (Raja & Rana Mahals), Tirupati (a. 1565 CE) | 128 |
City Palace, Udaipur (a. 1567 CE) | 136 |
Farah Bagh (Feria Bagh), Ahmadnagar (c. 1583 CE) | 140 |
Raj Mahal, Amber (a. 1592 CE) | 142 |
Jahangir Mandir, Orchha (a. 1605 CE) | 148 |
Govind Mandir, Datia (a. 1620 CE) | 152 |
Jag Mandir, Udaipur (a. 1734 CE) | 160 |
Shahi Bagh, Ahmadabad (c. 1623 CE) 164 | |
Lal Qila, Shahjahanabad, Delhi (a. 1639-1648 CE) | 166 |
Daulat Kothi, Bijapur (c. 1626 CE) | 178 |
Athar Mahal, Bijapur (c. 1646 CE) 180 | |
Nayaka Mahal, Madhurai (c. 1650 CE) | 182 |
Deeg-garh (Garden Palace), Deeg (1722-1763 CE) | 186 |
City Palace, Jaipur (a. 1727 CE) | 192 |
Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari (1729-1758 CE) | 196 |
Conclusions | 201 |
Notes | 207 |
Bibliography | 217 |
Appendices | 223 |
A - Miscellaneous Plans | 225 |
Fortified Gates | 265 |
Empires of India | 272 |
B - Major Rulers of India | 279 |
C - Chronology of Major Indian Monuments | 321 |
D - Glossary | 327 |
Acknowledgements | 341 |
The book brings the outstanding features of the places, pavilions and residences of the ruling class in medieval India - from the 13th century to the 18th century. The focus is on structures that represent a group of religious and ethnic lines, i.e. Hindu / Islamic rulers, Indo-European Hindu or Dravidian Hindu or Afghani or Turk or Indian rulers, and structures characteristic of particular periods and locales. Presenting some 31 famous buildings including the city place of Udaipur and Jaipur and the Lal Qila, Delhi and pleasure pavilions like the Hauz Khas, Delhi and Farah Bagh, Amadnagar, the work studies places and pavilions from the different regions of India. It illustrates the layout plan of each building in detail.
Dr. Fredrick W. Bunce discusses the size, elaborateness or luxury of the royal structures which underlined the king's right to rule. With elaborate notes, he showcases their characteristics such as their tendency towards axiality and their symmetrical aspect, the Hindu ruler's choice of the immutable square for the plan and their reliance on the silpa-sastras, the east-west alignment of the structures, the labyrinthine character of residences / places, and their iconography that is unique to Indian subcontinent. The volume has appendices that give the plans of other great structures of India and the world, list the major rulers of kingdoms in India's different regions and provide a chronological list of major Indian monuments.
The book will be extremely useful to students and scholars of Indian cultural history, particularly relating to architecture and iconography.
About the Author:
Fredrick W. Bunce, a Ph.D. a cultural historian of international eminence, is an authority on ancient iconography and Buddhist arts. He has been honoured with prestigious awards/ commendations and is listed in Who's Who in American Art and the International Biographical Dictionary, 1980. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Art, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana.
List of Plates | VII |
List of Figures | XI |
Abbreviations | XVII |
Introduction | 2 |
Iconography | 5 |
Beginnings | 5 |
Ratios and Proportions | 5 |
Basic Plans | 8 |
Physical Iconography | 17 |
The Palace | 17 |
Axiality | 18 |
Symmetry / Asymmetry | 22 |
Orientation | 22 |
The High place | 23 |
The Labyrinth | 25 |
Implied Iconography | 26 |
"By the Grace of God" | 26 |
Dynasty | 29 |
Royal Accoutrements | 30 |
Power | 31 |
Defensive | 31 |
Property - Religious / Cultural | 32 |
Qila, Garh Mahal or Mandir | 33 |
Conclusions | 34 |
Places, Residences and Pavilions | 35 |
Hauz Khas, Delhi (a. 1290 CE) | 36 |
Kotla Firuz Shah (a. 1351 CE) | 40 |
Vijayanagara Kotila, Vijayanagara (a. 1350 CE) | 44 |
Shadiabad Mandir, Mandu (a. 1410 CE) | 50 |
Bidargarh, Bidar (a. 1424 CE) | 56 |
Kumbhalgarh, Chittor (a. 1433 CE) | 60 |
Meherangarh, Jodhpur (a. 1459 CE) | 64 |
Man Mandir, Gwalior (a. 1486 CE) | 68 |
Gingee Mandir, Gingee (a. 1490 CE) | 74 |
Wav Dada Harir, Asarwa (1499 CE) | 78 |
Ainapur Mahal, Ainapur (c. 1500 CE) | 82 |
Water Pavilion, Kumatagi (c. 1500 CE) | 84 |
Raja Mandir, Orchha (a. 1554 CE) | 86 |
Gagan Mahal, Bijapur (a. 1561 CE) | 92 |
Lal Qila, (Red Fort), Agra (a. 1565 CE) | 94 |
Fatehpur Sikri (c. 1569-1658 CE) | 102 |
Chandragiri Palace (Raja & Rana Mahals), Tirupati (a. 1565 CE) | 128 |
City Palace, Udaipur (a. 1567 CE) | 136 |
Farah Bagh (Feria Bagh), Ahmadnagar (c. 1583 CE) | 140 |
Raj Mahal, Amber (a. 1592 CE) | 142 |
Jahangir Mandir, Orchha (a. 1605 CE) | 148 |
Govind Mandir, Datia (a. 1620 CE) | 152 |
Jag Mandir, Udaipur (a. 1734 CE) | 160 |
Shahi Bagh, Ahmadabad (c. 1623 CE) 164 | |
Lal Qila, Shahjahanabad, Delhi (a. 1639-1648 CE) | 166 |
Daulat Kothi, Bijapur (c. 1626 CE) | 178 |
Athar Mahal, Bijapur (c. 1646 CE) 180 | |
Nayaka Mahal, Madhurai (c. 1650 CE) | 182 |
Deeg-garh (Garden Palace), Deeg (1722-1763 CE) | 186 |
City Palace, Jaipur (a. 1727 CE) | 192 |
Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari (1729-1758 CE) | 196 |
Conclusions | 201 |
Notes | 207 |
Bibliography | 217 |
Appendices | 223 |
A - Miscellaneous Plans | 225 |
Fortified Gates | 265 |
Empires of India | 272 |
B - Major Rulers of India | 279 |
C - Chronology of Major Indian Monuments | 321 |
D - Glossary | 327 |
Acknowledgements | 341 |