Patterns used in Mughal Art and Architecture

Indian architecture and arts are influenced by Mughal architecture, during Mughal rule in India. Mughal architecture flourished in India by Mughals in 16th to 18th century. Mughal art and architecture use some patterns which make the art very attractive. Dome is one of the those. The carving and crafts in the Mughal architecture are very pleasing. These we can observe in many famous Mughal monuments, one being the world famous Taj Mahal. Recently I visited Qutub Minar in Delhi. There also I could capture different patterns of Mughal Architecture.Sharing about some the major patterns used in Mughal Architecture in India.

1. Jali patterns :

Jaali means net. Jaalis are carved on red stone or white marbles.Jaalis are extensively used in Mughal Architecture for windows , edges of the platforms and terraces. 

Jaali- Windows

 

Here are some more information about Jaali in Mughal Architecture

2. Geometrical patterns  

Another design pattern used in mughal architecture is repeated geometric pattern. Even Jaalis have geometric patterns.

Repeated Geometric pattern

Repeated Geometric Pattern

  3. Arabesque: 

Arabesque are the patterns made by interlacing lines and curves. Arabesque is another major design used in mughal architecture. These looks quite complicated designs.

Arabesque patterns

Arabesque patterns

4. Calligraphy Designs

Calligraphy is another defining charecteristic of Mughal architecture. The Qutub Minar has the calligraphy designs running  around the Minar. These are in the form of bands. This has the text from Quran. 

Calligraphic designs

5. Floral Designs:

Floral designs are major patterns in almost all the art and architecture. Mughal Arts and Architecture is not an exclusion. The floral designs are includes mainly lotus, rose , buds and plants. 

Floral Designs

Floral designs

 We often see most of these designs are used in modern architecture too. Now to replicate these designs with technology and modern tools may be easy, but during those days with the use of manually operated tools imagine how difficult it would have been! 

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Banarasi silk - intricate combination of silk and zari

Today I read a news that , the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, announced a huge financial aid to boost the textile industry in Banaras. I feel this boost is really required for the weavers of Banarasi silk.It is a good support to the weavers . Also this reminded about long pending post I had planned , to write about Banaras silk. (Already I have written a post about an atique Banaras silk here.)
 The bright colors, delicate silk combined with zari makes it dream of saree lovers like me :-). The elegance and beauty are effect of  the hard-work of the weavers. It takes 15 days to 6 months to weave a Banaras saree , depending on the complexity of the design. Here you can see a red Banarasi saree, with heavy zari work all over the saree.One can imagine the hard-work behind the making of this saree.

Banarasi saree is manufactured in Varanasi. Its a cottage industry, run majorly by Momin Ansari Muslims. The designs are influenced Mughal designs. In ancient time,  Varaasi was famous for weaving of cotton, gradually the weavers switched over to silk weaving. Recently when I visited Varanasi, I got a chance to visit a weaver. I could capture the image of  hand-loom machine used for weaving. As it was night when I visited there, so the weavers had stopped the weaving for the day. So I could not  see the  weaving :(.

 But collected some information about designing and making of the saree, and also gained some knowledge  on different kinds of designs used etc. I will share about the details in my next post.

Until then, 

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana