IDNO

P.97227.WIL

Description

View of the mausoleum of the Taj Mahal and its relection in the reflecting pool of the Charbagh (the symbolic ‘Garden of Paradise’).
The focus of the Taj Mahal is the white marble tomb, which stands on a square plinth consisting of a symmetrical building with an iwan, an arch-shaped doorway, surrounded by pishtaq (vaulted archway), and topped by a large dome that rises approximately 35 metres. Additional pishtaqs are stacked on either side of the main archway, and at each corner of the plinth are four minarets. At the front is a 300 metre square charbagh, Mughal garden, with a reflecting pool. [JD 6/5/2008]

On Cech’s list describing prints:
“(224-236 were taken during a sight-seeing tour the Williamsons made in North India, ending up in Delhi.)
228a/b/c/d/e/f. “The Taj Mahal, Agra”.” [printed text]
For more information see Cech’s list.

Place

S Asia; India; Agra; Taj Mahal

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Williamson, Margaret

Collector / Expedition

Date

27 January 1934

Collection Name

Williamson Collection

Source

Williamson, Margaret

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

The transcription of this album by Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman was carried out with reference to Krystina Cech’s catalogue list alone. Alex Nadin has since revised their cataloguing by systematically matching their records to the images. Margaret Williamson’s handwritten captions for photographs have now been transcribed into the Inscription field, and Cech’s descriptions appear in the Description field. Correct entries for Place, Named Person and Other Nos. have also been entered by Alex Nadin. [Sudeshna Guha 29/10/2002]

Context: “An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.” The Taj Mahal became a Unesco World Heritge Site in 1983. [Source: Unesco World Heritage, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252/, JD 6/5/2008]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 6/5/2008]