930 
struction; individual mouldings and or- 
faments may have been adopted, but the 
style is_origunal. 
In the elaborate diversity and confused 
_ Variety of Indian decoration, how ‘shall 
re seize_on general forms and charac- 
Peristic ornaments—our readers mist ac- 
¢pt unconnected remarks and indivi- 
dual description. The shafts of the 
olumns are very frequently circular in 
the upper, and square in the lower part, 
with or without bases. Many of the capi- 
tals consist of several tiers of circular 
mouldings: in one instance, the ashes of 
‘Ravana in Flora, we observe volutes 
bearing some resemblance to the Ionic 
capital. _Some octagon shafts occur, 
those of Viswakarma are quite plain, with- 
out any base or capital; but in the larger 
temple of Salsetie the octagon shaft is 
terminated by a capital, consisting of a 
necking, a torus, and a very high abacus 
of several courses projecting regularly 
over one another ; the base has the same 
mouldings as the capital reversed, above 
the capital is a plinth, on Which is sculp- 
tured, the figures of elephants and horses, 
apparently crouching under the weight 
of the ceiling. ‘The plinth above the 
capital is usual ia Indian, as well as in 
Egyptian remains, and is generally sculp- 
tured.in both, Another member is al- 
most, universal, and may be considered 
as characteristic of Indian architecture : 
above the capitalor the plinth, project 
consoles, the lateral ones supporting and 
lessening the bearing of the architrave, 
and that in front sustaining the cornice. 
This part in the excavations of Mauveli- 
poram is sculptured with he figures of 
three horsemen; in other instances it is 
‘generally in the shape of a bracket. 
Lhe ,entablatures are very simple, usu- 
ally consisting of a plain massy archi- 
trave, and a cornice of one or two square 
members, which, with its great projec- 
tion, serves the purpose, and evidently is 
merely a pent-house, to shelter from the 
tropicalsun. The elephant and lion, the 
‘emblems of strength and courage, bear a 
conspicuous part in Indian decorations : 
sculptured in basso relievo, or detached 
trom the rocks, we find them every where; 
they support the base of Kailasa, ele- 
‘phants sustain the columns of Jaganatha 
‘Sabha, and lions guard the pillars of 
_Mauveliporam. 
_. The Mahometan is a style of great 
merit, original and. picturesque’ in its 
ce hs Uniform ) design, 
ARCHITECTURE AND THE FINE ‘ARTS. 
and rich in ornament. The pointed z and 
scolloped arch, which are essential to this 
style, give it a resemblance to the Gothic;: 
from which, however, it differs mate- 
tially in its projecting cornices, flat roofs, 
and domes: the two first are marks of 
the climate; the latter may, as is illus- 
trated in the modern buildings of Fgypt 
and.Arabia, have originated from the 
want of wood. in the native country of 
Mahometanarchitecture, which deficiency 
led to the: practice of roofing buildings 
with stone: to do which, the vault and 
dome ‘are the only convenient and ceco- 
nomical methods. ‘Lhe projecting bal- 
conied windows- and open cupolas, the 
minars and pinacles, are ‘striking ob- 
jects in these buildings. The domes are 
frequently contracted at bottom, so as to 
give them the resemblance ofa pear, an 
instance of absurd imitation, as unpleas- 
ing to the eye as it is weak in construc- 
tion. Large surfaces are generally orna- 
mented with pannelling of various forms, 
and patterns, and the bases, cornices, and 
facias, are frequently carved with leaves. 
The * style of finishing which prevail- 
ed very much at Agra, Delhi, and other 
cities of Hindostan: before the time of 
the emperor Shah Jehan, was covering 
the domes, friezes, minars, and other 
parts, with glazed tiles, of various designs 
and colours. These porcelain embellich- 
ments were often applied with great taste, 
and from therichness of their colours and 
enamelled surface, produced a very splen- 
did effect.” 
‘The mixtere of Hindoo forms, which 
has been adopted in many of these build- 
ings, «loes not much affect their general 
appearance ; it is marked by greater sim-' 
plicity and massiveness, and particularly 
by the porticos, which are not Mahome- 
tan arcades, but Indian colonades, with 
the cantalever supports to the entabla- 
ture before described. - 
‘The Mahometan buildings in this work 
consist of mosques, mausoleums, palaces, 
and gateways. The mosques are distin- 
guished by their domes and minars: the 
miost striking among them is. the Jum- 
mah Musjed, or Friday Mosque, m Delhi, 
the grand’ cathedtal of the empire of 
Hindoostan, a superb edifice, of which the 
following description is extracted from 
the ‘Asiatic Researches, vol. 4. "* This 
mosque is situated about a quarter of a 
mile from the royal palace ; the founda- 
tion of it was laid upon a rocky eminence, 
n ed Jnjitla Pahar, and has been searped 
de ow se titles 
