1850.1 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



41 



transferred onr affection to Italian and Gothic. A large view, 

 however, of the question, and one to which I conceive the study of 

 the Indian, the Saracenic, the Mexican, and all the other exotic 

 styles would inevitably lead, would show that the forms of archi- 

 tecture are not confined to three or four styles, but are infinite, 

 and so far from being exhausted by those who have gone before us, 

 so as to reduce us of necessity to the mere ranlc of copyists, as has 

 been often asserted, and would prove we do not yet stand beyond 

 the threshold of invention in this branch; but that new forms 

 spring forward at the bidding not only of every cultivated man 

 who thinks, but even of the savage or the half-civilised man, who 

 tries to express in stone the idea with which he is filled. 



The most important lesson, however, that can be derived from 

 the study of these monuments arises from the fact, that they are 

 built by persons who seldom can read or write, and who never can 

 draw, in the European sense of the term at least, and for a people 

 who have neither a written literature nor history of their own, — 

 who have no institutions worthy of the name, and whose religion 

 is one of the grossest superstitions that ever disgraced humanity. 

 Yet these people could invent and perfect a style of their own, 

 which should not only express their own feelings' and civilisation, 

 but convey to posterity a higher idea of that civilisation than we 

 can obtain from any other source, and which we with all our culti- 

 vation must be content to admire, but have not yet dared to emu- 

 late. 



Remarks made at the Meeting after the reading of the foregoing Paper. 

 Mr. Fergusson having concluded his paper, the Chairman, Mr. Sooles, 

 and other Members, put several questions to Mr. fergusson, wlio explaineii, 

 that in nine cases out of ten, all the upper part of the vimana, above the first 

 story, was a mass of solid brickwork. There were small chambers in each 

 story; but they were not used for any purpose, and were obviously made 

 for the object of saving material. Access to them might be obtained by 

 hidden staircases. No skill in construction was exhibited ; it was a mere 

 piling up of material. The immense stones used in building the gateways 

 were raised on end or placed across, simply by force of the immense num. 

 bers of hands employed. They covered the stone to he raised like ants, and 

 by inserting bamboos after the manner of wedges, literally " shove " it up. 

 He could not use a more dignified term to describe the operation. There 

 was a column 80 feet in height erected at Seringapatam, in memory of Sir 

 David Baird : it was put up in this way. There were no indications of the 

 arch in these sacred buildings. 



Mr. TiTK.— The lecturer has described this architecture as being of a 

 character sui generis, and I am quite of his mind. At the same time I must 

 say that I have been muoh interested by the beautiful drawings of Central 

 America, prepared by Mr. Catherwood, a member of the Institute; and 1 

 have been led by the extraordinary character of the ruins depicted by him, 

 to endeavour to trace the people to whom they are to be attributed. Philo.' 

 logical analogies are quite at fault. The language of tlie people, and that of 

 the other races of India are entirely different. Now I cannot help fancying 

 that I can see a great similitude between the sketches now submitted to us 

 and those of Mr. Catherwood. The Mexican architecture is akin to that of 

 Yucatan, and the characteristics of the latter may be traced in that of Java. 

 It is undoubtedly an immense distance from the south-east point of Hiudo- 

 Btan, the architecture of which has this evening so ably been brought before 

 us; and the totally different character of the languages— they having no 

 cognate root— a still greater obstacle. Yet I think this may turn out one of 

 those cases, in which the comparatively imperishable character of architec- 

 tural remains will aid us more in tracing the connection of races than even 

 phil.)logy. Sir Stamford Raffles describes the temples of Java to be pyra- 

 midal edifices, like those of Southern India. That is the case also in Mexico, 

 the altar being placed on the top, and the carcases of the victims thrown 

 down the steps, it may be after all, that these resemblances are only those 

 created by the common requirements of a similar climate. I agree with Mr. 

 Fergusson that the supposed resemblance of the Egyptian architecture is not 

 worth consideration. It arose no doubt from the'wonder of the sepoys on 

 visiting Egypt; but an uneducated eye would fancy a resemblance, where 

 that of an instructed person would at once decide that there was no real 

 resemblance at all. There is nothing in the architecture of any of these 

 countries to suggest a belief that thev are of enormous age. Despite the 

 almost insurmountable difficulties that present themselves, I cannot help 

 thinking that there was a connection between the widely separated races, 

 geographically and philologically speaking, by which these buildings were 

 erected. ° 



Mr. Fergusson.— Javanese architecture is acknowledged to be Hindoo. 

 I know the Hindoo architecture well, and when I was in Java I satisfied mv. 

 self of the fact. With regard to Mexican architecture, I can onlv say, that 

 I went carefully over Mr. Catherwood's drawings with him, andwe agreed 

 that It had no resemblance to India ; all the similarity arises from their being 

 both of a rude style generally, with details most exuberant,— the charac° 

 teristic of all rude styles. The religion of the Mexicans is totallv different 

 from that of India; the latter has no' human sacrifices, and in fact no 

 pyramids. They have pyramidal gateways, but altars they have none. In 



the one case the sacrifices took place always in the sight of the people ; in 

 the other the rites are performed secretly inside the temples. In Java, the 

 religion is in fact a branch of Buddhism from the Indian continent. 



Mr. Billings thought the models exhibited had a striking general resem- 

 blance to the pagodas of the Chinese. We had long prided ourselves in 

 England as the originators of the four-centred arch, but in the drawings now 

 exhibited there it was. 



Mr. I'Anson thought the paper just read proved that the snbject was 

 one which the government of a great nation like England would do well to 

 take up; particularly as our connection with India was so close. With 

 regard to the architecture before them, he saw in some of it a resemblance 

 to the Greek and even to the Roman tombs. 



Professor Cockerell was anxious to acknowledge the great advantage 

 the lecturer had conferred on the Institute, by making known this new 

 family of architecture. It was an interesting fact, that at the extremity of 

 this peninsula there should have arisen a people, whose architecture was so 

 different from all others known. With regard to the peculiar character of 

 the present architecture and its analogies, be must say, that he thought the 

 difference of climate was productive of most of the distinctive features of the 

 styles of different countries. The Jewish temple, for instance, was built in 

 a climate which required those extensive porticoes ; and accordingly in the 

 temple there was the inclosure and the portico; and in like manner, in this 

 extraordinary grouping of Indian architecture, a similar arrangement was 

 united, and hence the halls of a thousand columns. Human nature was the 

 same in every climate, and the same feeling which made the shrine of Our 

 Lady at Loretto to be visited by pilgrims from all parts of the Christian 

 world, was traceable in the small temples of India, which, having acquired 

 the odour of a peculiar sanctity, became large temples surrounded by manv 

 walls and dignified by many columns. A most instructive study would be 

 that of models of the temples of all religions in the world, by which the 

 similarities of all would be brought out, and their differences traced to their 

 various causes, and particularly in reference to the climate. They had all 

 reason to thank Mr. Fergusson, for the clearness and completeness of the 

 account he had given of this extraordinary architecture. 



Mr. Fow-ler reminded the meeting that one of its honorary members, 

 the Rajah of Tanjore, had presented them with drawings of these very tem- 

 ples. He supported the views of Mr. I'Anson, with respect to the duty of 

 the Government, or of the East India Company, to take up the subject. 



Mr. Godwin informed the meeting, that the local papers of India had 

 become strongly alive to the importance of the suhject, and the East India 

 Company were doing something for the preservation of these relics of de- 

 parted generations. 



Mr. Fergusson said that the East India Company had taken 40 copies of 

 his work on India, and in consequence of that publication, orders had been 

 sent out to employ persons to make copies of all decaying remains, ere they 

 disappeared altogether. This was done with some ardour until the wars put 

 a stop to the work. Capt. Gill, however, had been three years at work with 

 a large staff, making copies of the celebrated frescoes in the Ajunta Caves. 

 Thirty or forty large paintings, representing the manners and customs of the 

 people during the last 1200 years, had been received at the India House. 

 They were facsimiles of the paintings in the caves. The work was now going 

 on slowly, but would, he hoped, ultimately present a complete illustration of 

 most of the monuments of the past existing in India. 



Mr. Papworth inquired whether, as Mr. Fergusson had in his former 

 lecture spoken of five styles, there was any evidence of the duration of each ; 

 and whether the character of the religious worship was impressed on the 

 temples. He should also like to know, whether the work of Ram Kaz was 

 valuable or not. 



Mr. Fergusson said there was no difficulty in determining the age of the 

 works, for the farther they went back the more perfect they were in respect 

 to the carving. The buildings used for temples could not be mistaken for 

 anything else. In the estimation of a native, the newest, the latest built 

 edifice was always the most handsome and the best. That was the chief 

 fault of the work of Ram Raz; but with that exception, and also some geo- 

 metrical defects in the drawings, the work was valuable. It had however no 

 details to which an European could work. 



ENGINEERING PROGRESS. 



The Institution of Civil Engineers having elected Mr. ^V'illiam 

 Cubitt as their President, that gentleman, according to custom, 

 has delivered an inaugural address (January 8); wherein he takes 

 a rapid but interesting review of the chief engineering triumphs 

 of the past year, and points out the new iields of usefulness 

 opening up to the inventive powers of man in the mechanical 

 sciences. 



After thanking the members for the honour conferred on him, 

 and modestly attributing his election to the fortuitous circum- 

 stance of his being "the senior Vice-President in duration of 

 office," rather than to any peculiar fitness on his part, he proceeded 

 to direct attention to some matters relating to the internal policy 



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