Taj Mahal - Pietra Dura |
Father, had the most innovative and grand decoration, a mosaic of exquisitely colored hard precious stones inlaid into the white marble. The lyrical rhythm of the floral motifs had an amazing beauty, which the Taj greatly emulated. The crypt and the cenotaphs at the Taj carry pietra dura decoration of a fabulous unexcelled elegance. As Percy Brown, the noted art historian observes, the Taj "resembles the spirited sweep of a brush rather than the slow laborious cutting of a chisel". As many as 35 different types of precious stones have been used on a single bloom-turquoise, jade, agate, coral, lapis Lazuli, onyx, bloodstone, cornelian, jasper, garnet and malachite used to fashion blooms of fuchsias, lily, honeysuckle, etc. The ninety-nine names of Allah have been used to decorate the eastern and western sides of Mumtaz's grave in the crypts. Today, much is left to the imagination of the visitors as most of the precious stones have been plundered or destroyed in the years when Taj Mahal fell into insignificance.
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History
of Agra
