Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/369

CHAP. X. MOTI MASJID, AGRA. among the purely decorative forms of architectural design. This mode of ornamentation is lavishly bestowed on the tombs themselves and the screen that surrounds them, though sparingly introduced on the mosque that stands to the west of the Taj, or on the fountains and surrounding buildings. The judgment, indeed, with which this style of ornament is apportioned to the various parts is almost as remarkable as the ornament itself, and conveys a high idea of the taste and skill of the Indian architects of that age. The long rows of cypresses, which line the marble paths that intersect the garden at right angles, and are backed up by masses of evergreen foliage, lend a charm to the whole which the founder and his children could hardly have realised. Each of the main avenues among these trees has a canal along its centre studded with marble fountains, and each vista leads to some beautiful architectural object. With the Jamna in front, and this garden with its fountains and gateway behind ; with its own purity of material and grace of form, the Taj may challenge comparison with any creation of the same sort in the whole world. Its beauty may not be of the highest class, but in its class it is unsurpassed. Though neither so magni- ficent nor so richly ornamented as some of his other build- ings, the Mot! Masjid or Pearl Mosque, which Shah Jahan erected in the fort of Agra, 1646-1653, is one of the purest and most elegant buildings of its class to be found anywhere (Woodcut No. 435). It is not large, measuring only 187 ft. by 234 ft. over all externally ; and though raised on a lofty stylobate, which ought to give it dignity, it makes no pre- tensions to architectural effect on the outside; but the moment you enter by the eastern gateway the effect of its courtyard is surpassingly beautiful. The whole is of white marble, and the forms all graceful and elegant. The only ornament introduced which is not strictly architectural, is an inscription in black marble, inlaid in the frieze of the mosque itself. The courtyard is nearly a square, 154 ft. by 158 ft. On three sides it is sur- 435. Plan of Moti Masjid. (From a Plan by Gen. Cunningham.) Scale 100 ft. to i in.