Geometric pattern at the tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah
I’m really intrigued by Islamic geometric patterns, having read the excellent books by Eric Broug and attempted to draw some of them myself. I spotted one particular tiled pattern on the internet that is frequently attributed to the Taj Mahal, so when I visited there in 2023 I kept an eye open for it. However, after several hours I hadn’t managed to find it anywhere. In fact, it wasn’t there at all. It’s a panel on the ornately tiled exterior of the tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah, sometimes called the “Baby Taj”, which is also in Agra a few kilometers north-west of the Taj Mahal. The tomb was built between 1620 and 1628, and has walls of white marble from Rajhastan inlaid with mosaics and semi-precious stones. The building is often described as a “jewel box” and is considered an architectural stepping-stone between earlier Mughal buildings – which were primarily red sandstone – and the ubiquitous white marble of the Taj Mahal. ...