A large red sandstone crenel, India, Mughal, late 16th century

A large red sandstone architectural element, India, Mughal, late 16th century

sandstone carved with a floral palmette and half-medallion, two small roundels containing the word 'Allah', the reverse with a central carved floral roundel

0

height: 100cm. (39 3/8 in.)

width: 66.3cm. (26 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Spink & Son Ltd., London, 2000

Literature

M. Fraser, Selected Works from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection of Indian and Islamic Art, London, 2015, cat.11, pp.44-45

Exhibited

The Sea in a Jug: The Welch Collection of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Colby Museum of Art, Maine, 2020

Catalogue note
This large and impressive red sandstone crenel is an outstanding example of Mughal architectural carving and demonstrates a combination of Persian and Indian decorative elements typical of the Akbar period.
The main deeply-carved leafy palmette, which rises on a bifurcated stem from the base and spreads into a floral spray with articulated serrated leaves, is executed in a spirited manner and shows the influence of Persian decorative forms, whereas the stylised semi-circular lotus flower at the base is more reminiscent of Indian decorative vocabulary. The lobed form of the crenel elegantly echoes the outline of the carved palmette. In the upper lobes are two small roundels containing the word 'Allah', suggesting that the crenel was intended for a religious building such as a mosque, or perhaps a tomb or mausoleum. The reverse has a more simple design, with a central floral roundel on a plain field. Red sandstone crenels are found in numerous architectural sites in northern India, including Fatehpur Sikri and Akbar's tomb at Sikandra, Agra Fort, the Red Fort and other buildings in Delhi and elsewhere.

Comparisons to the lively style of the carved palmette on the front of the crenel can be found at Fatehpur Sikri (see Gupta and Israni 2013, pp.103, 127, 142-3), as can related examples of the lotus flower medallions on the front and back (Gupta and Israni 2013, pp.158-9). Related forms of crenels can also be seen in the architecture depicted in the illustrations to the imperial Hamzanama (1560s-70s), as well as in other Akbar-period manuscripts (see, for example, Seyller 2002, cats.22, 26, 60, pp.88, 96, 182, 187).

A crenel of identical form and size is in the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar Al-Islamiyya, Kuwait (acc. no.LNS 231 S, see Curatola, Keene and Kaoukji 2010, no.132, p.161), and a further very similar piece was published by Simon Ray Ltd. in 2002 (cat.75, pp.138-9).