SCREEN, MUGHAL INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
Jali looking into the quadrangle of the Jama Masjid
Tomb of Salim Chishti / Fatehpur Sikri, India
A jali (or jaali) is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry.
Screens like this, typical of Mughal Indian architecture, were used as windows or interior room dividers, allowing light and air to enter the room while screening the inhabitants from the glare of the sun and the gazes of passersby. The intricately carved design would have created a subtle play of shadow and light in the interior, emphasizing the characteristics of symmetry and the illusion of infinity inherent in geometric design.
The Mughals were a Muslim Dynasty of Central Asian origin who ruled the north of India from 1526 to 1858.
The Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti is famed as one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, built during the years 1580 and 1581. The mausoleum was constructed by Akbar as a mark of his respect for the Sufi saint, who foretold the birth of his son Prince Salim. He later succeeded Akbar to the throne of the Mughal Empire, as Jahangir.
Artist Salma Caller: And I would add to this that the infinity created is not illusion but the actual experience of the body. Islamic art addresses the body and mind. Islamic Ornament transfigures the material and physical. Rather than a Western notion of ‘image’ and ‘optical’ instead it is also a physical experience through the body into the mind. Unlike in Western art there is no fixed hegemonic gaze of a person and ‘his’ look but rather a disseminated experience of body through light shadow ornament. A dissolving of the mundane and allowing an experience of a garden and also facilitating spiritual experience and knowledge.