*Set apart from the descriptive guides that exist on the subject, this book analyzes the meaning of the Qutb Complex's monuments and their afterlife from the fourteenth through the twenty-first centuries The Qutb complex is one of Delhi's major tourist attractions and the Qutb Minar is often used as an iconic emblem representing the city. Yet aside from scholarly essays and largely descriptive books on the site, there has been little attempt to write an accessible analysis of the site's monuments, patrons, inscriptions and history. This book will examine not only the site as it was developed in the early Sultanate period, but also probe its life prior to the establishment of Muslim rule in the late-twelfth century and then again after the period of Sultanate patronage of the site up to the present. The aim of this volume is to prove that over time the complex remained considerably more significant in meaning than is generally believed. The surrounding urban area, including dargahs, temples, mosques, tombs and water sources, will be studied in terms of their relation to the core mosque and minaret. A comprehensive analysis of the interwoven histories of the Qutb Complex and its architecture, this book is both visually sumptuous and informative.

Building Histories offers innovative accounts of five medieval monuments in Delhi—the Red Fort, Rasul Numa Dargah, Jama Masjid, Purana Qila, and the Qutb complex—tracing their modern lives from the nineteenth century into the twentieth. Mrinalini Rajagopalan argues that the modern construction of the history of these monuments entailed the careful selection, manipulation, and regulation of the past by both the colonial and later postcolonial states. Although framed as objective “archival” truths, these histories were meant to erase or marginalize the powerful and persistent affective appropriations of the monuments by groups who often existed outside the center of power. By analyzing these archival and affective histories together, Rajagopalan works to redefine the historic monument—far from a symbol of a specific past, the monument is shown in Building Histories to be a culturally mutable object with multiple stories to tell.

Description and travel of Kutb Minar, adjoining monuments, and the architecture of Mughals; a study.

A comprehensive guide to Delhi's architectural heritage that includes photographs, line drawings, detailed maps and anecdotes from the city's past.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the historical and cultural linkages between India and Iran in terms of art and architectural traditions and their commonality and diversity. It addresses themes such as early connections between Iran, India and Central Asia; study of the Qutb Complex in Delhi; the great immigration of Turks from Asia to Anatolia; the collaboration of Indian and Persian painters; design, ornamentation techniques and regional dynamics; women and public spaces in Shahjahanabad and Isfahan; the noble-architects of emperor Shah Jahan's reign; development of Kashmir’s Islamic religious architecture in the medieval period; role of Nur Jahan and her Persian roots in the evolution of the Mughal Garden; synthesis of Indo-Iranian architecture; and confluence of Indo-Persian food culture to showcase the richness of art, architecture, and sociocultural and political exchanges between the two countries. Bringing together a wide array of perspectives, it delves into the roots of connection between India and Iran over centuries to understand its influence and impact on the artistic and cultural genealogy and the shared past of two of the oldest civilizations and regional powers of the world. With its archival sources, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of medieval history, Indian history, international relations, Central Asian history, Islamic studies, Iranian history, art and architecture, heritage studies, cultural studies, regional studies, and South Asian studies as well as those interested in the study of sociocultural and religious exchanges.

This book offers a range of views on spolia and appropriation in art and architecture from fourth-century Rome to the late twentieth century. Using case studies from different historical moments and cultures, contributors test the limits of spolia as a critical category and seek to define its specific character in relation to other forms of artistic appropriation. Several authors explore the ethical issues raised by spoliation and their implications for the evaluation and interpretation of new work made with spolia. The contemporary fascination with spolia is part of a larger cultural preoccupation with reuse, recycling, appropriation and re-presentation in the Western world. All of these practices speak to a desire to make use of pre-existing artifacts (objects, images, expressions) for contemporary purposes. Several essays in this volume focus on the distinction between spolia and other forms of reused objects. While some authors prefer to elide such distinctions, others insist that spolia entail some form of taking, often violent, and a diminution of the source from which they are removed. The book opens with an essay by the scholar most responsible for the popularity of spolia studies in the later twentieth century, Arnold Esch, whose seminal article 'Spolien' was published in 1969. Subsequent essays treat late Roman antiquity, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Middle Ages, medieval and modern attitudes to spolia in Southern Asia, the Italian Renaissance, the European Enlightenment, modern America, and contemporary architecture and visual culture.