Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture
Encyclopedia
The Indo-Saracenic Revival (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, Hindoo or Hindu-Gothic) was an architectural
style movement by British
architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic
and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical
styles favoured in Victorian Britain
. The style gained momentum in the west with the publication of the various views of India by William Hodges
and the Daniell duo, (William Daniell
and his uncle Thomas Daniell
) from about 1795.
Confluence of different architectural styles had been attempted before during the Sultanate
and Mughal
periods. The conquest of India by the Muslims
introduced new concepts in the already rich architecture of India. The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate, employing pillars, beam
s and lintels. The Muslims brought in the arcuate style of construction, with its arch
es and beams, which flourished under Mughal
patronage and by incorporating elements of Indian architecture, especially Rajasthani Temple architecture
Local influences also lead to different 'orders' of the Indo-islamic style. After the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate
, rulers of individual states established their own rule and hence their own architectural styles, which was heavily influenced by local styles. Examples of these are the 'Bengal' and the 'Gujarat' schools. Motifs such as chhajja
(A sunshade or eave laid on cantilever brackets fixed into and projecting from the walls), corbel
brackets with richly carved pendentive
decorations (described as stalactite pedentives), balconies, kiosks or chhatri
s and minars (tall towers) were characteristic of the Mughal architecture style, which was to become a lasting legacy of the nearly four hundred years of the Mughal rule.
, the Taj Mahal
, the Forts of Agra
and Lahore
, the city of Fatehpur Sikri
, Akbar's Tomb.
, who had no soft spot for art and architecture. As a result, Mughal architecture suffered, with all artisans migrating to work under the patronage of local rulers. With no major architectural projects undertaken, the Mughal style rapidly declined. This decline was evident in buildings such as Bibi Ka Maqbara
, built by Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb. However, local rulers embraced the style, as they had emulated it during the respective reigns of Jahangir
and Shah Jahan. The last architectural marvel produced during this waning period of Mughal rule
was Safdarjung's Tomb
, mausoleum
to the second Nawab of Awadh
.
By the early 19th century, the British had made themselves the virtual masters of the Indian Subcontinent. In 1803, their control was further strenghthened with the defeat of the Marathas under Mahadaji Scindia. They legitimized their rule by taking the then weak Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II
under their protection, and ruling through him. However, their power was yet again challenged when in 1857, the Indian soldiers in their employ, together with rebellious princes lashed out in open revolt (which came to be known as the Revolt of 1857). However, this uprising was doomed from the start, and was crushed by the British with ferocity, marking the end of the Mughal Empire
. Soon after, they embarked on deliberate vandalism, by demolishing significant amount of buildings in the Red Fort (the residence of the recently extinct Mughal Empire) and replacing them with towering and unimpressive barracks. It was the first attempt towards erasing the architectural legacy of the Mughals.
However, to usher in a new era, the British 'Raj', a new architectural tradition had to be founded. Hence they contemplated a marriage between the existing styles of India with imported styles from the West such as Gothic
(with its sub styles of French/Irish Gothic, Venetian-Moorish etc.), Neoclassical
and Art-Deco, Gothic even more so because their design philosophy was inclined towards grand scale (as is evidenced by buildings such as the Taj hotel). By doing this they kept elements of British and European architecture
, while adding Indian characteristics; this, coupled with the British allowing some regional Indian princes to stay in power, made their presence more 'palatable' for the Indians. The British
tried to encapsulate South Asia's past
within their own buildings and so represent Britain’s Raj as legitimate, while at the same time constructing a modern network of railways, colleges, and law courts.
(present day Peninsular Malaysia
) via British engineers and architects influenced by Indo-Saracenic stylings in British India. During the design of a new town hall for Kuala Lumpur
in the late 19th century, C. E. Spooner, then State Engineer of the Public Works Department, favoured a "Mahometan
style" over a neoclassical
one to reflect Islamic mores in the region, instructing architect Charles Norman, who was further assisted by R. A. J. Bidwell, to redesign the building. Norman and Bidwell, having previously served in northern India, adopted various elements of Indo-Saracenic architecture into the town hall. Upon completion in 1897, the town hall, now known as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building
, became the first building influenced by Indo-Saracenic architecture to be built in Malaya. The town hall inspired other civic buildings in the vicinity to be built in a similar style, while a handful of commercial buildings in Malaya have also been known to adopt some of the style's elements. The style was also favoured as one of several adopted by British architects with regards to Malayan mosques as they did not feel the need to adhere accurately to the cultural heritage, and the traditional culture of the Malays, who remain prominent in Malayan society and are Muslims, did not have the means to design a building of imperial scale; both the Jamek Mosque
and Ubudiah Mosque
are examples of mosques that resulted from this combination. While its popularity was limited to the 1890s to the 1910s, the style has been reused for newer governments buildings of the late-20th century and 21st century, such as several public buildings in Putrajaya
.
imperialist colonizers, promoting their own sense of “rightful self-glorification”, which came to appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of continental Europeans and Americans, whose architects came to astutely incorporate telling indigenous "Asian Exoticism
" elements, whilst implementing their own engineering innovations supporting such elaborate construction, both in India and abroad, evidence for which can be found to this day in public, private and government owned buildings. Public and Government buildings were often rendered on an intentionally grand scale, reflecting and promoting a notion of an unassailable and invincible British Empire
.
Again, structures of this design sort, particularly those built in India and England, were built in conformance to advanced British structural engineering standards of the 1800s, which came to include infrastructures composed of iron, steel and poured concrete (the innovation of reinforced cement and pre-cast cement elements, set with iron and/or steel rods, developed much later); the same can be said for like structures built elsewhere, making use of the same design vocabulary, by local architects, that would come to be constructed in continental Europe and the Americas: Indo-Saracenic’s popularity flourished for a span of some 30-years.
Notable, too, is that the British, in fact Europeans generally, had long nurtured a taste for the aesthetic exuberance of such “Asian exoticism” design, as displayed in innovative Indo-Saracenic style and also in their taste for Chinoiserie
and Japanned. Supported by the imagination of skilled artisans of various disciplines, exoticism
promulgated itself across a broad demographic of British, European and Americas’ citizenry, Adaptation of such design innovations spilled over into and determined the aesthetic direction of major architectural projects, expressing themselves in the Baroque
, Regency
and design periods beyond.
Today, that spread of elaborate Asian exoticism design fulfillment remains evidenced in many residential and governmental edifices wrought of the masterpiece initiatives of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries; much had initially been contributed by the stupendously rich and indulgent sea-merchant Venetian Empire, whose existence spanned nearly a millennium, and whose Gothic architecture
came to incorporate a plethora of Asian exoticism elements, such as the Moorish Arch in its windows, related to the latter "harem window
"
Generally, the insatiable craze for Asian exoticism relished in those earlier periods, testamentary in their parallel Chinoiserie expression, likewise, ushered in this latter colonial British fascination with the luxuriant exoticism found in the indigenous Indian design milieu, whose characteristics includes the following vocabulary list of design elements and motifs (often paralleling and expanding upon the already ornateness of the earlier Venetian’s unique Gothic-Moorish, also known as Venetian Gothic architecture
ad-mixture):
Chief proponents of this style of architecture were these: Robert Fellowes Chisholm, Charles Mant, Henry Irwin
, William Emerson
, George Wittet
and Frederick Stevens
, along with numerous other skilled professionals and artisans throughout Europe and the Americas.
Structures built in Indo-Saracenic style in India and in certain nearby countries were predominately grand public edifices, such as clock tower
s and courthouse
s. Likewise, civic as well as municipal and governmental college
s along with town halls counted this style among its top-ranked and most-prized structures to this day; ironically, in Britain itself, for example, King George IV's Royal Pavilion
at Brighton
, (which twice in its lifetime has been threatened with being torn-down, denigrated by some as a “carnival
sideshow”, and dismissed by others as “an architectural folly of inferior design”, no less) and elsewhere, these rare and often diminutive (though sometimes, as mentioned, of grand-scale), residential structures that exhibit this colonial style are highly valuable and prized by the communities in which they exist as being somehow “magical” in appearance.
Typically, in India, villages, towns and cites of some means would lavish significant sums on construction of such "indigenous ethnic architecture" when plans were drawn up for construction of the local railway stations, museum
s and art galleries
.
The cost involved in the construction of buildings of this style was high, including all their inherent customization, ornament and minutia decoration, the artisans' ingenuous skills (stone and wood carving, as well as the exquisite lapidary/inlaid work) and usual accessibility to requisite raw materials, hence the style was executed only on buildings of a grand scale. However the occasional residential structure of this sort, (its being built in part or whole with Indo-Saracenic design elements/motifs) did appear quite often, and such buildings have grown ever more valuable and highly prized by local and foreign populations for their exuberant beauty today.
Either evidenced in a property’s primary unit or any of its outbuildings, such estate-caliber residential properties lucky enough to boost the presence of an Indo-Saracenic structure, are still to be seen, generally, where in instances urban sprawl has not yet overcome them; often they are to be found in exclusive neighborhoods' (or surrounded, as cherished survivors, by enormous sky-scarpers, in more recently claimed urbanized areas throughout this “techno” driven, socio-economic revolutionary era marking India’s recent decade’s history), and are often locally referred to as "mini-palaces". Usually, their form-factors are these: townhouse, wings and/or porticoes. Additionally, more often seen are the diminutive renditions of the Indo-Saracenic style, built originally for lesser budgets, finding their nonetheless romantic expression in the occasional and serenely beautiful garden pavilion outbuildings, throughout the world; especially, in India … and England.
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
style movement by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic
Indo-Islamic Architecture
Islamic contribution to architecture in the Indian subcontinent is far reaching and undeniable. New modes and principles of construction were developed reflecting the religious and social needs of the adherents of Islam.-Masjid and Mandir:...
and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
styles favoured in Victorian Britain
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The style gained momentum in the west with the publication of the various views of India by William Hodges
William Hodges
William Hodges RA was an English painter. He was a member of James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, and is best known for the sketches and paintings of locations he visited on that voyage, including Table Bay, Tahiti, Easter Island, and the Antarctic.Hodges was born in London. He was a...
and the Daniell duo, (William Daniell
William Daniell
William Daniell RA was an English landscape and marine painter, and engraver. He travelled extensively in the Far East, helping to produce one of the finest illustrated volumes of the period - "Oriental Scenery". He also travelled around the coastline of Britain to paint watercolours for the...
and his uncle Thomas Daniell
Thomas Daniell
Thomas Daniell was an English landscape painter.-Life:Thomas Daniell was born in 1749 at the Chertsey inn, kept by his father, and was apprenticed to an heraldic painter. Daniell, however, was animated with a love of the romantic and beautiful in architecture and nature. Up to 1784, he painted...
) from about 1795.
Indo-Saracenic or Indo-Islamic Architecture
Confluence of different architectural styles had been attempted before during the Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
and Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
periods. The conquest of India by the Muslims
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
Muslim conquest in South Asia mainly took place from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though earlier Muslim conquests made limited inroads into the region, beginning during the period of the ascendancy of the Rajput Kingdoms in North India, from the 7th century onwards.However, the Himalayan...
introduced new concepts in the already rich architecture of India. The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate, employing pillars, beam
Beam (structure)
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
s and lintels. The Muslims brought in the arcuate style of construction, with its arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es and beams, which flourished under Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
patronage and by incorporating elements of Indian architecture, especially Rajasthani Temple architecture
Hindu temple architecture
India's temple architecture developed from the sthapathis' and shilpis' creativit, but n general these are from the Vishwakarma . A small Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, in which the image is housed, often circumambulation, a congregation hall, and...
Local influences also lead to different 'orders' of the Indo-islamic style. After the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
, rulers of individual states established their own rule and hence their own architectural styles, which was heavily influenced by local styles. Examples of these are the 'Bengal' and the 'Gujarat' schools. Motifs such as chhajja
Chhajja
A chhajja is the projecting or overhanging eaves or cover of a roof, usually supported on large carved brackets. It was used extensively by Hindus for thousands of years, and then more recently borrowed by the invading Muslim empires into the common vocabulary of “Mughal Architecture."It forms...
(A sunshade or eave laid on cantilever brackets fixed into and projecting from the walls), corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
brackets with richly carved pendentive
Pendentive
A pendentive is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous circular or...
decorations (described as stalactite pedentives), balconies, kiosks or chhatri
Chhatri
Chhatris are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indian architecture. Chhatris are commonly used to depict the elements of of pride and honor in the Rajput architecture of Rajasthan. They are widely used, in palaces, in forts, or to demarcate funerary sites...
s and minars (tall towers) were characteristic of the Mughal architecture style, which was to become a lasting legacy of the nearly four hundred years of the Mughal rule.
The Mughal Style
The Mughal style was conceived by Akbar the Great, the third mughal emperor and also the architect of the Mughal empire. This 'Akbari' Style was an amalgam of earlier Timurid, Persian and indigenous Indian styles. This style was further consolidated by his grandson and fellow architecture enthusiast, Shah Jahan. Some of the significant architectural legacies of the Mughals are Humayun's TombHumayun's Tomb
Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect...
, the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
, the Forts of Agra
Agra Fort
Agra Fort, is a monument situated at Agra, is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal...
and Lahore
Lahore Fort
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore...
, the city of Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Built near the much older Sikri, the historical city of Fatehabad, as it was first named, was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570...
, Akbar's Tomb.
Decline and Revival
Shah Jahan was succeeded by his puritanical son, AurangzebAurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
, who had no soft spot for art and architecture. As a result, Mughal architecture suffered, with all artisans migrating to work under the patronage of local rulers. With no major architectural projects undertaken, the Mughal style rapidly declined. This decline was evident in buildings such as Bibi Ka Maqbara
Bibi Ka Maqbara
Bibi Ka Maqbara is a maqbara built by the Mughal Prince Azam Shah, in the late 17th century as a loving tribute to his mother, Rabia Durrani . The comparison to the Taj Mahal has resulted in a general ignorance of the monument...
, built by Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb. However, local rulers embraced the style, as they had emulated it during the respective reigns of Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
and Shah Jahan. The last architectural marvel produced during this waning period of Mughal rule
Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...
was Safdarjung's Tomb
Safdarjung's Tomb
Safdarjung's Tomb is a garden tomb with a marble mausoleum in New Delhi, India. It was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style, and was described as "the last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture". The top storey of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India...
, mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
to the second Nawab of Awadh
Safdarjung
Safdarjung was the Subadar Nawab of Oudh from 19 March 1739 to 5 October 1754.-Life:Safdarjung was born as Muhammad Muqim in Khurasan, Persia and migrated to India in 1722.-Career:...
.
By the early 19th century, the British had made themselves the virtual masters of the Indian Subcontinent. In 1803, their control was further strenghthened with the defeat of the Marathas under Mahadaji Scindia. They legitimized their rule by taking the then weak Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
under their protection, and ruling through him. However, their power was yet again challenged when in 1857, the Indian soldiers in their employ, together with rebellious princes lashed out in open revolt (which came to be known as the Revolt of 1857). However, this uprising was doomed from the start, and was crushed by the British with ferocity, marking the end of the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. Soon after, they embarked on deliberate vandalism, by demolishing significant amount of buildings in the Red Fort (the residence of the recently extinct Mughal Empire) and replacing them with towering and unimpressive barracks. It was the first attempt towards erasing the architectural legacy of the Mughals.
However, to usher in a new era, the British 'Raj', a new architectural tradition had to be founded. Hence they contemplated a marriage between the existing styles of India with imported styles from the West such as Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
(with its sub styles of French/Irish Gothic, Venetian-Moorish etc.), Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
and Art-Deco, Gothic even more so because their design philosophy was inclined towards grand scale (as is evidenced by buildings such as the Taj hotel). By doing this they kept elements of British and European architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, while adding Indian characteristics; this, coupled with the British allowing some regional Indian princes to stay in power, made their presence more 'palatable' for the Indians. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tried to encapsulate South Asia's past
History of South Asia
The term South Asia refers to the contemporary political entities of the Indian subcontinent and associated island. These are the states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the island nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives....
within their own buildings and so represent Britain’s Raj as legitimate, while at the same time constructing a modern network of railways, colleges, and law courts.
The Style outside India
The architectural style was exported to British MalayaBritish Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
(present day Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
) via British engineers and architects influenced by Indo-Saracenic stylings in British India. During the design of a new town hall for Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in the late 19th century, C. E. Spooner, then State Engineer of the Public Works Department, favoured a "Mahometan
Mohammedan
Mohammedan is a Western term for a follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As an archaic English language term, it is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhammad or the religion, doctrines, institutions and practices that he established...
style" over a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
one to reflect Islamic mores in the region, instructing architect Charles Norman, who was further assisted by R. A. J. Bidwell, to redesign the building. Norman and Bidwell, having previously served in northern India, adopted various elements of Indo-Saracenic architecture into the town hall. Upon completion in 1897, the town hall, now known as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building
Sultan Abdul Samad Building
The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is located in front of the Dataran Merdeka and the Royal Selangor Club, by Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, became the first building influenced by Indo-Saracenic architecture to be built in Malaya. The town hall inspired other civic buildings in the vicinity to be built in a similar style, while a handful of commercial buildings in Malaya have also been known to adopt some of the style's elements. The style was also favoured as one of several adopted by British architects with regards to Malayan mosques as they did not feel the need to adhere accurately to the cultural heritage, and the traditional culture of the Malays, who remain prominent in Malayan society and are Muslims, did not have the means to design a building of imperial scale; both the Jamek Mosque
Masjid Jamek
Jamek Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak River and was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback.-History:...
and Ubudiah Mosque
Ubudiah Mosque
Masjid Ubudiah is Perak's royal mosque, and is located in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Malaysia. It is often regarded as Malaysia's most beautiful mosque.-History:...
are examples of mosques that resulted from this combination. While its popularity was limited to the 1890s to the 1910s, the style has been reused for newer governments buildings of the late-20th century and 21st century, such as several public buildings in Putrajaya
Putrajaya
Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas...
.
Characteristics
Indo-Saracenic designs were introduced by BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
imperialist colonizers, promoting their own sense of “rightful self-glorification”, which came to appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of continental Europeans and Americans, whose architects came to astutely incorporate telling indigenous "Asian Exoticism
Exoticism
Exoticism is a trend in art and design, influenced by some ethnic groups or civilizations since the late 19th-century. In music exoticism is a genre in which the rhythms, melodies, or instrumentation are designed to evoke the atmosphere of far-off lands or ancient times Exoticism (from 'exotic')...
" elements, whilst implementing their own engineering innovations supporting such elaborate construction, both in India and abroad, evidence for which can be found to this day in public, private and government owned buildings. Public and Government buildings were often rendered on an intentionally grand scale, reflecting and promoting a notion of an unassailable and invincible British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
Again, structures of this design sort, particularly those built in India and England, were built in conformance to advanced British structural engineering standards of the 1800s, which came to include infrastructures composed of iron, steel and poured concrete (the innovation of reinforced cement and pre-cast cement elements, set with iron and/or steel rods, developed much later); the same can be said for like structures built elsewhere, making use of the same design vocabulary, by local architects, that would come to be constructed in continental Europe and the Americas: Indo-Saracenic’s popularity flourished for a span of some 30-years.
Notable, too, is that the British, in fact Europeans generally, had long nurtured a taste for the aesthetic exuberance of such “Asian exoticism” design, as displayed in innovative Indo-Saracenic style and also in their taste for Chinoiserie
Chinoiserie
Chinoiserie, a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", and pronounced ) refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences...
and Japanned. Supported by the imagination of skilled artisans of various disciplines, exoticism
Exoticism
Exoticism is a trend in art and design, influenced by some ethnic groups or civilizations since the late 19th-century. In music exoticism is a genre in which the rhythms, melodies, or instrumentation are designed to evoke the atmosphere of far-off lands or ancient times Exoticism (from 'exotic')...
promulgated itself across a broad demographic of British, European and Americas’ citizenry, Adaptation of such design innovations spilled over into and determined the aesthetic direction of major architectural projects, expressing themselves in the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, Regency
Regency architecture
The Regency style of architecture refers primarily to buildings built in Britain during the period in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to later buildings following the same style...
and design periods beyond.
Today, that spread of elaborate Asian exoticism design fulfillment remains evidenced in many residential and governmental edifices wrought of the masterpiece initiatives of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries; much had initially been contributed by the stupendously rich and indulgent sea-merchant Venetian Empire, whose existence spanned nearly a millennium, and whose Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
came to incorporate a plethora of Asian exoticism elements, such as the Moorish Arch in its windows, related to the latter "harem window
Jharokha
A jharokha is a type of overhanging enclosed balcony used in Indian architecture, typically Mughal architecture and Rajasthani architecture. Jharokhas jutting forward from the wall plane could be used both for adding to the architectural beauty of the building itself or for a specific purpose...
"
Generally, the insatiable craze for Asian exoticism relished in those earlier periods, testamentary in their parallel Chinoiserie expression, likewise, ushered in this latter colonial British fascination with the luxuriant exoticism found in the indigenous Indian design milieu, whose characteristics includes the following vocabulary list of design elements and motifs (often paralleling and expanding upon the already ornateness of the earlier Venetian’s unique Gothic-Moorish, also known as Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is a term given to an architectural style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Moorish architecture influences. The style originated in 14th century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine styles from Constantinople, Arab influences from Moorish Spain and early...
ad-mixture):
- onion (bulbous) domesOnion domeAn onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles the onion, after which they are named. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the drum upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width...
- overhangingOverhang (architecture)An overhang in architecture is a protruding structure which may provide protection for lower levels. Overhangs on two sides of Pennsylvania Dutch barns protect doors, windows, and other lower level structure. Overhangs on all four sides of barns is common in Swiss architecture...
eaves - pointed arches, cusped arches, or scalloped arches
- vaulted roofs
- domed kiosks
- many miniature domes
- domeDomeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
d chhatriChhatriChhatris are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indian architecture. Chhatris are commonly used to depict the elements of of pride and honor in the Rajput architecture of Rajasthan. They are widely used, in palaces, in forts, or to demarcate funerary sites...
s - pinnaclePinnacleA pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s - towerTowerA tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s or minaretMinaretA minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
s - harem windows
- open pavilionPavilionIn architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
s or pavilions with Bangala roofs - pierced open arcading
Chief proponents of this style of architecture were these: Robert Fellowes Chisholm, Charles Mant, Henry Irwin
Henry Irwin
Henry Irwin, a renowned architect of British India was born on 21 January 1841, in Tarbett, County Kerry, Ireland. He is mainly known for his works in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers. He died on 5 August 1922, at Ooty, India...
, William Emerson
William Emerson (architect)
Sir William Emerson was a British architect.He was born in 1843 the son of a silk manufacturer in Whitechapel, London, and educated at King's College, London. Around 1861 he was articled to William Gilbee Habershon, who soon thereafter entered into partnership with Alfred Robert Pite...
, George Wittet
George Wittet
George Wittet was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in Bombay , India.-Life:George Wittet was born in Blair Atholl, Scotland in 1878. He studied architecture with a Mr...
and Frederick Stevens
Frederick William Stevens
Frederick William Stevens was an English architectural engineer who worked for the British colonial government in India. Stevens' most notable design was the railway station Victoria Terminus in Bombay...
, along with numerous other skilled professionals and artisans throughout Europe and the Americas.
Structures built in Indo-Saracenic style in India and in certain nearby countries were predominately grand public edifices, such as clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
s and courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
s. Likewise, civic as well as municipal and governmental college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s along with town halls counted this style among its top-ranked and most-prized structures to this day; ironically, in Britain itself, for example, King George IV's Royal Pavilion
Royal Pavilion
The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in three campaigns, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, from 1811 Prince Regent. It is often referred to as the Brighton Pavilion...
at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, (which twice in its lifetime has been threatened with being torn-down, denigrated by some as a “carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
sideshow”, and dismissed by others as “an architectural folly of inferior design”, no less) and elsewhere, these rare and often diminutive (though sometimes, as mentioned, of grand-scale), residential structures that exhibit this colonial style are highly valuable and prized by the communities in which they exist as being somehow “magical” in appearance.
Typically, in India, villages, towns and cites of some means would lavish significant sums on construction of such "indigenous ethnic architecture" when plans were drawn up for construction of the local railway stations, museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and art galleries
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
.
The cost involved in the construction of buildings of this style was high, including all their inherent customization, ornament and minutia decoration, the artisans' ingenuous skills (stone and wood carving, as well as the exquisite lapidary/inlaid work) and usual accessibility to requisite raw materials, hence the style was executed only on buildings of a grand scale. However the occasional residential structure of this sort, (its being built in part or whole with Indo-Saracenic design elements/motifs) did appear quite often, and such buildings have grown ever more valuable and highly prized by local and foreign populations for their exuberant beauty today.
Either evidenced in a property’s primary unit or any of its outbuildings, such estate-caliber residential properties lucky enough to boost the presence of an Indo-Saracenic structure, are still to be seen, generally, where in instances urban sprawl has not yet overcome them; often they are to be found in exclusive neighborhoods' (or surrounded, as cherished survivors, by enormous sky-scarpers, in more recently claimed urbanized areas throughout this “techno” driven, socio-economic revolutionary era marking India’s recent decade’s history), and are often locally referred to as "mini-palaces". Usually, their form-factors are these: townhouse, wings and/or porticoes. Additionally, more often seen are the diminutive renditions of the Indo-Saracenic style, built originally for lesser budgets, finding their nonetheless romantic expression in the occasional and serenely beautiful garden pavilion outbuildings, throughout the world; especially, in India … and England.