indo saracenic-calcutta

7/27/2019 indo saracenic-calcutta

1/7

History of Architecture (AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

Page 1of 7

INDO SARACENIC- CALCUTTA

Term Paper for History of Architecture (AP131)

Ishant Anand

Roll Number: 01016901611

Sushant School of Art and Architecture

ABSTRACT

Indo-Saracenic architecture represents a synthesis of Islamic designs and Indian materials developed

by British architects in India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The hybrid,

combined diverse architectural elements of Hindu and Mughal with cusped arches, domes, spires,

tracery, minarets and stained glass, almost playful manner. lndo-saracenic architecture found its way

into public buildings of all sorts such as railway stations, banks and insurance buildings, educational

institutions, clubs and museums. Chepauk Palace in Chennai designed by Paul Benfield is said to be the

first Indo- Saracenic building in India, referred to as builduing incorporating elements and motifs of

Hindu and Islamic precedents.Influences of the Indo-Saracenic wave can also be seen in Lutyens design for the viceroys residence

(now Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi where also a combination of Mogul and European styles was

employed. lndoSaracenic architecture is often called a stylistic hybrid (Michell) architecture. It

combines traditional Indian architectural elements, like scalloped arches and onion domes, with

traditional British architecture.

PAPER

Heading 1

Indian colonial architecture evolved in three distinct phases. To better understand the third phase, the

drastic shift in the architecture at New Delhi, the architecture prevalent in the colony before the

transfer of capitals. Many factors influenced the buildings designed and constructed by the British;

chief among them was the projection of power and control. It is with this mindset that British architects

began dominating the visual landscape of India. In 1873, T. Roger Smith concluded:


2/7


Page 2of 7

As our administration exhibits European justice, order, law, energy, and honour and that in no

hesitating or feeble way so our buildings ought to hold up a high standard of European art. They

ought to be European both as a rallying point for ourselves, and as raising a distinctive symbol of our

presence to be beheld with respect and even with admiration by the natives of the country.[1][2]

The idea of using a European style was preferred by both administrators and architects, most notably

in Bombay and Calcutta. Yet, this was not the only argument in relation to defining the architecture of

India. William Emerson an architect in the Indo-Sarcenic style suggested, It was impossible for the

architecture of the west to be suitable to the natives of the east. [3]

Take for instance, Calcutta and its abundant examples of Neo-classical architecture. It has some of the

earliest monuments to British rule. Government House (Raj Bhavan) at Calcutta (Fig. 1) was built in

1803 by Captain Charles Wyatt (of the BengalEngineers).[4]

Figure 1: Government House at Calcutta

Ref : http://2.bp.blogspot.com

Built in the Palladian Classical style, this residence of the Viceroy of India and later, the Governor of

Bengal, is a testament to English control over the province of Bengal.[5] At the time, it would be the

only European style building towering over the landscape of Calcutta. The Corinthian columns,

portico-ed faade, the Classical pediment, and the Pantheonic Dome, all of these architectural

elements reek of a foreign design style, transplanted onto the colony, much like British rule after the

Battle of Plassey.

Thomas Metcalf suggests that the design for the Calcutta Government House is modeled on the country

residence of Lord Scrasdale, Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire (1760) (Fig. 3).[6]


3/7


Page 3of 7

Figure 2 : Lord Scrasdale, Kedleston Hall

Ref : en.wikipedia.orgMetcalf also proposes that the Calcutta design was not: simply reproduced intact.[7] The design was

enhanced to project an image of grandeur and growing English power on the sub-continent. Clearly,

the argument furthered by T. Roger Smith in 1873 was the same ideology followed by the directors of

the East India Company. This building perfectly represents the early phase of the Raj, when the English

had little or no information of the country they were expanding their rule over. This lack of colonial

knowledge would lead to the Mutiny and thereafter, would begin the most ambitious building program

any British colony had ever seen.


4/7


Page 4of 7

VICTORIA MEMORIAL HALL, CALCUTTA

Figure : Victorial memorial hall

Ref: https://reader008.{domain}/reader008/html5/0417/5ad54b6caa26f/5ad54b71d4d5e.jpg

Victoria Memorial Figure designed in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture incorporating Mughal

elements is a memorial dedicated to Queen Victoria then Empress of India. The foundation stone was

laid 1906 and completed in 1921. The massive structure, almost 18 storeys high made of white marble

stands on 64 acres of sprawling gardens as a tribute to success of the British Empire in India. The Royal

Gallery is a store house of some of the finest oil painting collections in India. There are some rare

paintings of some of the earliest glimpses of Calcutta.There are also some rare books in the Library

dating back to the 17th Century including collection of plays by William Shakespeare, The Arabian

Nights, Rubaiyat's Omar Khayyam etc. Even today these books are consulted by costume designers

while designing for Shakespearian plays in Calcutta. An army of gardeners have kept the gardens

blooming and lawns finely manicured.


5/7


Page 5of 7

Figure : Plan of victorai memorial hall

Ref : www.aaa.org.hk

s.no. Feature Victorial memorial hall Gateway of india

1. Architect Willian Emerson George Wittet

2. Architectural style Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture

3. Plan form

The Victoria Memorial blends the

best of the British and Mughal

Indo-Saracenic style of architecture

is followed that combined Gothic-

like flamboyance with Muslim-


6/7


Page 6of 7

architecture. Indian architectural features.

Bibliography[1] T. Roger Smith, Architectural Art in India in Journal of the Society of Arts XXI (1873): 286.

[2] See also Thomas Metcalf, Forging the Raj: Essays on British India in the Heyday of Empire (New Delhi,India: Oxford University Press, 2005), 105.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Thomas Metcalf, An Imperial Vision, 12.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid., 12.

[7] Ibid., 13.

[8] Calcutta: The Living City, Sukanta Chaudhari, Oxford University Press,1990


7/7


Page 7of 7

indo saracenic-calcutta

Documents