Gallery
Description
Property Name: Diwan-i Khas
Inventory No: 91-5619-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2009-06-10
Country (State party): India
Province: Uttar Pradesh
Town: Fatehpur Sikri
Geographic coordinates: 27° 5′ 52.08″ N
77° 39′ 58.01″ E
Historic Period: 16th century, 2nd half
Year of Construction:
Style: Mughal
Original Use: Palace
Current Use: Touristic
Architect: Unknown
Significance
An elaborately carved stone column distinguishes this pavilion from the others of the palace complex. The freestanding column is accessed by catwalks from four sides of the rectangular pavilion. The usage of the structure is unclear however the column is believed to symbolize Akbar’s power.
Selection Criteria
iv. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
The interior was completely plundered following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The hall today is, therefore, only a shell of what it used to be. Recent restoration work in 2018 has been redone on the panels of inlay and has also reproduced the gilded pattern on one of the pillars fronting the hall.
References
Smith, Edmund W. 1985 (Reprint of 1894). The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur-Sikri, Volume III. Delhi, India : Caxton.
Asher, Catherine. 1992. The New Cambridge History of India: Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press, 62-3.
Rizvi, Saiyid Athar Abbas. Fathpur-Sikri. Bombay: Taraporevala, 1975.
Ed. Zeenut Ziad Foreword by Milo Cleveland Beach, The Magnificient Mughals, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002