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Description
Property Name: Taj Mahal Complex
Inventory No: 91-562-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2007-11-28
Country (State party): India
Province: Agra
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 27° 10′ 29.05″ N
78° 2′ 31.79″ E
Historic Period: 17th century, 1st half
Year of Construction: 1631 – 1648
Style: Mughal
Original Use: Mausoleum
Current Use: Mausoleum
Architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Significance
Constructed during 1631-48 by Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved wife, the Taj Mahal marks the perfect stage in the evolution of the tomb not only in India but also in the world. Taj Mahal is equally famous for the serene aesthetic beauty of white marble as well as its architecture. Since 1983, it is inscribed in the “UNESCO World Heritage Site” list. In 2008 it was named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
Selection Criteria
i. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
State of Preservation
Since 1997, some successive interventions have taken place. Serious air pollution surrounding led deterioration of the white marble, stone inlays and sandstone of the three sites. The ASI and Government have systematically cleaned the surfaces, replaced deteriorated panels and taken measures to reduce air pollution by imposing restrictions on the industries. In general, the property is in good state of conservation. There have been some minor defects, wear and tear and degradations from visitors. Tourism pressure necessitated some alteration in the originality (integrity) of the property. However, they are not of permanent nature. In the future development of tourist facilities might affect the functional aspects of some of the enclosed areas or entry points. Lately (ASI) is going under conservation work on the two minarets held in 2019.
References
Inde Islamique / Office du Livre, Paris, 1971
Nath, R., Agra and Its Monumental Glory, Taraporevala, Bombay, 1977.
Pal, Pratapaditya, Romance of the Taj Mahal, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1989
Nath, R., The immortal Taj Mahal: the evolution of the tomb in Mughal architecture, D.B. Taraporevala Sons and Co., Bombay, 1972
Bloom, J.M., Blair, S.S., The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Oxford University Press, 2009, vol 1
Taj Mahal: the illuminated tomb (an anthology of seventeenth-century Mughal and European documentary sources) Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture; Seattle; London: The University of Washington Press, 1989.
Website of Archnet, http://archnet.org
Website of UNESCO, http://whc.unesco.org documents of “Advisory Board Evaluation, 1983”, “Periodic Reporting, 2003”