Pierced Window Screen (Jali)
Architectural ElementsIndian16th century

Pierced Window Screen (Jali)

c. 1580

Description

Pierced screens have been used in a variety of ways in South Asian architecture: as windows, railings, or room dividers. Although elaborate window dressings in stone and wood have long been components of indigenous Indian architecture, the intricately carved geometric patterning of the type seen here was introduced in the Islamic courts. This jali is made of a single slab of sandstone that was carefully drilled through to create a design of interlocking, four-pointed stars intersected by flowers. Light passing through the screen would cast its intricate pattern on the floor, creating a playful effect of light and shadow.

Classification
Architectural Elements
Technique
Carved
Medium
Red sandstone
Culture
Indian
Period
Mughal period
Century
16th century
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Department
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

sight: 87 × 62 × 3.5 cm (34 1/4 × 24 7/16 × 1 3/8 in.) 52 lb.

Provenance

[Spink & Son Ltd., London (by 1984)], sold; to Fogg Art Museum, 1984.

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Pierced Window Screen (Jali) | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI