Examination of Mughal stone inlay work on the mausoleum of I’timad-ud-Daulah, Agra, India

The stone inlay work on a Mughal mausoleum at Agra in India, dating to the early seventeenth century, was investigated to shed light on its character and composition. Fragments of the different coloured stones used for the inlay were examined by binocular stereoscope and optical polarized light micr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archaeological and anthropological sciences 2021-12, Vol.13 (12), Article 221
Main Authors: Gill, M. S., Bhatnagar, M. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
17th century
Anthropology
Archaeology
Chemistry/Food Science
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Fragments
Geography
Life Sciences
Light microscopy
Limestone
Microscopy
Original Paper
Spectrometry
Stone
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Summary:The stone inlay work on a Mughal mausoleum at Agra in India, dating to the early seventeenth century, was investigated to shed light on its character and composition. Fragments of the different coloured stones used for the inlay were examined by binocular stereoscope and optical polarized light microscopy, and microchemical analysis conducted by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. Two of the five coloured stone varieties present are characterized as bioclastic limestones, while one each is a dolomitic limestone and marble. The last variety is a black coloured stone for which a phyllite and a carbonaceous limestone are shown to have been interchangeably employed. The provenance and decay processes that affect the individual stone types are discussed, and new information on their textural and material composition is brought to notice.
ISSN:1866-9557
1866-9565
DOI:10.1007/s12520-021-01454-6