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Gallery Text

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.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1984.627
Title
Pierced Window Screen (Jali)
Classification
Architectural Elements
Work Type
architectural element
Date
c. 1580
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216213

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2590, South Asian Art, South Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Red sandstone
Technique
Carved
Dimensions
sight: 87 × 62 × 3.5 cm (34 1/4 × 24 7/16 × 1 3/8 in.)
52 lb.

Provenance

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

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Director's Discretionary Fund and the Fund for the Acquisition of Islamic and Indian Art
Accession Year
1984
Object Number
1984.627
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

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.

Exhibition History

  • Recent Acquisitions , Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/15/1986 - 01/04/1987
  • Islamic Art: The Power of Pattern, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/23/1989 - 01/17/1990
  • Arabesque, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/01/1990 - 03/24/1991
  • Five Masters of Persian and Indian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/11/1992 - 03/09/1992
  • An Imperial Vision. The Art of Mughal India, 1526-1658, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/17/1992 - 12/06/1992
  • Arts of Empire: Mughal India, 1526-1705, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/17/1992 - 12/13/1992
  • Pattern and Purpose. Decorative Arts of Islam., Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/19/1994 - 07/03/1994
  • Linear Graces ... and Disgraces: Part I, Drawings from the Courts of Persia, Turkey, and India, 15th-19th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/15/1994 - 12/11/1994
  • Linear Graces ... and Disgraces: Part II, Drawings from the Courts of Persia, Turkey, and India, 15th-19th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/26/1994 - 03/05/1995
  • Where Traditions Meet: Painting in India from the 15th-17th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/05/2003 - 12/07/2003
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/17/2019; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/28/2023 - 01/01/2050
  • Zarina: Atlas of Her World , Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis, 09/06/2019 - 02/02/2020

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu