Delhi: Humayun’s Tomb Complex
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History
The eight canopies on Humayun’s Tomb were originally covered with ceramic tiles in lapis blue, turquoise blue, green, white and yellow Tile-making techniques used by the Mughals have been lost over the centuries and very little in terms of conservation has been done when the tiles have been vandalised, fallen or simply gone missing.
Traces of the original tile work on the canopies of Humayun’s Tomb helped reveal the original pattern of the tiles Built in Mughal emperor Humayun’s memory in 1562 by his widow Hamida Begum, Humayun’s Tomb was the first structure to use red sandstone on such a large scale and also the first garden-tomb in the Indian subcontinent. It was given Unesco world heritage status in 1993
International appreciation
1992: Status of “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO
The Times of India, Jul 15 2015
Richi Verma
More than 20 years after Humayun's Tomb was declared a world heritage site, six other monuments around it have been covered in the same glory . This has been made possible by a boundary clarification and retrospective recognition for the other monuments within the complex as “contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property forming a unique ensemble.“
After the statement issued by Unesco, a United Nations agency , Nila Gumbad, Afsarwala Complex, Isa Khan's garden tomb, Bu Halima garden tomb and Arab ki Serai are officially part of the World Heritage site. The heritage zone of the complex has thus more than doubled from 26 acres to 54 acres, and its buffer zone has also increased.
The decision was made last week in a session of the World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany . An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official said the 11-acre Batashewala complex where conservation was recently completed is now in the buffer zone. So are Sundarwala Mahal and Sundarwala Burj inside Sunder Nursery and Sabz Burj on Mathura Road.
The decision came after ASI suggested in its periodic reporting to Unesco that the integrity and authenticity of the World Heritage site were a result of Humayun's Tomb being an ensemble of contemporary garden-tombs. “Unesco New Delhi welcomes the formalization by the World Heritage Committee of the World Heritage Site property boundaries to in clude six additional gardentombs in the Humayun's Tomb complex on the basis of the revised statement of outstanding value,“ said Moe Chiba, programme specialist for culture at Unesco's Delhi office.“It is a significant achievement and provides due acknowledgement to the years of conservation effort at Humayun's Tomb. This will serve as a basis of improved site management to meet World Heritage objectives and enhanced visitor experience. Ratish Nanda, project director, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is working on an elaborate urban conservation project in Humayun's Tomb complex since 2007, said: “This ratification of the boundary proposed by the ASI and recognition of the site being an ensemble allows steps to be taken for its effective management as well as future extension to include other contemporary 16th-century structures within the World Heritage property .
According to the Unesco website, the 1992 nomination by India mentioned only Humayun's Tomb, listing its significant architectural elements. As a result, the recognition was only granted to the garden-tomb, and other monuments outside the 26acre property were included in its buffer zone. World Heritage Committee meeting documents now recognize, “Humayun's Tomb and the other contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property form a unique ensemble of Mughal-era garden-tombs.The monumental scale, architectural treatment and garden setting are outstanding in Islamic garden-tombs. The Unesco statement for inclusion of the six monuments in the World Heritage list also recognized that “Humayun's Tomb and its surrounding structures are substantially in their original state and conservation works have been of high quality--carried out using traditional materials such as lime mortar to recover authenticity by removal of 20th-century materials such as concrete.
Lost architectural marvels
Crown jewels
ASI And Aga Khan Trust Will Rebuild The Tiles On Eight Canopies Of The Sixteenth Century Monument, In The Original Colours And Using The Original Blueprints Richi Verma | TNN
World heritage site Humayun’s Tomb is all set to regain its lost architectural marvels. The eight canopies on the dome of the 16th century monument — which originally had striking blue, yellow and green colour tiles — will be restored as per the original Mughal design and architecture.
Experts said that the process of rebuilding the tiles was a very long process and involved detailed studies aimed at understanding the original design and composition of the Mughal-era tiles.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) director-general K N Shrivastava said: ‘‘We are going to reconstruct the original blue tile work on the canopies of the monument. Since the monument is a world heritage site, we will have to keep Unesco updated about the plan and also about the progress of the conservation work. Under the principles of conservation, monuments have to be conserved according to the original design and shape. Reconstructing the lost blue tile work is a structural requirement of the tomb.’’
According to ASI officials, the smaller canopies on the roof of the tomb were originally decorated with ceramic tiles in lapis blue, turquoise blue, green, white and yellow as was the tradition at that time. ‘‘These striking colours were highlighted by the contrasting milky whiteness of the marble dome in the background. During the early 19th century, most of the original tiles started peeling off. Only traces of them remain today,’’ said a senior ASI official.
Experts said that traces of tile work that remained have helped reveal the original pattern, and laboratories in Roorkee, Oxford and Barcelona have tested the tile samples. ‘‘An international workshop — co-sponsored by Unesco and ASI — on conservation of Humayun’s Tomb tile work was held in April 2009 to discuss, debate and find possible solutions for conservation of tiles on the tomb’s canopies, including restoration of the missing tile work,’’ added officials. About 40 participants from nine tile producing countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the workshop.
According to historians, tile work is a significant element in several Lodhi and early Mughal period structures and remnants of tile work can be seen on several monuments in Delhi. However, the tile-making traditions followed by the Mughals have been lost over the centuries and hence very little in conservation terms could be done when the tiles have fallen, vandalised or simply gone missing.
Tile work is a significant architectural element, and it also protects the underlying surface. The loss of tile work severely disfigures the historic architectural character/integrity of the monument.
‘‘Conservation of existing tile work should be a priority at all sites and efforts should be made to minimise further loss of the original tiles. Any new tile work that will replace missing tiles should match the original ones in colour, texture, composition and other physical and chemical properties and the conservation work should respect the original patterns,’’ said Ratish Nanda of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
AKTC will also train youths of Nizamuddin Basti to produce Mughalstyle tiles and to preserve tile-making traditions in the country.
The conservation work at the Humayun’s Tomb is part of a publicprivate partnership between the ASI, AKTC, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Aga Khan Foundation.
Some months ago, ASI and AKTC officials had removed a thick layer of cement concrete from the roof of the mausoleum. The concrete was putting a pressure of about 10 lakh kilos on the structure. This layer that had been added to the monument during the British rule to prevent water seepage also blocked the water drainage channels on the roof, leading to accumulation of rainwater causing considerable damage to the monument.
April 2016: Restoration of finial
The Times of India, Apr 20 2016
Richi Verma
Humayun's Tomb Gets A New Finial Two Years After Storm Blew Away The Original
Fhe 16th-century tomb of Mughal emperor Humayun has got back its finial that it had lost two years ago to a sandstorm. Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma unveiled the new 18-foot structure, which is adorned with 3.5kg gold and which took two years of intense labour to put together.
“After two years of hard work, the finial or kalash of Humayun's Tomb has been restored. This architectural element, built of almost 100% pure copper, was inspired by the kalash seen on Hindu temples and represents the pluralistic Indian architectural traditions,“ the minister said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make In India initiative, Sharma added, “For two years, carpenters, coppersmiths, goldsmiths and masons worked with their traditional tools and techniques that have stayed alive in India for centuries. These combined with the application of modern technology has helped create an authentic replica of the Humayun's Tomb kalash for this Unesco World Heritage Site. This is truly Make In India.“
Finials seen on tombs of the Sultanate period were generally only about three to five feet in height. But an 18-foot finial on the Humayun's Tomb set a grand trend for Islamic buildings. “The core of it was a 22foot tree log on which were fixed 11 vessels of pure copper crowned by a brass inscription--the whole finished by the Mughals with layers of pure gold,“ said an expert.
The Taj Mahal later used a similar copper finial. “Just as the chhatris or canopies on the roof of the tomb are inspired from Rajput architecture, similarly the coppergold finial erected here seems to have been inspired by temple architecture and built precisely to fit the dome profile,“ said an official.
The restored finial comprises a 22foot octagonal log of wood, 300 kilos of copper, a brass inscription, and at least six layers of gold foil gilding completed by brushing glass beads.“Authenticity was achieved since the finial matches the original exactly in weight and profile for each of the 11 vessels; is built of material exactly matching those used by the Mughals in the 16th century; continues to crown the white marble dome, representing the pluralistic architectural traditions employed by the Mughals; is a product of living craft traditions that have been passed down for generations in craftsmen families,“ said an official.
CROWNING GLORY
How a Mughal marvel was recreated The Humayun's Tomb, built during the reign of Emperor Akbar, was a grand announcement--that the Mughals had arrived and were there to stay. No effort was spared to make it stand out from other monuments erected by the Sultans of Delhi. So the emperor's tomb was crowned by an 18-foot finial, which was made of 11 pure-copper vessels fitting a 22-foot wooden log and a brass inscription on top. The whole thing was then finished with layers and layers of pure gold--a Mughal style statement. But over the centuries, it suffered wear and tear and needed several repairs--works that were recorded for posterity on the finial itself. One of the last major efforts of restoration was undertaken during the British Raj in 1912 when the finial was taken down to insert a lightning conductor.But on May 30, 2014, the log snapped in a storm and the finial came crashing down. This time, it was decided to make a whole new finial matching the original design, weight and the use of metals. And as it turns out, the new finial is as good as the original. Mughal grandeur has been recreated.
