Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/404

 326 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. [Nov., sidered by some to be one of the most ancient of all Indian temples. In the Burman Empire, again, — where the religion of Godama has nourished for centuries, in all its purity and sim- plicity, — the Pagodas are built in a pyr- amidal form, of brick throughout, and, in nearly every instance, constructed on artificial elevations. Many of them are of great height, ranging from 100 to nearly 400 feet in perpendicular eleva- tion, and being often gilded — if not completely, at least on the upper por- tion — their exteriors have a truly charm- ing and elegant effect, embosomed, as they generally are, in the dense jungles and forests of Burmah. One of these Pagodas deserves par- ticular mention, being regarded as the most ancient in the eountry. We refer to that near the ancient city of Pegu, about 60 miles northeast of Rangoon, and some 20 miles inland from the sea. It is called the Shuay Mahdaw, and is still in a fine state of preservation, al- though it dates its origin so far back as 600 B. C. The form of this temple is, as we have first remarked, that of a pyr- amid. It is constructed entirely of brick, tapering most elegantly up to a point. Its diameter at base is 162 feet, and it is built upon a double terrace, of a quadrangular form, the sides of the lower rise being each 1400 feet in length, and those of the upper 684 feet. On these terraces are erected the residences of the priests and the Pagoda slaves, and also idol-houses, all principally of wood, and quite richly and profusely embel- lished with the most grotesque wood carvings and plastered brick figures of Godama in eveiy possible position, erect, sitting, recumbent, etc. On the top of the Pagoda itself, there is an Umbrella, or Tee in the vernacular — an open iron frame in the shape of an umbrella — which surmounts the whole structure, is invariably gilt, and from which are suspended numberless bells, which, agi- tated by the wind, produce very pleasant and agreeable sounds. In concluding this article, we would wish to say a few words about the Hin- doo Architecture of the present daj r, al- though, indeed, the subject unhappily does not admit of any lengthened de- scription. The style of Domestic Architecture now in use in Hindustan presents no char- acteristics, whatever, that would strike the observer with any other feelings, than those of wonder and of sorrow at the degeneracy, in the Fine Arts, of a race, who have left us such marvelous and imperishable monuments of their inge- nuity and artistic refinement, centuries before the wave of civilization had reached our Western shores. The prevailing fashion, among the mass of the population, in their dwell- ing-houses, is a substantial and massive residence, built either of stone or brick, with lime mortar, the roofs generally terraced over with bricks, about four inches square. They are often built in a square, with an open, interior court, covered with tiles. Cut stone is rarely used in private dwellings, but often met with in Pagodas, Serais or Traveler's Houses, and other public buildings. It is too expensive to be used, to any ex- tent, in what are there called Public Works, or those under the English Gov- ernment, except as a facing to brick or rubble. Brickwork is the most general ; but good examples of this are very scarce, indeed, owing to the custom of plastering all walls, both on the inside and outside, giving encouragement, both to the manufacture of bad bricks, and to careless workmen, the native bricklayers merely looking out to carry up the wall tolerably square ; but not troubling themselves about the "bond" at all. Among the middling classes, the most common mode of building is with brick in clay, instead of in mortar ; and this is even the case with some of the largest houses in such large cities as Madras, to save expense. It is by no means de- ficient in strength ; but the great objec- tion to it is the ready passage into the