Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/352

 300 INDIAN SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. BOOK VII. 6 in. high, stand on this, all these being of red sandstone. Within and above the last is a white marble enclosure 157 ft. each way, or externally just half the length of the lowest terrace, its outer wall entirely composed of marble trellis-work of the most beautiful patterns. Inside it is surrounded by a colonnade or cloister of the same material, in the centre of which, on a raised platform, is the tombstone of the founder, a splendid piece of the most beautiful arabesque tracery. This, however, Diagram section 1 of one half of Akbar's Tomb at Sikandara, explanatory of its arrangements. Scale 50 ft. to i in. is not the true burial-place ; but the mortal remains of this great king repose under a far plainer tombstone in a vaulted chamber in the basement 35 ft. square, exactly under the simulated tomb that adorns the summit of the mausoleum. At first sight it might appear that the design of this curious and exceptional tomb was either a caprice of the monarch who built it, or an importation from abroad (Woodcut No. 429). My impression, on the contrary, is, that it is a direct imitation of some such building as the old Buddhist viharas which may have existed, applied to other purposes in Akbar's time. Turning 1 The diagram is probably sufficient to explain the text, but must not be taken as pretending to be a correct architectural drawing. There were parts, such as the, memoranda for my own satisfaction. height of the lower dome and upper angle kiosks, I had no means of measuring, and after all, I was merely making