design history 2008 at kingscliff TAFE: KURT: Jali

Pierced stone windows and screens in Indian architecture.

In India around the late 16th century Jalis where extensively used through out buildings and Architecture. It is a carved ornamental lattice screen made from red sand stone and marble, they where set in walls, windows on balconies, and terraces and sometimes as dividers in rooms of buildings, with the design feature of blocking out the sun yet letting the air flow through them.

Geometrical forms and Calligraphic patterns where used,
with a strong Islamic influence also Timurid cultures (people of Turko-Mongol descent) and Central Asia with indigenous traditions of Hindu and Muslim India were a large influence.

Jalis retained privacy and acted as physical barriers to keep the security and sanctity of holy areas,
It was said that the intricate mastery would be best seen from the shadows cast on the floor from the Jalis.

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar or other wise known as “Akbar the great” reigned as Emperor from 1556 to 1605 and is credited to the real foundation of the Mughal Dynasty (1526-1857).
His passion for the arts was widely seen in the architecture commissioned at the Fatepuh Sikri also known as “town of victory” where he built the walled capital near the town Agra between
1571 and 1585.

The Mughals were extremely conscious of the potential of architecture as a way of self-representation. During the reign of the Mughals in the 17th century the level and complexity of the Jalis reached their peak.