Please paraphrase it :Decorations
The exterior and interior of the marble structure
is ornamented with calligraphy, abstract forms,
and plant motifs. Passages from the Qur’an are
used as decorative elements. The calligraphy
was created by the Persian calligrapher Abdul
Haq from Shiraz, Persia in 1609 and the text is
inlaid in jasper or black marble. Abstract geometric
forms are used throughout, particularly
herringbone inlays. Floors and walkways use
contrasting tiles in tessellation patterns.
Floral imagery is presented in two forms: stone
inlays (pietra dura) and bas relief sculpture
(dados) carved in the marble. Both are a mixture
of stylized and naturalistic depictions.
These decorative forms are found on both the
inside and outside walls and spandrels of the
structure, the marble screen surrounding cenotaphs
of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, and
the cenotaph itself. The analysis below bears
heavily on the architectural historian Ebba Koch
(2006). The plant identification is our best
interpretation; we encourage comments.
Stone Inlays. The exterior decorations are
made up of colored stone inset in the white
marble of the structure, but the interior decorations
include inlays of precious and semiprecious
gemstones. The origin of the pietra
dura appears to be derived from Florentine
inlays of the Renaissance (Koch, 2001). There
are two types of floral inlays. One is based on
complex repeating designs of highly stylized
flowers, stems and leaves, often used as borders
(Fig. 4). The other represents entire plants.
Although they are stylized, some are naturalistic
enough to permit botanical identification, but
many are not and may be considered fantasy
plants (e.g. Fig. 4F left, 5D,F). Muslim tradition
forbids elaborate decoration on graves, so the
crypts are plain but the bases and casket are
elaborately decorated with pietra dura. The
cenotaphs are enclosed by elaborately decorated
marble screens. Although many floral inlays
are difficult to identify with botanical precision,
various species are suggested including bellflower,
chrysanthemum, columbine, crown
imperial, daffodil, gloriosa, honeysuckle, various
lilies, lotus, pomegranate, poppy, primrose,
tulip, and windflower.
Bas Reliefs. The dados typically show plants in
flower growing in a mound of soil (Fig. 6) or as
flowering stems in urns (Fig. 7A). The plants
appear somewhat naturalistic with extraordinary
detail in some flowers but closer examination
indicates that the plants are stylized with
mirror symmetry and executed with consider-able freedom resulting in depictions that are
botanically imprecise. For example, the leaves
and the flowers are often of different species
(Fig. 8); and some plants have flowers of different
kinds such as Fig. 6C, which has flowers of
both windflower and tulip. Many of the dados
are repeated in different locations and some
strips show a series of alternating plants.
There is strong evidence that the dados were
influenced by Western images as a result of
Mughal contacts with Europeans (Skelton,
1972; Koch, 2001). There was a Portuguese
delegation to the Mughal court as early as
1573, which resulted in the dispatch of an art
delegation to Goa in 1575. Jesuit missionaries
bought engravings by Flemish artists as early as
1580, which were exhibited, collected and
copied. One engraving dated 1635 (Fig. 7B) bythe Flemish artist Claes Jansz bears an inscription
based on Isaiah 40:6, 8: All flesh is grass,
oh human being, it does not bring fame/And
your beauty is like a flower. The engraving is
remarkably similar to the dado that appears in
eight corners of the tomb chamber (Fig. 7A).
However, the vanity theme of the engraving is
transformed to a depiction of Paradise, symbolized
in the Qur’an as a garden rich with flowering
plants.
In the engraving, the predominant species in
the center is a crown imperial with a tulip on
the left side and an iris on the right. The dado
includes two plants of daffodil growing on a
mound of soil on each side of the urn containing
flowering stems in mirror symmetry dominated
by a lush iris (Oncocyclus group) in the
center, quite similar to the one in the engraving,
followed on either side in descending order by
various flowers described in the figure caption
of Fig. 7A.