1866
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Futtypore Sikri—Two of the Marbled Screens in the Tomb of Sheik Selim Chisti is a 1866 by Samuel Bourne, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
Sunlight filters through two white marble screens carved like lace. The stone glows, almost soft to the touch. These screens sit in a tomb built for a Sufi saint in 1580. The Mughal emperor Akbar ordered it after the saint’s prayers gave him a son. Bourne traveled to India in 1863, lugging heavy cameras and glass plates to photograph places most Britons never saw. Look up more photographs of India by Samuel Bourne.
These elaborate screens decorate the mausoleum of the Sufi saint Salim Chisti (1478-1572). The building, considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, was built in 1580-1581 by the Emperor Akbar to honor the saint, whose prayers he believed had guaranteed the birth of male heirs to the throne.
Carved marble screens provided not just decoration but also light and air to interiors, while keeping out sun glare and prying eyes.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Samuel Bourne was a British photographer known for his prolific seven years' work in India, from 1863 to 1870.
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