Conservation Of Delhi's Sabz Burj Complete; Rare Mughal-Era Ceiling Revealed

Using traditional craftsmanship and high-tech scanning, 16th century Mughal-era monument Sabz Burj in Delhi has been conserved after nearly four years of painstaking labour, during which a rare intricate painting on its ceiling has also been revealed.

The early Mughal-era double-domed monument, said to be of a Mughal noble, sits right opposite the Humayun's Tomb complex and predates the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The 70-foot tall octagonal tomb with its distinctive tile-covered dome endowed with a shimmering shade of turquoise blue and an elongated drum sits on a large traffic rotary and was used as a police station of Nizamuddin area in the 20th century. It lost its original grandeur after being subjected to insensitive architectural interventions, according to AKTC.

But, all that has changed now for the Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument, thanks to dedicated conservation efforts by Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and ASI, with financial help from a corporate firm.

"Ahead of the World Heritage Week starting November 19, the conservation work has been completed, and the early Mughal-era monument will be lit up thanks to our corporate partner Havells, which besides contributing funds, will also illuminate the site, which will surely draw many people to admire it, who otherwise just pass by it," CEO, AKTC, Ratish Nanda, said on Wednesday.

Lights will go up today and the team is very excited about it, and like Rahim''s tomb, this site will have an added visible allure now, he said.

The project had begun in January 2018 and was originally planned to be completed over a period of 18 months. But the "startling discovery" of the painted ceiling in the 25-ft high domed chamber and other factors, "stretched the timeline".

"We were aware that an intricate painting lay hidden beneath layers of plasters and cement that had been added in the past. But, it was in early 2019 that closer inspection on scaffolding by art conservators revealed an intricately painted ceiling. And, it blew us. We had not anticipated that the artwork will be this rare and complex, and that stretched our project timeline," Nanda told PTI.

Floral patterns and motifs, later identified to have been painted with real gold and lapis lazuli were uncovered. Never before seen myriad patterns in blue, red and gold have been now revealed after "delicate conservation work" on it that lasted three years.

"The painting done by hand makes the monument even more special, as also one of the earliest surviving painted ceiling for any Mughal or Islamic monument in India," he said, adding that it seems to have been done by one artist.

On account of the "high value and significance" of the artwork, the AKTC team stopped the conservation work after preservation and sensitive cleaning of the revealed painting and no attempts were made to restore its missing portions "in consonance with the principles of conservation".

Sharing about the damage caused to the artwork over the decades, he said water ingress from the dome above had "permanently damaged" much of the peripheral edge of the domed ceiling.

Nanda also said that replacement of old tiles over the dome, put up in the 1980s by the ASI, was not part of the original plan, however, "multiple discussions were held between ASI and AKTC officials and eventually it was agreed upon to change them.

Archival images from the 1970s reveal that many of the tiles of the dome had fallen away and only a fraction of those remaining had their turquoise blue glaze retained, according to AKTC, the conservation agency which had earlier worked on the restoration of the celebrated Humayun''s Tomb (built in 1558), and tomb of legendary poet Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan in 2020.

In 1980s, the ASI had removed all existing tiles from the dome and replaced those with lapiz blue tiles. Those tiles which replaced the old ones were "made with terracotta" rather than using a quartz base used by the 16th century builders, the AKTC claimed.

As part of the four-year conservation efforts, these tiles and all cement mortar was removed, and the dome exposed for several months to allow the dampness to dry out prior to restoring tiles matching the original 16th century tiles, fixed with lime mortar.

While all original tiles on the drum were retained, even when these had lost their glaze, missing tiles on the drum were restored. To prevent any rainwater ingress into the masonry, 20th century layers of cement concrete were removed from the roof and the terrace relaid with lime concrete to their original levels and slopes, the AKTC said.

Nanda said the project was carried out using traditional material and techniques and the COVID-19 pandemic "did not affect" the project much as much as other factors.

Built in the 1530s, Sabz Burj was brought under the ASI in the early 20th century. The dome also had a finial on top but it is not yet known what was its size or what was it made of.

"It is imperative for us to preserve our heritage so that our future generations can stay connected to their roots. The conservation of Sabz Burj is a testament to our efforts in supporting livelihood of the local community, and making heritage more attractive," said Anil Rai Gupta, CMD of Havells India.

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