Q50. What does pietra dura mean in Mughal architectural decoration?
[SSC MTS, 30 Sep 2024 (Shift 1)]
- (A) Mauryan stone sculpture
- (B) Oil painting on the Taj Mahal
- (C) Fine clothing at court
- (D) Floral designs inlaid with coloured stones
Answer: (D) Floral designs inlaid with coloured stones
Explanation: Pietra dura refers to patterned inlay created by fitting precisely cut coloured stones into a stone background, typically marble. Mughal examples favour flowers and intricate motifs. This labour-intensive technique became especially prominent in seventeenth-century imperial monuments.
Q49. Who among these was not a principal painter in Shah Jahan’s imperial court?
[RPSC Assistant Professor (History), 12 Sep 2024]
- (A) Mir Sayyid Ali
- (B) Anup Chattar
- (C) Mir Hashim
- (D) Muhammad Nadir
Answer: (A) Mir Sayyid Ali
Explanation: Mir Sayyid Ali was active much earlier, especially under Humayun and Akbar, and helped establish Mughal painting. Anup Chattar, Mir Hashim and Muhammad Nadir are associated with the later imperial painting tradition. Chronological identification is essential in questions about Mughal ateliers.
Q48. What did the charbagh principle primarily emphasize in Mughal garden design?
[Practice – UPSC CSE]
- (A) Four-part geometrical division
- (B) Only circular pools
- (C) Unplanned forest planting
- (D) Terraces without paths
Answer: (A) Four-part geometrical division
Explanation: Charbagh refers to a fourfold garden arrangement, typically structured by intersecting channels or walkways. Deriving from Persian garden concepts, it often symbolized an ordered paradise. Mughal patrons adapted the principle to local sites, including riverside tombs and royal pleasure gardens.
Q47. Which emperor is most closely associated with laying out the early Mughal pleasure gardens of Agra?
[Practice – MPPSC]
- (A) Babur
- (B) Aurangzeb
- (C) Bahadur Shah Zafar
- (D) Muhammad Shah
Answer: (A) Babur
Explanation: Babur described his love of formal gardens in the Baburnama and initiated garden-making in the Agra region. Planned watercourses, raised platforms and symmetrical planting brought Central Asian and Persian landscape ideals into early Mughal court culture.
Q46. Which building material predominated in Akbar’s architectural programme at Fatehpur Sikri?
[Practice – UPPSC/UPPCS]
- (A) Black basalt
- (B) Red sandstone
- (C) Polished granite
- (D) Yellow limestone
Answer: (B) Red sandstone
Explanation: Fatehpur Sikri’s palaces and ceremonial structures were constructed extensively from local red sandstone. The stone suited carving, projecting brackets and large structural members. Skilled craftsmen used it to realize an unusually varied architectural vocabulary across the city.
Q45. Which term describes the perforated stone screens common in Mughal buildings?
[Practice – RAS/RPSC]
- (A) Jali
- (B) Gopuram
- (C) Torana
- (D) Shikhara
Answer: (A) Jali
Explanation: Jalis are pierced stone screens used for ventilation, filtered daylight and privacy. Mughal craftsmen developed elaborate geometric and floral patterns in sandstone and marble. These screens were especially effective in palaces and tombs, where light became part of the visual design.
Q44. Which building at Fatehpur Sikri is famous for its unusual centrally supported stone capital and radiating brackets?
[Practice – SSC CGL]
- (A) Diwan-i-Khas
- (B) Buland Darwaza
- (C) Jama Masjid
- (D) Salim Chishti’s Tomb
Answer: (A) Diwan-i-Khas
Explanation: The Diwan-i-Khas at Fatehpur Sikri contains a remarkable central pillar with richly carved brackets supporting a circular platform. Interpretations of its original function vary, but the structure remains an outstanding example of Akbar-period inventive stone construction.
Q43. Which mausoleum at Fatehpur Sikri is associated with a revered Chishti Sufi saint?
[Practice – SSC CHSL]
- (A) Itimad-ud-Daulah
- (B) Salim Chishti’s Tomb
- (C) Safdarjung’s Tomb
- (D) Bibi Ka Maqbara
Answer: (B) Salim Chishti’s Tomb
Explanation: The tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti stands within the Jama Masjid courtyard at Fatehpur Sikri. Its delicate marble screens and decorative features contrast with the surrounding sandstone. Akbar’s veneration of the saint shaped the city’s spiritual significance.
Q42. Which Mughal ruler is especially associated with replacing red sandstone by white marble in major palace additions?
[Practice – SSC MTS]
- (A) Akbar
- (B) Shah Jahan
- (C) Babur
- (D) Humayun
Answer: (B) Shah Jahan
Explanation: Although Mughal builders used both materials throughout the dynasty, Shah Jahan showed a particular preference for gleaming white marble in ceremonial and residential spaces. His additions to Agra Fort illustrate the decorative refinement of the later imperial aesthetic.
Q41. Where is Akbar’s mausoleum located?
[Practice – RRB NTPC]
- (A) Sikandra near Agra
- (B) Fatehpur Sikri mosque court
- (C) Old Delhi
- (D) Aurangabad
Answer: (A) Sikandra near Agra
Explanation: Akbar’s Tomb stands at Sikandra near Agra. Its design uses a terraced, multi-storey composition rather than a single dominating dome. Akbar began planning his mausoleum, and Jahangir completed significant work after his father’s death.
