Bonhams Auction House, London, New Bond Street under the category of Islamic & Indian Art
Ghulam Ali Khan’s given painting shows the Rang Mahal. The Rang Mahal is famously known as the Palace of Colour or Imtiaz Mahal. It is located in the Red Fort of Old Delhi. The main part of the Rang Mahal is built with red sandstone blocks. The walls and roofs are made of marble that can be carved.The Rang Mahal has a design. It has a pavilion that's three bays deep and seven bays wide. The pavilion is supported by cross-shaped pillars with intricate arches. These arches eventually meet in rooms at the ends. It is topped with four domes on the roof. The Rang Mahal faces a garden to the west. The entrance has five archways.The Rang Mahal was a part of the Zenana enclosure. The zenana was where the royal women lived, near the Jamuna River. The Rang Mahal was where the women of Shah Jahan’s family liked to go.Under the Rang Mahal there is a basement. This basement was a place to go during hot summer days.
The inside of the Rang Mahal was very fancy. The ceilings were covered in gold. Had elaborate mirror work. Some of the rooms were even called Shish Mahal. The walls had carvings made of marble. There was a fountain in the middle of the hall that was shaped like a lotus. The fountain flowed into marble channels called the Nahr-i-Bihisht or Stream of Paradise. Over time the Rang Mahal changed a lot. At one point it was even used as a mess hall by the British after they took over the fort in 1857.. The Rang Mahal is still a great example of architecture, in the Red Fort complex.
This painting offers a captivating window into Mughal architectural splendor. Ghulam Ali Khan masterfully captures the Rang Mahal's iconic symmetry, the seven-bay pavilion, cross-shaped pillars, and intricate arches converge beautifully across the composition. The artist's attention to the red sandstone base against delicate marble carvings reflects genuine reverence for the structure's dual nature: royal grandeur paired with quiet intimacy for the zenana's women. The suggestion of the lotus fountain and Nahr-i-Bihisht adds a poetic, almost tranquil quality. It's a fitting tribute to a space once alive with gold ceilings and mirror work, now preserved through art despite history's later, harsher chapters.
