Taher Khan Naher Mausoleum

Sitpur, Pakistan

The mausoleum is made up of the tomb and the mosque, both built in a similar spirit of ornamentation and material realization. The tomb of Taher Khan Nahar is a vernacular variation of the celebrated Rukn-i- 'Alam. It has an octagonal plan, its corners strengthened with tapering corner turrets, its roof a majestic hemispherical dome.

The tomb is made up of three stories supported with sloping buttresses. Each story has an octagonal plan with eight turrets on the intersecting sides, the second floor recedes to form a second layer of turrets behind the first. The third story converts the octagon into a sixteen sided volume that emerges a thirty-two sided volume to form a suitable drum for the large dome above.

The exterior surfaces are covered with glazed tiles that create ornamental geometric and floral mosaics, the second floor having the most elaborated decoration. The interior is simple in its ornamentation, the surface divided into horizontal bands of glazed tiles, plugs and cut bricks.

The mosque is made up of three domed chambers of worship. The central, larger bay holds the entrance and is flanked by the two other smaller bays. The exterior surfaces of the mosque is covered with geometric patterns of coloured glazed tiles. While the colouring of these tiles differs from those of the tomb, similarities in scale, repetition and design forge a unified complex.

Source:
Khan, Ahmad Nabi. 1990. Islamic Architecture of Pakistan An Analytical Exposition, Volume One. Islamabad: Arab and Central Asian Contributions. pp. 143-150.