A Sultanate carved marble mihrab panel, probably Ahmadabad, Western India, circa 1500

of tall rectangular form carved in deep relief with a design of an incense burner issuing smoke and suspended from a broad linked chain from a floral form medallion held within the upper section of a pointed double arch, the spandrels each with a further floral motif, set within a broad plain raised border indented at the base

surface dirt and weathering, as viewed
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In 1411, the sultanate of Gujarat gained its independence from Tughluq sovereignty with the rise to power of the strident Ahmad Shah (r.1411-42). One of his first acts under his self-declared autonomy was to establish a new capital at Ahmadabad. Under his reign and that of his successors, notably that of Mahmud Shah I "Begada" (r.1458-1511), "Gujarat witnessed a protracted period of architectural magnificence" (Patel 2006, p.74). Ahmad Shah's supposed fame for iconoclastic zeal may explain the widespread reuse of architectural elements in the buildings of the Ahmad-Shahi sultanate in the 15th century and into the early 16th century.

These reused fragments could carry quite different meanings in their new architectural context. The lamp within a pointed arch had become a leitmotif in Islamic mosque architecture for several centuries by this time (for an 11th/ 12th century example from Ghazna, see von Folsach 2001, p.246, no.393). In Hindu architecture, a similar motif was also prevalent, developing from an ancient concept of the purna kalasa, or 'vase of plenty'. Hence, in the monuments of sultanate Gujarat, panels depicting this motif could easily adapt to use with a quite different meaning in their new context. One such reused panel appears in the decoration of a stepwell commissioned by the consort of Sultan Muhmud Shah I, built around 1500 (Patel 2006, p.75).

The practice of reuse in Gujarati architecture extended beyond the use of stone fragments to include the reuse of decorative motifs. The purna kalasa would appear to have given a local form to the earlier Islamic tradition and it is adopted in newly carved decoration during this period of architectural patronage. The mosque of Qutbuddin Ahmad Shah (r.1451-1458) has related designs on one of its minarets (Michell and Shah 1988, p.57, figs.10-12). Under the subsequent rule of Mahmud Shah 'Begada', during which the Gujarati style reached its apogee, the design features both inside and outside monuments. It appears in the mihrab of the mosque of Miyan Khan Chishti (c.1465) in a more restrained display closer in style to the present example (Michell and Shah 1988, p.67, fig.16). Later, the mosques of Rani Rupavati (c.1500) and Baba Lulu' I (c.1550) show this motif hanging from stylized flower heads held within the upper section of an arch, in a manner similar to that found on the present panel, though this device had already appeared in renditions of this design on the stepwell mentioned above (Michell and Shah 1988, p.85, fig.24, and p.101, fig.36, respectively).

The architecture of Ahmadabad is predominantly worked from sandstone but with examples in brick and, on some of the more sumptuously decorated monuments like the tomb of Shah Alam, elements in marble appear in the interior (Michell and Shah 1988, p.87). Mount Abu, just to the north of Ahmadabad, could have been the source of the marble for this panel.