the latter.

The art of inlaying stone had been practised in India for many
years before this building; but here, for the first time, do we find
the inlayers making attempts at direct imitation of Persian pottery
decoration. All the familiar _motifs_ of Persian art, the tree of life
and other floral types, the cypress tree, the flower-vases, fruits,
wine-cups, and rose-water vessels are here reproduced exactly as they
are found in Persian mosaic tiles. In Shah Jahan's palace and in the
Taj they went a step further, and imitated the more naturalistic
treatment of Persian fresco painting and other pictorial art; but
there is never the slightest suggestion of European design in the
decoration of these buildings.

It is quite possible that some Italians may have shown the native
inlayers specimens of Florentine _pietra dura_, and suggested to
them this naturalistic treatment, but if Italians or other Europeans
had been engaged to instruct or supervise in the decoration of
these buildings they would certainly have left some traces of their
handiwork. In the technical part of the process the Indian workmen
had nothing to learn, and in the design they made no attempt to
follow European forms, except in the one solitary instance of the
decoration of the throne-chamber of the Delhi Palace, which is much
later in date than Itmad-ud-daulah's tomb. [13]

The whole scheme of the exterior decoration is so finely carried out,
both in arrangement and colour, that its extreme elaboration produces
no effect of unquietness. At a distance it only gives a suggestion of
a soft bloom or iridescence on the surface of the marble. The soffits
of the doorways are carved with extraordinary delicacy. Inside the
building there are remains of fresco and other painted decoration.

Beautifully placed on the river bank, there is a fine little mosque,
which at sunset makes a charming picture. The boldness and greater
simplicity of the decoration contrast well with the richness of that
of the mausoleum.

The Chini-ka-Rauza

Beyond Itmad-ud-daulah's tomb, on the same side of the river, is a
beautiful ruin, once entirely covered with the same Persian mosaic
tile-work, which suggested the more costly style of decoration in
inlaid marble. It is called Chini-ka-Rauza, or the China Tomb, and
is supposed to be the mausoleum of Afzal Khan, a Persian poet, who
entered the service of Jahangir, and afterwards became Prime Minister
to Shah Jahan. He died