Tradition and indigeneity in Mughal architectural glazed tiles

Glazed tiles were employed by the Mughals for the decoration of their monuments in northern India over the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The character and composition of thirty tile samples from Mughal buildings at Delhi, in northern India, were investigated by EPMA-WDS and SEM-EDS. Analysis shows that the tiles have stonepaste bodies, indicating that they form part of the family of Islamic ceramics. The glaze layers are determined to have local characteristics, through comparisons with traditional Indian glass compositions. A local source for the cobalt oxide used to colour dark blue coloured glazes has been suggested. Overall, the study considers the impact of an imported luxury/high status technology on local traditions, and how the two converge to develop a new chaîne opératoire which has aspects of Islamic and indigenous technologies.