Pierced Window Screen (Jali)

Pierced screens have been used in a variety of ways in South Asian architecture: as windows, railings, or room dividers. Although elaborate window dressings in stone and wood have long been components of indigenous Indian architecture, the intricately carved geometric patterning of the type seen here was introduced in the Islamic courts. This jali is made of a single slab of sandstone that was carefully drilled through to create a design of interlocking, four-pointed stars intersected by flowers. Light passing through the screen would cast its intricate pattern on the floor, creating a playful effect of light and shadow.