Delhi, the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque)

Samuel Bourne no. 1351. The interior of the Moti Masjid inside the Red Fort in Delhi. Built by Aurangzeb, this small mosque served as a private place of prayer for the royal family. The photograph provides a close view of a three-bayed structure in the mosque interior that contains the qibla wall. This structure dominates the composition, which rests upon a shallow foreground created by the courtyard of the structure. To the lower left a small basin is visible, to the right, a nearly perpendicular view of the enclosing wall. The reflection of light against the white marble of the structure produces a full range of tones and shadows throughout the surface and interior of the monument.