Emperor Humayun's Garden Tomb

Grave Niches

In addition to Humayun's grave, "over 160 Mughal family members lie buried [in the plinth], which has led historians to name the tomb the 'Dormitory of the Mughals'."¹ 68 niches serve as entrances to the crypts. The four corner grave niches are a little more elaborate than the other niches, but with the recent restoration of the intricate red-on-white incised plaster stellate muqarnas pattern, all of the grave niches are alive with vibrant color and textures.

As a base, the grave niche's inner walls are coated with lime plaster, have a stone slab floor, and a stone post and lintel-framed entrance. On top of this base, beginning halfway down the wall surface, a net of incised plaster outlines bloom from the semi-octagonal grave niche's four corners, creating the outlines for three blind arches. The central blind arch has a jali screen that is vertically aligned with the entrance. The jali looks more like a grate with a very simple octagon pattern.

All of the grave niches on the plinth have an arch outline of white marble inlay that springs from the elaborately carved sandstone engaged colonette door jambs.

In addition to everything above, the plinth's corners' grave niches have a second set of engaged colonette door jambs that are extended by lapsing chevron engaged colonettes to the jali railing posts at the top of the plinth. Each corner grave niche is framed when the pair of lapsing engaged colonettes are joined by a strip of muqarnas above the niche's spandrels.

1. Ratish Nanda, "The Area of Humayun's Tomb," in Heritage of the Mughal World, ed. Philip Jodidio (Munich: Prestel, 2015), 169.