Diwan-i-Aam At Delhi Fort
Diwan-i-Aam At Delhi Fort
- The Diwan-i-Aam or Hall of Public Audience originally consisted of a square courtyard surrounded by colonnades and the hall on the eastern side. Apart from the actual hall, the rest of the subsidiary structures have since disappeared.
- The hall is a sandstone building measuring 185’ X 70’.
- Its façade is formed of an arcade of 9 arches with double pillars between each arch and a group of 4 at each corner, thus making 40 pillars in all.
- There is a large oblong recess in the plain back wall.
- Although the structure is sandstone, it was probably originally covered with an overlay of shell plaster, ivory polished, the technical procedure carried out by artisans from Rajputana.
- A significant feature of the interior is the alcove in the back wall where the emperor sat in state, and where the famous Peacock Throne was installed on special occasions.
- The decoration on the walls of the alcove above the throne consists of a series of designs in pietra dura with western subjects such as ‘Orpheus and his Lute’, which is an original example of Florentine inlay.