THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

The value of illustrative material in the study of visual arts cannot be over-estimated. And in this respect Claude Batley’s The Design Development of Indian Architecture is a pioneering work on Indian architecture which has continued to influence generations of students and scholars of the subject. Although by 1934 when this book was first published, photographic plates were well in use as illustrations yet Batley believed that “however good a photograph may be, it cannot take place of a measured drawing for the student or architect.” And looking at the excellent drawings in the book, one has to agree with his statement. The collection of measured drawings and details presented in this publication represents an endeavour to meet a need which everyone who has set out to study the elements of Indian Architecture must have felt. This reprint of The Design Development of Indian Architecture is being presented in a new format while retaining the original text and illustrations. This seminal work remains most useful for students and scholars of Indian architecture.