SdA 2-24 — Bassin devant le palais principal bagh-e shahi à Jalalabad

• Souvenir d’Afghanistan, série 1 (petit format) : n’y figure pas.
• Souvenir d'Afghanistan, série 3 (double face) SdA 3-161 : identiques.
• Gray, J. (1895) : At the court of the Amir, p. 17 : «It is a large white building, standing in the midst of well laid out gardens, in which are many varieties of Eastern and European fruit-trees and flowers. The Palace was semi-European in its internal decoration. […] There was a large central hall with a domed roof, and smaller rooms at the side. […]»
• Sultan Mahomed Khan (1900) : The life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, Vol. 2, p. 104 : «All my residential palaces are built on sites that command a beautiful view, and in a bright, breezy place. They are surrounded by gardens and flowers, and they are built in such a style that it is possible in the same building to have warm rooms for winter use, and open verandahs with large windows for the summer. The rooms are so arranged that the spring blossoms may be watched as they break from the trees, and the gorgeous yellow hues of the autumn, and the dazzling falls of the winter snow and the moonlight nights are enjoyed by all the inmates of my palaces who take the trouble to sit at theses windows.»
• Thornton, E. et A. (1910) : Leaves from an Afghan scrapbook, p. 98 : «It is in this city that the old palace of Amir Abdur Rahman stands, with its whitewashed exterior and beautifully decorated ceilings of old oil-tins painted by native artists. Its furniture is somewhat mixed, consisting of lovely, carved-walnut suites and cane-bottomed chairs. The walls are hung with pictures cut from almanacs, and common oleographs. But it is the carpet in the Durbar Hall which takes one’s eye – a large hand-made carpet, which feels more like silk than wool, and covers the whole floor from end to end;  and, on closer examination, variations in its design show that more than one generation has assisted in its making. A spacious garden surrounds this palace, and has a central irrigation canal. Two small ponds about 4 to 5 feet deep are stocked with goldfish, which afford amusement for the page-boys. There are walks made through orange-groves, where in springtime the air becomes heavily laden with scent.»

You know more about this picture?

Write to us!