Place · Phulkian mirror palace · India
Sheesh Mahal, Patiala
Also known as Patiala, Phulkian palace of mirrors, Sheesh Mahal, Sheesh Mahal — Patiala
The 1847 Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) at Patiala in Punjab — the late-19 century Phulkian royal palace of the Patiala Sikh royal family, built by Maharaja Narinder Singh (ruled 1845-1862) in Indo-Saracenic style with Mughal mirrorwork. The palace was the royal residence of successive Patiala Maharajas (1847-1948). The Patiala royal house's extensive patronage of music made the Sheesh Mahal the seat of the Patiala gharana of Hindustani classical music, with musicians like Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Bakhsh Khan and later Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) establishing the gharana's distinctive style. The palace preserves 19-century Rajput-Mughal paintings, Chinese porcelain, and the Patiala royal archive. The 2003 Sheesh Mahal Museum (opened by the Punjab Government) preserves the royal collection. ASI partial protection since 1964.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 30.340, 76.380
Connections (1)
- Same courtQila Mubarak, Patiala
The Qila Mubarak and the Sheesh Mahal are the two halves of the Phulkian court at Patiala — the city-fort the state grew out of in the eighteenth century, and the painted pleasure palace of the late nineteenth with its mirrored halls and its bridge. The Patiala gharana of Hindustani vocal music was made in the second of them, under rulers who kept musicians on the establishment for four generations.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Sheesh Mahal”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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