From Function to Form: Chini-khana in Safavid and Mughal Architecture

Undertaking a comparative examination of a particular decorative form in the architecture of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Persianate world, this paper briefly introduces the appearance of Chini-khana in the Timurid era before examining its subsequent use in Safavid and Mughal structures. Originally created by Timurid patrons as a specific building or room to display precious Chinese porcelains, how the Chini-khana underwent parallel evolutions in Safavid and Mughal architecture is examined. While the same, or similar, architectural forms and decorative devices were at times used in different areas of the Persianate World, their evolution of form and function sometimes altered; this was the case for chini-khana. While both the Safavids and Mughals derived their awareness of it from the first Timurid Chini-khanas, each then adopted and/or adapted the original idea for their own purposes. In the architecture of both is present the continuation of an architectural device from a shared cultural history, but with differences in form, function and aesthetic desires.