Reviving a lost craft: Muhammad Qutb Shah’s tomb restoration in Hyderabad offers opportunity to revive 17th-century tile art
Media Source: The Indian Express (India)
Date: 24 April 2025
The ongoing restoration of the 17th-century tomb of Muhammad Qutb Shah in Hyderabad, with its distinctive green, glazed dome and intricate tile work, has thrown open a great opportunity to reintroduce and preserve the art of tile work from that era, potentially leading to a revival of the once-lost craft. With an estimated 2
The ongoing restoration of the 17th-century tomb of Muhammad Qutb Shah in Hyderabad, with its distinctive green, glazed dome and intricate tile work, has thrown open a great opportunity to reintroduce and preserve the art of tile work from that era, potentially leading to a revival of the once-lost craft. With an estimated 200,000 handmade tiles of various colours, apart from the complex stucco work, the final resting place of the sixth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of the Deccan is among the most beautiful tombs. Its restoration work is also expected to be time-consuming. “When we started to work on this building, we discovered the evidence of tile work under the cement cover that was part of the conservation efforts in the 20th century. It has taken us six to seven years to get here… This is the only place (at the Qutb Shahi Heritage Park) where we found tile work on the dome. The conservation is 100 percent based on in-situ evidence,” explains Ratish Nanda, the CEO of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).