1.
Taj Mahal
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The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the architect to the emperor. The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the worlds heritage. Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as the tear-drop on the cheek of time, it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The imperial court documenting Shah Jahans grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrate the story held as the inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1643 and the surrounding buildings, the Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir, Humayuns Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulahs Tomb, while earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. Buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement, the tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan topped by a large dome. Like most Mughal tombs, the elements are Persian in origin. The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 metres on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side and this motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners, the main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, the actual graves are at a lower level. The most spectacular feature is the dome that surmounts the tomb
2.
Ordos culture
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The Ordos culture was a culture occupying a region centered on the Ordos Loop during the Bronze and early Iron Age from the 6th to 2nd centuries BCE. The Ordos culture is known for significant finds of Scythian art and is thought to represent the easternmost extension of Indo-European Eurasian nomads, under the Qin and Han dynasties, from the 6th to 2nd centuries BCE, the area came under at least nominal control of contemporaneous Chinese states. Equestrian nomads occupied the previously settled by the Zhukaigou culture from the 6th to the 2nd century BCE before being driven away by the Xiongnu. The Ordos Plateau was covered by grass, bushes, and trees and was sufficiently watered by numerous rivers, at the time, it contained the best pasture lands on the Asian Steppe. However, it has now turned to the Ordos Desert through a combination of overgrazing and climatic change. The Ordos are mainly known from their remains and artifacts. Its relationship with the Xiongnu is controversial, for some scholars they are the same, many buried metal artefacts have emerged on the surface of the land as a result of the progressive desertification of the region. According to Iaroslav Lebedynsky, they are thought to be the easternmost people of Scythian affinity to have settled here, just to the east of the better-known Yuezhi. Because the people represented in archaeological finds tend to display Europoid features, also noted by Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen. Other scholars have associated it with the Yuezhi, the weapons found in tombs throughout the steppes of the Ordos are very close to those of the Scythians, who known on the Asian Steppes as the Saka. While the ethnolinguistic origins and character of the Ordos culture are unknown, however, the art of the Ordos culture appears to have influenced that of the Donghu people, a Mongolic-speaking nomadic tribe located to the east, suggesting that the two had close ties. The Ordos population was also in contact – and reportedly often at war – with the pre-Han and Han peoples. The Ordos culture covered, geographically, regions later occupied by the Han, including areas just north of the later Great Wall of China, to the west of the Ordos culture was another Indo-European people, the Yuezhi, although nothing is known of relations between the two. In Chinese accounts, the Xiongnu first appear at Ordos in the Yi Zhou Shu and Classic of Mountains and Seas during the Warring States period before it was occupied by the states of Qin and Zhao. As the Xiongnu expanded southward into Yuezhi territory around 160 BCE under Modun and it is thought the Xiongnu also occupied the Ordos area during the same period, when they came in direct contact with the Chinese. From there, the Xiongnu conducted numerous devastating raids into Chinese territory, the Han–Xiongnu War began with Emperor Wu of Han, and the Han colonized the area of the Ordos as the commandery of Shuofang in 127 BCE. Prior to this campaign, there were already earlier established by Qin. Ordos bronzes from the British Museum, Beckwith, Christopher I, empires of the Silk Road, A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
3.
Mongolia
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Mongolia /mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ is a landlocked unitary sovereign state in East Asia. Its area is equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia. It is sandwiched between China to the south and Russia to the north, while it does not share a border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia is separated from it by only 36.76 kilometers. At 1,564,116 square kilometers, Mongolia is the 18th largest and it is also the worlds second-largest landlocked country behind Kazakhstan and the largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea. The country contains very little land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the countrys population, approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, horse culture is still integral. The majority of its population are Buddhists, the non-religious population is the second largest group. Islam is the dominant religion among ethnic Kazakhs, the majority of the states citizens are of Mongol ethnicity, although Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic, the area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty, after the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia, being led by the Manchu-founded Qing dynasty. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the male population were Buddhist monks. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty, shortly thereafter, the country came under the control of the Soviet Union, which had aided its independence from China. In 1924, the Mongolian Peoples Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state, after the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, homo erectus inhabited Mongolia from 850,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Mongolia approximately 40,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic, the Khoit Tsenkher Cave in Khovd Province shows lively pink, brown, and red ochre paintings of mammoths, lynx, bactrian camels, and ostriches, earning it the nickname the Lascaux of Mongolia. The venus figurines of Malta testify to the level of Upper Paleolithic art in northern Mongolia, the wheeled vehicles found in the burials of the Afanasevans have been dated to before 2200 BC
4.
Apex (geometry)
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In geometry, an apex is the vertex which is in some sense the highest of the figure to which it belongs. The term is used to refer to the vertex opposite from some base. In an isosceles triangle, the apex is the vertex where the two sides of equal length meet, opposite the third side. In a pyramid or cone, the apex is the vertex at the top, in a pyramid, the vertex is the point that is part of all the lateral faces, or where all the lateral edges meet
5.
Dome
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A dome is an architectural element that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. The precise definition has been a matter of controversy, there are also a wide variety of forms and specialized terms to describe them. A dome can rest upon a rotunda or drum, and can be supported by columns or piers that transition to the dome through squinches or pendentives, a lantern may cover an oculus and may itself have another dome. Domes have a long architectural lineage that extends back into prehistory and they have been constructed from mud, snow, stone, wood, brick, concrete, metal, glass, and plastic over the centuries. The symbolism associated with domes includes mortuary, celestial, and governmental traditions that have developed over time. Domes have been found from early Mesopotamia, which may explain the forms spread and they are found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese architecture in the Ancient world, as well as among a number of contemporary indigenous building traditions. They were popular in Byzantine and medieval Islamic architecture, and there are examples from Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance style spread from Italy in the Early modern period, advancements in mathematics, materials, and production techniques since that time resulted in new dome types. The domes of the world can be found over religious buildings, legislative chambers, sports stadiums. The English word dome ultimately derives from the Latin domus —which, up through the Renaissance, labeled a revered house, such as a Domus Dei, or House of God, the French word dosme came to acquire the meaning of a cupola vault, specifically, by 1660. A dome is a rounded vault made of either curved segments or a shell of revolution, sometimes called false domes, corbel domes achieve their shape by extending each horizontal layer of stones inward slightly farther than the lower one until they meet at the top. A false dome may also refer to a wooden dome, true domes are said to be those whose structure is in a state of compression, with constituent elements of wedge-shaped voussoirs, the joints of which align with a central point. The validity of this is unclear, as domes built underground with corbelled stone layers are also in compression from the surrounding earth, as with arches, the springing of a dome is the level from which the dome rises. The top of a dome is the crown, the inner side of a dome is called the intrados and the outer side is called the extrados. The haunch is the part of an arch that lies halfway between the base and the top. The word cupola is another word for dome, and is used for a small dome upon a roof or turret. Cupola has also used to describe the inner side of a dome. Drums, also called tholobates, are cylindrical or polygonal walls with or without windows that support a dome, a tambour or lantern is the equivalent structure over a domes oculus, supporting a cupola
6.
Gable
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A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the system used, which reflects climate, material availability. A gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the wall, including the gable. A variation of the gable is a gable, which has a stairstep design to accomplish the sloping portion. Gable ends of more recent buildings are often treated in the way as the Classic pediment form. But unlike Classical structures, which operate through trabeation, the ends of many buildings are actually bearing-wall structures. Thus, the detailing can be ambiguous or misleading, gable style is also used in the design of fabric structures, with varying degree sloped roofs, dependent on how much snowfall is expected. Sharp gable roofs are a characteristic of the Gothic and classical Greek styles of architecture, the opposite or inverted form of a gable roof is a V-roof or butterfly roof. While a front-gabled building faces the street with its gable, a building faces it with its cullis. The terms are used in architecture and city planning to determine a building in its urban situation, front-gabled buildings are considered typical for German city streets in the medieval gothic period, while later Renaissance buildings, influenced by Italian architecture are often side-gabled. In America, front-gabled houses, such as the Gablefront house, were primarily between the early 19th century and 1920. A wimperg is a German and Dutch word for a Gothic ornamental gable with tracery over windows or portals and it was a typical element in Gothic Architecture especially in cathedral architecture. Wimpergs often had crockets or other elements in the Gothic style. The intention behind the wimperg was the perception of increased height, the gable end roof is a poor design for hurricane regions, as it easily peels off in strong winds. The part of the roof overhangs the triangular wall very often creates a trap that can catch wind like an umbrella. A series of ornamental timber gables, from existing examples in England and France of the 16th Century
7.
Lampshade
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A lampshade is a fixture that covers the lightbulb on a lamp to diffuse the light it emits. Conical, cylindrical and other forms on floor-, desk- or table top-mounted as well as suspended lamp models are the most common and are made in a range of materials. The term can apply to the glass hung under many designs of ceiling lamp. Beyond its practical purpose, significant emphasis is usually given to decorative. In the late 17th-century in Paris the first public lanterns made their appearance in the centre of the streets and they lit the road during the night. In 1763, the made their appearance. These were oil lamps with reflectors which were hung above the center of streets, the first public oil lamps in Milan, financed by revenues from a lottery, date from 1785. These were lanterns containing an oil lamp with a number of wicks, a semi-spherical reflector above the flame projected the light downwards, while another reflector, slightly concave and near the flame, served to direct the light latterly. Friedrich Albert Winsor first had the idea of industrializing lighting by producing gas in a factory, in the first decades of the 19th century, competing gas companies laid the first gas mains in major cities. But there were fears of explosion and toxicity, the flame fed by the gas coming out of the nozzle was intense, uniform and adjustable, white and brilliant instead of the reddish or orange of oil lamps or candles. Theatre audiences regularly suffered from headaches and the sulphur and ammonia formed during combustion of the gas ruined furniture, gas light had to be filtered by opal glass or light fabric shades. Lampshades were no longer used to direct the light but to attenuate it, to disguise the intense electric light, lampshades were used. Some were made by Tiffany in colored glass, the great advantage of the electric light bulb was the absence of flame and traces of combustion, thus avoiding all risks of intoxication, explosion or fire. Modern lampshades can be classified by Shape, by Material, by Fitter, or by Function Lampshades are classified in 4 basic shapes, drum, empire, beyond the basics, lampshade shapes also include square, cut-corner, hexagon, gallery, oval, or scalloped shapes. Lampshades are made of fabric, parchment, glass, Tiffany glass, common fabric materials include silk, linen, cotton, or even paper. Fabric shades are reinforced by metal frames to give the lampshades their shape, for this reason, paper shades can be more fragile than fabric shades. Darker shades sometimes add a reflective liner such as gold or silver in order to light output. A fitter describes how the lampshade connects to the lamp base, the most common lampshade fitter is a Spider fitter
8.
Souvenir spoon
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A souvenir spoon is a decorative spoon used to signify or hold a memory of a place or event, or to display as a trophy of having been there. The spoons may be made from a number of different materials such as sterling silver, nickel, steel and they are often hung on a spoon rack and are typically ornamental, depicting sights, coat of arms, associated characters, etc. The year the spoon was made may be inscribed in the bowl, the entire spoon, including the bowl, handle, and finial may be used to convey the theme. The first souvenir spoons in the United States were made in 1890 by Galt & Bros. Inc. of Washington D. C. featuring the profile of George Washington, one year later, a souvenir Salem Witch spoon was made, and sold seven thousand copies. It was created by Daniel Low, a jeweler in Salem, Massachusetts, the Witch Spoon is given credit for starting the souvenir spoon hobby in the U. S. Media related to Souvenir spoons at Wikimedia Commons
