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.
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
5.
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
6.
Pullstring
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A pullstring, pullcord, or pullchain is a string, cord, or chain wound on a spring-loaded spindle that engages a mechanism when it is pulled. It is most commonly used in toys and motorized equipment, more generally and commonly, a pullstring can be any type of string, cord, rope, chain, or cable attached to an object in some way used to pull or mechanically manipulate part of it. Toys Perhaps the simplest pullstring toy is the yo-yo, the jumping jack is a more complicated animated puppet paperdoll that uses a pullstring to move its arms and legs up and down. Trompos and some spinning tops use a string that is wound around the top, the Blythe doll has a pullstring that changes the dolls eye color. Other non-doll toys like See n Say, the earliest patent with a pullstring included in it is an 1886 Toy Bowling-Alley. Engines Many motorized lawn mowers, chainsaws, portable generators, Some vehicle engines are also started with pullchains, such as the early-1900s Puckridge, or pullcords, like the pre-release version of the Citroën 2CV car, and the DKW RT125 scooter. Weapons Some grenades like the German Models 24,39, and 43 have pullcords, Some machine guns such as the M73 machine gun and M85 machine gun use a pullchain to charge and/or fire them. Other Some types of blinds and curtains use a cord pull to open, close, raise. Some types of ladders like the extension ladder and attic ladder can have a pullstring that pulls it down from the ceiling, a dock plate can use a pullchain to move it. Some gates have a pullstring on its latch, a pull switch uses a chain or string to actuate a switch, commonly used in lighting and ceiling fans. Modern flush toilets use a pullchain attached to a lever that lifts the plunger to release water into the toilet bowl, the photoplayer uses pullchains to generate sound effects for silent films. Pre-1990s North American diesel locomotive train horns used a lever or pull cord to actuate an air valve, older steam whistles were almost always actuated with a pull cord. A trains emergency brake can be a cord or chain that will stop the train when pulled, older transit buses and trams/trolleys have a pullcord that a passenger can pull to signal the driver that they are requesting a stop. The Jaguar XK120 sports cars doors have no external handles so it uses an interior pullcord instead, Some grandfather clocks have a pullchain to raise the weights in order to wind the clocks gears. A lifejacket has a used to inflate it. Variants A bow string is perhaps the simplest type of pullstring that pulls a bows ends together, a ripcord is a type of pullstring used to release a parachute. A drawstring is a type of pullstring used in many aspects of the fashion industry, bell pull Drawer pull Drawstring Hoist Pull switch
7.
Ceiling fan
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A ceiling fan is a mechanical fan, usually electrically powered, suspended from the ceiling of a room, that uses hub-mounted rotating paddles to circulate air. Most ceiling fans rotate much more slowly than most electric desk fans and they cool people effectively by introducing slow movement into the otherwise still, hot air of a room. Fans never actually cool air, unlike air-conditioning equipment, but use less power. The first ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s and 1870s, at that time, they were not powered by any form of electric motor. Instead, a stream of running water was used, in conjunction with a turbine and these systems could accommodate several fan units, and so became popular in stores, restaurants, and offices. Some of these still survive today, and can be seen in parts of the southern United States where they originally proved useful. The electrically powered ceiling fan was invented in 1882 by Philip Diehl and he had engineered the electric motor used in the first electrically powered Singer sewing machines, and in 1882 he adapted that motor for use in a ceiling-mounted fan. Each fan had its own self-contained motor unit, with no need for belt drive, almost immediately he faced fierce competition due to the commercial success of the ceiling fan. He continued to make improvements to his invention and created a light kit fitted to the fan to combine both functions in one unit. By World War I most ceiling fans were made with four instead of the original two, which made fans quieter and allowed them to circulate more air. By the 1920s ceiling fans were commonplace in the United States, in 1973, Texas entrepreneur H. W. Markwardt began importing highly efficient ceiling fans to the United States that were manufactured in India by Crompton Greaves, Ltd. Fans used for comfort create a wind chill by increasing the heat transfer coefficient, in addition to the imported Encon ceiling fans, the Casablanca Fan Company was founded in 1974. Other American manufacturers of the time included the Hunter Fan Co, FASCO, Emerson Electric, and Lasko, the latter two were often branded as Sears-Roebuck. Through the 1980s and 1990s, ceiling fans remained popular in the United States, many small American importers, most of them rather short-lived, started importing ceiling fans. Even the most basic U. S-made fans sold at $200 to $500, since 2000 important inroads have been made by companies such as Monte Carlo, Minka Aire, Quorum, Craftmade, Litex and Fanimation - offering higher price ceiling fans with more decorative value. In 2001, Washington Post writer Patricia Dane Rogers wrote, “Like so many other household objects. Therefore, ceiling fans that have a mechanism for reversing the direction in which the blades push air can help in both heating and cooling, some ceiling fans are mechanically reversible instead of an electrically reversible motor. In this case, the blade should be pitched to the right for downdraft, Hunter Hotel Original is one example
8.
Light fixture
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A light fixture, light fitting, or luminaire is an electrical device used to create artificial light by use of an electric lamp. All light fixtures have a body and a light socket to hold the lamp. Fixtures may also have a switch to control the light, either attached to the body or attached to the power cable. Permanent light fixtures, such as dining room chandeliers, may use a switch to turn them on and off, as such. Fixtures require a connection to a power source, typically AC mains power. Permanent lighting fixtures may be directly wired, moveable lamps have a plug and cord so that they can be plugged into a wall socket. A wide variety of light fixtures are created for use in the automotive lighting industry, aerospace. Portable light fixtures are often called lamps, as in table lamp or desk lamp, in technical terminology, the lamp is the light source, which is typically called the light bulb. The term luminaire is recommended by the International Electrotechnical Commission for technical use, fixture manufacturing began soon after production of the incandescent light bulb. Light fixtures are classified by how the fixture is installed, the function or lamp type. Table lamp fixtures, standard lamp fixtures, and office task light luminaires, balanced-arm lamp is a spot light with an adjustable arm such as anglepoise or Luxo L1. Gooseneck lamp Nightlight Floor Lamp Torch lamp or torchières are floor lamps with an upward facing shade and they provide general lighting to the rest of the room. These can be flush mount fixtures which are mounted right up against the ceiling, the ceiling-mounted version is often called a downlight. Cans with a variety of lamps — this term is jargon for inexpensive downlighting products that are recessed into the ceiling, the name comes from the shape of the housing. The term pot lights is often used in Canada and parts of the US, cove light — recessed into the ceiling in a long box against a wall. Troffer — recessed fluorescent light fixtures, usually rectangular in shape to fit into a drop ceiling grid, track lighting fixture — individual fixtures can be positioned anywhere along the track, which provides electric power. Under-cabinet light — mounted below kitchen wall cabinets Display Case or Showcase light — shows merchandise on display within a case such as jewelry, grocery stores. Ceiling fan - May sometimes have a light, often referred to as a light kit mounted to it
9.
Pickelhaube
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The Pickelhaube, also Pickelhelm, was a spiked helmet worn in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by German military, firefighters, and police. Although typically associated with the Prussian army who adopted it in 1842-43, the Pickelhaube was originally designed in 1842 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, perhaps as a copy of similar helmets that were adopted at the same time by the Russian military. It is not clear whether this was a case of imitation, parallel invention, the early Russian type was also used by cavalry, which had used the spike as a holder for a horsehair plume in full dress, a practice also followed with some Prussian models. Frederick William IV introduced the Pickelhaube for use by the majority of Prussian infantry on October 23,1842 by a cabinet order. The use of the Pickelhaube spread rapidly to other German principalities, oldenburg adopted it by 1849, Baden by 1870, and in 1887, the Kingdom of Bavaria was the last German state to adopt the Pickelhaube. Amongst other European armies, that of Sweden adopted the Prussian version of the helmet in 1845. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, the armies of a number of nations besides Russia adopted the Pickelhaube or something very similar and these sported the Imperial German eagles but in the 1900s the eagles were replaced by the national emblems. The Russian version initially had a horsehair plume fitted to the end of the spike, the Russian spike was topped with a grenade motif. At the beginning of the Crimean War, such helmets were common among infantry and grenadiers, after 1862 the spiked helmet ceased to be generally worn by the Russian Army, although it was retained until 1914 by the Cuirassier regiments of the Imperial Guard and the Gendarmerie. The Russians prolonged the history of the pointed military headgear with their own cloth Budenovka in the early 20th century, the Pickelhaube also influenced the design of the British army Home Service helmet, as well as the custodian helmet still worn by police in England and Wales. Both the United States Army and Marine Corps wore helmets of the British pattern for full dress between 1881 and 1902, the basic Pickelhaube was made of hardened leather, given a glossy-black finish, and reinforced with metal trim that included a metal spike at the crown. Early versions had a crown, but the height gradually was reduced. In 1867 a further attempt at weight reduction by removing the binding of the front peak. Some versions of the Pickelhaube worn by German artillery units employed a ball-shaped finial rather than the pointed spike and this was achieved by unscrewing the spike and replacing it with a tall metal plume-holder known as a trichter. For musicians of these units, and also for Bavarian Artillery and a cavalry regiment of the Saxon Guard. Aside from the finial, perhaps the most recognizable feature of the Pickelhaube was the ornamental front plate. The most common plate design consisted of a large, spread-winged eagle, different plate designs were used by Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and the other German states. The Russians used the traditional double-headed eagle, German military Pickelhauben also mounted two round, colored cockades behind the chinstraps attached to the sides of the helmet
10.
Balinese temple
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A Pura is a Balinese Hindu temple. And the place of worship for the adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia, Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Mother Temple of Besakih is the most important, the largest and holiest temple in Bali, a large number of puras have been built in Bali, leading it to be titled the Island of a Thousand Puras. The term pura originates from the Sanskrit word, meaning city, walled city, towered city and this walled compounds contains several shrines, meru, and bale. The design, plan and layout of the pura follows the concept of Balinese space allocation. Three mandala zones arranged according to a hierarchy, Nista mandala, the outer zone, which directly connects the pura compound with the outer realm. This zone usually takes the form of a field or a garden that can be used for religious dance performances. Madya mandala, the zone of the temple, where the activity of adherents takes place. In this zone usually several pavilions are built, such as the bale kulkul, bale gong, wantilan, bale pesandekan, and bale perantenan, Utama mandala, the holiest and the most sacred zone within the pura. However, the rules for arrangements the facilities of the two outer zones, nista mandala and madya mandala, are somewhat flexible. Several structures, such as the bale kulkul, could be built as outer corner tower, also, there are two types of gates within Balinese architecture, the split gate, known as candi bentar, and the roofed tower gate known as paduraksa or kori agung. Both types of gates have specific roles in Balinese architectural design, Candi bentar is the gate used in the nista mandala, while the kori agung is employed as the gate between the madya mandala and Utama mandala inner compounds. The rules for gate types are valid for non-religious compounds such as puri, nobles. There are several types of pura, each serving certain functions of Balinese rituals throughout the Balinese calendar, Pura kahyangan jagad, pura that are located in the mountainous region of the island, built upon mountain or volcano slopes. The mountains are considered as the realm, the abode of gods or hyang. The most important pura kahyangan in Bali is Mother Temple of Besakih complex on the slopes of Mount Agung, Pura tirta, water temples, a type of pura that other than religious function, also have water management function as part of Subak irrigation system. The priests in these temples have authority to manage the water allocation among rice paddies in the villages surrounds the temple, some tirta temples are noted for its sacred water and having petirtaan or sacred bathing pool for cleansing ritual. Other water temple are built within lakes, such as Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, the example of this type of temple are Pura Taman Ayun and Pura Tirta Empul
