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Ranjit Vilas Palace (Wankaner)
Ranjit Vilas Palace is the principal palace and, until 2012, the residence of the royal family of the princely state of Wankaner in what is now the Indian state of Gujarat. Location The palace is located atop a hill in the Gadhio Hills and overlooks both the town of Wankaner and the Machchhu River. The palace estate covers an area of and has on its grounds the erstwhile British Residency, several bungalows, a garage housing a collection of vintage cars and buggies and a stable for Kathiawari horses. History Construction of the palace began in 1907 and its foundation stone was laid by the Jamsaheb of Nawanagar, Ranjitsinhji, after whom the palace is named. Ranjitsinhji was a close friend of the Maharana of Wankaner, Amarsinhji Banesinhji, who is thought to have designed the building. It served as the residence of the royal family of Wankaner until 2012. The building suffered much damage in the Gujarat earthquake of 2001. Architecture The palace was designed by the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italianate Architecture
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, synthesising these with picturesque aesthetics. The style of architecture that was thus created, though also characterised as "Neo-Renaissance", was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms the past according to his own nature." The Italianate style was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash, with the construction of Cronkhill in Shropshire. This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was once an independent ''comune'', but is now a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Venice. History Murano was initially settled by the Romans and from the sixth century by people from Altinum and Oderzo. At first, the island prospered as a fishing port and through its production of salt. It was also a centre for trade through the port it controlled on Sant'Erasmo. From the eleventh century, it began to decline as islanders moved to Dorsoduro. It had a Grand Council, like that of Venice, but from the thirteenth century, Murano was ultimately governed by a ''podestà'' from Venice. Unlike the other islands in the Lagoon, Murano minted its own coins. Early in the second millennium hermits of the Camaldolese Order occupied one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandelier
A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent light bulbs, though some modern designs also use fluorescent lamps and recently LEDs. Classic chandeliers have arrays of hanging crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light, while contemporary chandeliers assume a more minimalist design that does not contain prisms and illuminate a room with direct light from the lamps, sometimes also equipped with translucent glass covering each lamp. Modern chandeliers have a more modernized design that uses LEDs, and combines the elements of both classic and contemporary designs; some are also equipped with refractive crystal prisms or small mirrors. Chandeliers are distinct from pendant lights, as they usually consist of multiple lamps and hang in branched frames, whereas pendan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicles) at the end of the branches. These flowers contain both types of reproductive organs (perfect flowers). The large, papery leaves of teak trees are often hairy on the lower surface. Teak wood has a leather-like smell when it is freshly milled and is particularly valued for its durability and water resistance. The wood is used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and other small wood projects. ''Tectona grandis'' is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka, but is naturalised and cultivated in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Myanmar's teak forests account for nearly half of the world's naturally occurring t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Marble
The following is a list of various types of marble according to location. (NB: Marble-like stone which is not true marble according to geologists is included, but is indicated by ''italics'' with geologic classification given as footnote. Africa Egypt *Galala Marble *Sinai Pearl Marble *Milly Grey Marble *Sunny Marble *Alabaster Marble Ethiopia * Daleti marble, Western Welega: white, white with grey veins and other colours * Enda Tikurir marble, Western Tigray * Newi marble, Central Tigray * Akmara marble, Central Tigray * Dichinamo marble, Western Tigray Tunisia * '' Giallo antico'' — also known as Numidian marble (''marmor numidicum'' in Latin), was a yellow marble quarried in Roman times from the area of Chemtou, ancient Simmithu Asia China *Hàn Bái Yǜ Marable (Chinese: ) A type of white marble used in China for building and sculpting. India *Makrana Marble Pure White Marble for Home and temple, outoor, building and sculpting. Europe Belgium * '' Noir Belge'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onion Dome
An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point. It is a typical feature of churches belonging to the Russian Orthodox church. There are similar buildings in other Eastern European countries, and occasionally in some Western European countries, like in Germany's Bavaria, Austria, and northeastern Italy. Buildings with onion domes are also found in the Oriental regions of Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. However, the old buildings outside of Russia usually do not have the typical construction of the Russian onion design. The origin of the design is thought to be the native architectural style of early Rus' tribes. Other types of Eastern Orthodox cupolas include ''helmet domes'' (for example, those of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir), Ukrainian ''pear domes'' ( Saint Sophia Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clock Tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions. Clock towers are a common sight in many parts of the world with some being iconic buildings. One example is the Elizabeth Tower in London (usually called "Big Ben", although strictly this name belongs only to the bell inside the tower). Definition There are many structures which may have clocks or clock faces attached to them and some structures have had clocks added to an existing structure. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat a structure is defined as a building if at least fifty percent of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area. Structures that do not meet this c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed limestone, but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. Etymology The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "crystalline rock, shining stone", perhaps from the verb (), "to flash, sparkle, gleam"; R. S. P. Beekes has suggested that a " Pre-Greek origin is probable". This stem is also the ancestor of the English word "marmoreal," meaning "marble-like." While the English term "marble" resembles the French , most other European languages (with words like "marmoreal") more closely resemble the original Ancient Greek. Physical origins Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doric Column
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Doric region of Greece, it is the earliest and, in its essence, the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above. The Greek Doric column was fluted or smooth-surfaced, and had no base, dropping straight into the stylobate or platform on which the temple or other building stood. The capital was a simple circular form, with some mouldings, under a square cushion that is very wide in early versions, but later more restrained. Above a plain architrave, the complexity comes in the frieze, where the two features originally unique to the Doric, the triglyph and gutta, are skeuomorphic memories of the beams and retaining pegs of the wooden constructions that preceded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pointed Arch (architecture)
A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earliest use of a pointed arch dates back to bronze-age Nippur. As a structural feature, it was first used in Islamic architecture, but in the 12th century it began to be used in France and England as an important structural element, in combination with other elements, such as the rib vault and later the flying buttress. These allowed the construction of cathedrals, palaces and other buildings with dramatically greater height and larger windows which filled them with light. Early arches Crude arches pointed in shape have been discovered from the Bronze Age site of Nippur dated earlier than 2700 BC. The palace of Nineveh also has pointed arched drains but they have no true keystone. File:Trivikram Temple Ter 1.jpg, Temple of Trivikrama i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
