A miniature painting on ivory of the Qutub Minar, Delhi, India, circa 1830, of oval shape, unframed, 4.4cm. diam. Note: Topographical miniatures on ivory are rarer than figural subjects but both were produced in the early-mid 19th century in Delhi. Photographs were photographically enlarged or diminished to the right size, before having their outlines traced on transparent talc. The tracing was then retraced in the reverse side of the talc with transfer ink and transferred to a thin sheet of ivory, the features were touched up and finally shaded and coloured. The Qutub Minar tower was begun by Qutb al-Din Aybak in 1193 as a minaret to his adjacent mosque and as sign of his victory over Prithviraj Chauhan, the Hindu king of Delhi and Ajmer. Three more storeys were added by his son-in-law and successor Iltutmish. The topmost storey was struck by lightning in 1368 and the repairs by Firoz Shah Tughluq divided that storey into two and partly faced them in marble. Please refer to department for condition report