You are on page 1of 17

Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob -

Jaipur
14th January 1841 - 4th December 1917
INTRODUCTION

 Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob (1841 to


1917) was an English engineer, architect
and writer, active in India and best known
for the numerous public buildings he
designed in the Indo-Sarcenic style.

 He was born on 14 Jan 1841 to Colonel W.


Jacob (of the Bombay Artillery), and a
member of a distinguished military family.
He was educated at Cheam School and
then at the East India Company Military
College at Addiscombe where he was one
of the last batch of graduates (graduating
as an engineer in 1858).
 He entered the Bombay Artillery in 1858,
qualifying five years later as a surveyor and
engineer. After initial service in the Public
Works Department, and a brief spell with
the Aden Field Force in 1865-6, he was
appointed in 1867 as Chief Engineer of the
state of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. He was to
spend the remainder of his working life in
this position until he retired at the age of
71.

 Atthe time he became chief engineer and


took charge of the public works department
of the Jaipur it had only been in existence
for 7 years having been founded in 1860.
The department was responsible for the
construction of everything in the state
ranging from walls, outhouses, guard
houses, roads, canals to major public
 Compared with many British officials in
India he was noted for his respect for
local building traditions and skills, which
lead to his incorporating many Indian
architectural features into his building
designs. As a result he became together
with F. S. Growse, Robert Fellowes
Chisholm, Charles Mant, Henry Irwin,
William Emerson, George Wittet and
Frederick Stevens a pioneer of the Indo-
Saracenic style of architecture which
incorporated Indian Islamic architecture
into European neo-Classical or Gothic
Revivalist styles.
 Hewas promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 6
Feb 1885. He was promoted to Colonel on 26
Feb 1889.

 He had no longer retired to England in 1911


then he was recruited by the Secretary of
State for India to assist Edwin Lutyens and
Herbert Baker in the design of New Delhi.
However failing health soon forced him to
withdrawn from the assignment.

 Hewas married to Mary Brown, (daughter of


Mr Robert Brown of Edinburgh) in1874.

 He died at Weybridge on 4 Dec 1917.


HIS PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS INDIAN
ARCHITECTURE AND ITS ARTISANS

 He supported Indian architecture and its


artisans (mistry).

 He was among the only few who believe that


Indian architecture is a good piece of work and
Indians are capable of designing good
buildings.

 Inhis eyes mistry is not a mere laborer and


can design a building.
 He observed various Indian architectural
elements and its buildings and made
measured drawings of these and
documented them well. This he published
in an album ‘JAIPUR PORTFOLIO’.

 Thishe did to preserve the legacy of Indian


architecture as he wanted other builders to
build these elements using these measured
drawings.

 Butthis book was an unpopular piece of


work and no builder have a view on it.

 He was very much passionate for Indian


architecture.
BUILDINGS THAT HE DESIGNED
Among the notable buildings that he
designed are:

 Themain building for St Stephens College


at Kashmere Gate in Delhi. Built 1890 to
1891.

 Albert
Hall Museum, Jaipur. Also called the
Government Central Museum.

 Rambagh Palace
 Bikaner House, Mount Abu. Built 1893 as a
summer residence for the Maharaja of Bikaner
. This has now been converted into the Palace
Hotel.

 Laxmi Niwas Palace, Bikaner. Built in 1902.

 Lalgarh
Palace, Bikaner. Built between 1896
and 1926.

 Umed Bhawan Palace, Kota. Built in 1904.

 KingGeorge Medical College, Lucknow. Built


1905. Now called the Chhatrapati Shahuji
Maharaj Medical University.
JAIPUR
lbert Hall, Jaipur

located on Ram Niwas Bagh, it was built between 1881


and 1886. Maharaja Ram Singh initially wanted this
building to be a town hall, but his successor, Madho
Singh, decided it should be a museum for the art of
Jaipur and included as part of the new Ram Nivas
Garden.
 Itis famous for its magnificent collection of
paintings, crystal works, statues of stone,
metal and ivory and its carpets, it also houses
a modern art gallery.

 The Central Museum not only houses many


rarities and beautiful objects but its own
building is also a sight to behold.

 The Museum is inspired by the Indo-Sarcenic


style of architecture, which uses the best
features of both styles of building.

 Ithas many pillars, courtyards and arches that


give it a very traditional yet elegant look.
 The upper floor/level of the Museum mainly
has portraits of royalty and Jaipur Maharajas.
That does not in the least mean that the
museum only showcases the royal and
imperial relics, but it represent "all of Jaipur".

 Ithas an extensive collection of jewellery,


metalwork and sculpture.
 Thereare also many objects made of brass,
which display the skills of the expert hands
that have hammered and chiselled them to
perfection.

 The Central Museum also has a huge


collection of miniature paintings from the
Udaipur, Jaipur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh
schools of painting.

 There are also fine specimens of woodwork,


metal objects and other arts & crafts. One
can also see the old traditional ceremonial
dresses of the Kings and the royal families
besides a whole lot of pottery objects,
painting and sculptures.
Rambagh Palace

 The Rambagh
Palace was built in
1835 but was later
converted into a
hunting lodge and a
guesthouse.

 After a bit of
modifications, the
palace was made fit
to be the residence
for the Maharaja of
Jaipur.
Finally it was turned into a heritage hotel in
1972 and is now run by the Taj Group of
Hotels.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.wikipedia.com
Class notes

You might also like