Photograph of the Taj Mahal from the east. The mausoleum is in the Mughal architectural style with a large onion-shaped dome and a central vaulted recess known as an iwan which is surrounded by decorative floral motifs and quotes from the Qur'an. There is a minaret at each corner. There is a pavilion, each with three smaller domes, to either side of the mausoleum. Beyond the furthest pavilion there is a summerhouse with a small cupola. To the right is the Yamuna River, its water level very high, and washing has been laid out on the riverbank in the foreground to the left.
This is one of a series of photographs of Agra by Dr John Murray which were published in a volume with accompanying captions by J Middleton. Murray was an East India Company doctor who used waxed-paper negatives to produce photographs of the Mughal architecture of Agra and the surrounding area.
