Seventeenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The Ahom dynasty ruled Assam, India, for nearly 600 years in Assam (1228–1826). Their reign had a significant impact on the cultural heritage of Assam. Today, most of the surviving tangible heritage of Assam, like early monuments, has the imprints of Ahom architecture. These architectures are constructed using stones, bricks and mortars. Most of the brick architectures have managed to survive in fragments; this is due to natural causes like earthquakes, vegetation and weather conditions of the landscape. This cause has significantly impacted the existing ornamentations of these heritage buildings. The pilot study discloses that out of more than 30 Ahom monuments, only three brick monuments have managed to survive the stucco ornamentations. These are Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar of Sivasagar District and Kareng Ghar of Charaideu district of Assam, India. Considering conserving these ornamentations, this paper examines the stucco patterns and their underlying design principles used as architectural ornamentation. The study includes photos and video documentation along with semi-structured interviews. As the data were extensive, the categorization method to structure the data has been adopted. With the categorized data, Variation, Visual, and Symmetry analysis are considered. The analysis considers the analysis of shapes, forms, colours, and textures used in pattern compositions. To study the variations in structural arrangements, one-dimensional pattern class analysis has been considered. The results attempts to disclose a visual framework of the dominant pattern types and pattern classes used by the early artisans and the underlying design principles followed to achieve harmony in the overall structure.