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Nanakshahi bricks (Punjabi:ਨਾਨਕਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਇੱਟ; meaning "belonging to the reign of Guru Nanak"[1]), also known asLakhuri bricks,[2] were decorativebricks used for structural walls during theMughal era.[note 1][3] They were employed for constructing historical Sikh architecture, such as at the Golden Temple complex.[1] The British colonists also made use of the bricks in Punjab.[4]
Nanakshahi bricks were used in the Mughal-era more for aesthetic or ornamental reasons rather than structural reasons.[5] This variety of brick tiles were of moderate dimensions and could be used for reinforcinglimeconcretes in the structural walls and other thick components. But, as they mademoldings,cornices,plasters, etc. easy to work into a variety of shapes, they were more often used ascladding or decorative material. In the present-day, the bricks are sometimes used to give a "historical" look to settings, such as when the surrounding of the Golden Temple complex was heavily renovated in the 2010s.[6]
Nanakshahi bricks are moderate in-size.[5] More often than not, the structures on which they were used, especially theSikh temples (Gurudwaras),[7] were a combination of two systems:trabeated andpost-and-lintel, or based onarches. The surfaces were treated with lime orgypsum plaster which was molded intocornices,pilasters, and other structural as well as non-structural embellishments.[8] Brick and limemortar as well as lime or gypsum plaster, and lime concrete were the most favoured building materials, although stone (such as red stone andwhite marble) were also used in a number of shrines.[9] Many fortresses were built using these bricks.[10] They come in 4”x4” and 4”x6’’ sizes.[6]
Due to a lack of understanding, sometimes contemporary writers confuse the Lakhuri bricks with other similar but distinct regional variants. For example, some writers use "Lakhuri bricks and Nanakshahi bricks" implying two different things, and others use "Lakhuri bricks or Nanakshahi bricks" inadvertently implying either are the same or two different things, leading to confusion on if they are the same, especially if these words are casually mentioned interchangeably.
Lakhuri bricks were used by the Mughal Empire that spanned across the Indian subcontinent,[11] whereas Nanak Shahi bricks were used mainly across theSikh Empire,[12] that was spread across thePunjab region in the north-west Indian subcontinent,[13] when Sikhs were in conflict with the Mughal Empire due to thereligious persecution of Sikhs by Mughals.[14][15][16] Coins struck by Sikh rulers between 1764 CE to 1777 CE were calledGobind Shahi coins (bearing an inscription in the name ofGuru Gobind Singh), and coins struck from 1777 onward were calledNanak Shahi coins (bearing an inscription in the name ofGuru Nanak).[17][18]
Mughal-era Lakhuri bricks predate Nanakshahi bricks, as seen inBahadurgarh Fort of Patiala that was built by theMughal Nawab Saif Khan in 1658 CE using earlier-era Lakhuri bricks, and nearly 80 years later it was renovated using later-era Nanakshahi bricks and renamed in the honor of Guru Tegh Bahadur (asGuru Teg Bahadur had stayed at this fort for three months and nine days before leaving for Delhi when he was executed byAurangzeb in 1675 CE) byMaharaja of Patiala Karam Singh in 1837 CE.[12][19][20][21] Since the timeline of both the Mughal Empire and Sikh Empire overlapped, both Lakhuri and Nanakshahi bricks were used around the same time in their respective dominions. Restoration architect authorAnil Laul clarifies "We, therefore, had slim bricks known as the Lakhori and Nanakshahi bricks in India and the slim Roman bricks or their equivalents for many other parts of the world."[22]
Peter Bance, when evaluating the status of Sikh sites in present-day India, where the majority of Sikhs live today, criticizes the destruction of the originality of 19th century Sikh sites under the guise of "renovation", whereby historical structures are toppled and new buildings take their former place.[23] An example cited by him of sites losing their originality relates to nanakshahi bricks, which are characteristic of Sikh architecture from the 19th century, being replaced by renovators of historical Sikh sites in India by marble and gold.[23]
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