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here. I do agree with some of Dr. Fraser's affirmations. Given the fact that arches of triumph also appeared in Portuguese India they are partly relevant to my research and, historical and cultural differences aside, it would be difficult to gloss over certain implications present in her arguments. While keeping these in mind, it is equally important not to lose sight of more purely art-historical questions.
During the sixteenth century the Portuguese introduced the Arch of Triumph as a decorative element in the façades of both their civic and religious buildings in India. Since this is a subsidiary contention to my main argument, I cannot but treat it summarily by means of a number of examples.
Indian Urban Examples and Damão's Episcopal Church
Two of the finest examples showing the employment of arches of triumph in urban architecture in India, the Arch of the Viceroys, Goa, and that of the ruins of Baçaim Fort, will suffice to illustrate my point.
The first of these, constructed in 1599 under the orders of Dom Francisco da Gama, grandson of Vasco da Gama, formed part of the main city gate leading to the Governor's Palace. It is the work of Julio Simão, a locally born architect of French descent.
Simão employed a subdued rusticated idiom for the articulation of the main structures of his design with an almost inconspicuous use of the classical orders. The decoration of the structure as a whole is sparse, consisting mainly of carved metopes, of pyramids with spheres at the corners of the first storey and the royal coat of arms at the top.
In the original design a niche above the main entrance arch displayed a statue of Vasco da Gama with an image of St. Catherine in a small attic above. The latter intruded into the pediment below in typical Mannerist fashion.
The use of rustication was popular amongst certain cinquecento Italian Mannerist architects such as Giulio Romano. In this instance rustication combined with an arch of triumph was evidently intended to convey the victory and strength of the Portuguese crown, although it is obvious that considerations of a purely aesthetic nature must equally