Interior view of the Eastern colonnade, Delhi.
Photograph
1860s (photographed)
1860s (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This colonnade of pillars makes up the east side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi. Built between 1193 and 1199 by Qutbuddin Aibak, it is the earliest surviving mosque in India. It was constructed as a symbol of victory and consists of a simple rectangle enclosing a central quadrangle court measuring 43.2 by 33 metres internally. Three sides of the mosque (including this one) have pillared colonnades built from the remains of 27 demolished Hindu and Jain temples.
The pillars here are three deep, with carved decoration that contains a mixture of Hindu and Jain motifs. They include lotus flowers, scrolling foliage and ‘kalasa’ (pots or vessels overflowing with flowery creepers). These vessels are a Brahmanical motif signifying abundance and overflowing prosperity.
The British photographer Samuel Bourne lived and worked in India between 1862 and 1869. During this time he toured the Himalayas and travelled through the subcontinent, photographing its landscape, architecture and historical sites. He set up a studio in Simla with Charles Shepherd and sold his prints sold to an eager public both in India and Britain.
The pillars here are three deep, with carved decoration that contains a mixture of Hindu and Jain motifs. They include lotus flowers, scrolling foliage and ‘kalasa’ (pots or vessels overflowing with flowery creepers). These vessels are a Brahmanical motif signifying abundance and overflowing prosperity.
The British photographer Samuel Bourne lived and worked in India between 1862 and 1869. During this time he toured the Himalayas and travelled through the subcontinent, photographing its landscape, architecture and historical sites. He set up a studio in Simla with Charles Shepherd and sold his prints sold to an eager public both in India and Britain.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Interior view of the Eastern colonnade, Delhi. (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative |
| Brief description | Photograph of the eastern colonnade of pillars at the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutb Minar complex, Delhi, India, by Samuel Bourne, 1860s. |
| Physical description | This photograph shows a colonnade of pillars which make up the east side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. This is the earliest extant mosque in India built between 1193-1199. The mosque was built by Qutbuddin Aibak as a symbol of victory, and consists of a simple rectangle, enclosing a central quadrangle court measuring 43.2 x 33m internally. Three sides of the mosque have pillared colonnades built using the remains of 27 demolished Hindu and Jain temples, a fact recorded on the main eastern entrance to the mosque. As can be seen here, the east side of the colonnade is three pillars deep (the north and south side being two pillars deep). The decoration on the Hindu/Jain iconography on the pillars is clearly visible showing lotus flowers, scrolling foliage and kalasa vessels overflowing with flowery creepers, this being a Brahmanical motif signifying abundance and overflowing prosperity. See photograph number 53,218 for an external view of the same colonnade. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Signature and negative number are in the bottom right hand side. |
| Object history | The photograph was initially part of the photographic collection held in the National Art Library. The markings on the mount are an indication of the history of the object, its movement through the museum and the way in which it is categorised. The mount is green. On the right hand side there is a label with the title. |
| Historical context | Bourne took this photograph on his journey through India during the 1860s. In the published account of his journey, on his first encounter with Delhi on June 25th 1863 he wrote: ‘Of course Delhi can’t fail to be interesting to the photographer: the Cashmere Gate, the fort, and other noted places must be taken, while its mosques and similar buildings will be photographed for their own merits. About eleven miles from Delhi is the famous Kootub, of which many of my readers have seen Beato’s large photograph, published by Hering, of Regent Street.’ Bourne, S, Photography in the East, The British Journal of Photography, September 1 1863, pg 345. The Architectural historian, James Fergusson said of the pillars that: ‘…there would be no difficulty in taking down and rebuilding these erections, because the joints of the pillars are all fitted with the precision that Hindu patience alone could give.’ A History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, James Fergusson, London, Vol II. 1910, pg 202. |
| Production | Bourne visited Delhi in 1863, as mentioned in his writings. He is also likely to have made subsequent visits in 1864 and 1866 though this is not recorded in his writings. This print would have been made before March 1867. |
| Places depicted | |
| Summary | This colonnade of pillars makes up the east side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi. Built between 1193 and 1199 by Qutbuddin Aibak, it is the earliest surviving mosque in India. It was constructed as a symbol of victory and consists of a simple rectangle enclosing a central quadrangle court measuring 43.2 by 33 metres internally. Three sides of the mosque (including this one) have pillared colonnades built from the remains of 27 demolished Hindu and Jain temples. The pillars here are three deep, with carved decoration that contains a mixture of Hindu and Jain motifs. They include lotus flowers, scrolling foliage and ‘kalasa’ (pots or vessels overflowing with flowery creepers). These vessels are a Brahmanical motif signifying abundance and overflowing prosperity. The British photographer Samuel Bourne lived and worked in India between 1862 and 1869. During this time he toured the Himalayas and travelled through the subcontinent, photographing its landscape, architecture and historical sites. He set up a studio in Simla with Charles Shepherd and sold his prints sold to an eager public both in India and Britain. |
| Bibliographic reference | Bourne, S, Photography in the East, The British Journal of Photography, September 1 1863, pg 345. |
| Other number | 1374 - Negative number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 53219 |
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| Record created | December 21, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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