Photograph of Fatehpur Sikri, India by Samuel Bourne, 1860s.

This photograph shows the Panch Mahal, one of the principle buildings in the Imperial Palace complex at Fatehpur Sikri.

This photograph shows the Panch Mahal before renovation, the balustrade on the first floor is plain, the eaves on the next two floors show a lot of damage and a lot of rubble can be seen in the background

People have been placed in the foreground and on the first of the five floors to gave a sence of scale.

This 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 it is categorised.
This window mount is similar to others in the collection. It has a label with red edging with the title of the photograph. This type of label and mount suggests inclusion in an exhibition, possibly the Paris exhibition of 1867 or the subsequent South Kensington exhibition for which no catalogue has been found.

Historical significance: The Panch Mahal is one of the buildings of the Imperial palace compex.

The Panch Mahal is so named because it is a tower like structure made up of five floors decreasing in size from the bottom up. The entire structure consists of red sandstone columns, the ground floor has 84, the first floor has 56, the second, 20 and the third, 12; with the top storey ending in a single domed kiosk with four pillars. The columns of the first floor are most ornately carved.

There are different theories about the use of the building one being it may have been used by Akbar and the ladies of the harem.

According to one source ( Rizvi & Flynn), during the Viceroyship of Lord Mayo
(1869-1872), a considerable amount of ‘renovation’ was carried out on the building; screens which formed cubicles on the ground floor were removed, the current low pierced balustrades on the first and fourth floors were put into place and the stairs ascending the building were rebuilt to a different plan. According to the original format, this would have been a more screened and secluded building.

This photograph shows the Panch Mahal before renovation, the balustrade on the first floor is plain, the eaves on the next two floors show a lot of damage and a lot of rubble can be seen in the background. It is interesting to note that on this photography (c.1865) it is not possible to see any steps leading from the third to the fourth floor but that in a slightly later photograph, 67,898, (1866-69) there is a set of steps at the front and then a much later photograph 3419-1910, (1900?) the steps have been moved to the back of the structure as noted by Rizvi & Flynn.
(Did Bourne take any panoramas from the top? Is it because there was no access?)
Bourne photograph 53,269, also shows no steps in existence but a space at the top where there would have been steps at the front.

The Panch Mahal is one of the buildings of the Imperial palace compex at Fatehpur Sikri. The city in Agra, north-west India, was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (ruled 1556-1605).

The name of the Panch Mahal (Five Palaces) derives from the tower-like structure made up of five floors, decreasing in size from the bottom up. The entire structure consists of red sandstone columns. The ground floor has 84, the first floor has 56, the second floor 20, and the third 12. The top storey ends in a single domed kiosk with four pillars. The columns of the first floor are the most ornately carved.

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.

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