Not currently on display at the V&A

Views of the Sacred Tank in the great Pagoda

Photograph
January 1858-March 1858 (photographed), 1860 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Linnaeus Tripe (1822-1902) documented much of south India as official photographer to the Madras government (1856-1860). His album Photographs of Madura: Part III contains fifteen images of the Great Pagoda of Madura, a famous and celebrated piece of architecture. This photograph shows the east gopuram, or gateway behind a beautiful pool of water. The text accompanying the image states, 'The origin of this Tank [water] is described in the Kala Puranam as follows. Previously to the discovery by the merchant Dhananjaya of the sacred lingam the deities who were assembled meditating upon and adoring it, expressed a desire for a Tank of surpassing excellence, upon which the complaisant Shiva struck his trisullam or trident into the ground in the vicinity, and on withdrawing it the holy stream of Ganda appeared. This was enclosed within proper bounds and called Pottamarai or the golden lotus, which flower grew in the Tank'.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleViews of the Sacred Tank in the great Pagoda (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from waxed paper (calotype) negative
Brief description
Photograph, No. XIII 'Views of the Sacred Tank in the great Pagoda', from the photograph album by Capt. Linnaeus Tripe, 'Photographs of Madura: Part III', South India, 1858
Physical description
This black and white photograph shows
Dimensions
  • Photographic print height: 278mm
  • Photographic print width: 385mm
  • Album page height: 453mm
  • Album page width: 572mm
Production typeLimited edition
Credit line
Given by Lady Denison
Object history
This photograph was given by Lady Denison in 1889 during the keepership of Caspar Purdon Clarke, Keeper of the Indian Section of the V&A. It was written off in 1937, and rediscovered and re-evaluated in the 1990s. See Dewan p.431 for listings of other copies elsewhere.
This photograph was published as plate XIII of fifteen in the album Photographs of Madura: Part III 1858, by 'Captain L. Tripe, Government Photographer', published in 1860. It was taken as part of Tripe's remit as the government photographer, which he himself defined broadly, as recording, ‘before they disappear’ buildings, sculptures and inscriptions…' including the picturesque. This was a model for an extensive survey, including tuition of others and experimentation in his own practice. He was funded by the Madras government, but intended selling additional copies of some prints so that his practice could be self-funding.

This photograph was published with the following text:
'These [this image and plate 14, IS.40:15-1889] represent the sacred Tank within the great Pagoda. The East [sic] Gopuram is in the centre of View No.13, the Gopuram to the right surmounts the entrance to the Garbhigriham, while to the extreme right the summit of the Vimana may be seen… The origin of this Tank is described in the Kala Puranam as follows. Previously to the discovery by the merchant Dhananjaya of the sacred lingam the deities who were assembled meditating upon and adoring it, expressed a desire for a Tank of surpassing excellence, upon which the complaisant Shiva struck his trisullam or trident into the ground in the vicinity, and on withdrawing it the holy stream of Ganda appeared. This was enclosed within proper bounds and called Pottamarai or the golden lotus, which flower grew in the Tank.
Special sanctity attaches to the reservoir, and whenever the visits of gods or men to Madura are described in the chronicles of the place, bathing in the Tank is mentioned as one of their exploits. No living creature is to be found in it, the unimaginative European would be apt to attribute this to the horribly filthy condition of the water, which is about the colour and consistence of (though scarcely as fragrant as,) green pea soup; The devout Hindu however would inform us that a certain Heron was once sorely tempted by hunger to eat some small fishes which he observed falling from the hair of some Rishis who were bathing in the Tank, but recollecting that the place was holy, abstained, and as a reward was not only received by Shiva into Kailasa, but received permission to make any request it might choose; this was “that no living “creature might henceforward be produced in the tank lest any unfortunate Heron might “succumb to the temptation which itself had overcome. This request was granted, and “the golden Lotus Tank produces no living creature to this day.”'

Historical significance: Tripe's photographs of South India are an important body of work within Tripe's oeuvre, and are recognised as being some of the most aesthetically and technically competent images of India made in the 19th century.
Tripe entered his Madura series as part of total of 50 photographs from his 1857–8 tour of South India in the 1859 annual exhibition of the Madras Photographic Society. The jury dubbed his photographs ‘the best in the Exhibition’ but as Tripe could not be classed an amateur, he could not win the gold medal. Tripe declined the silver medal amicably, since he considered that as an official photographer he had an unfair advantage over the other entrants.
Tripe’s photographs were valued for their informational value and their technical quality. The adjudicating committee stated that Tripe’s photographs ‘illustrate admirably the architecture of the Hindoo Temples and Places of Southern India, and in particular the Madura and Tanjore series comprise in this respect all that is most worthy of record in those cities.’ (See Dewan, p.16). Forty-six of Tripe’s 50 exhibited images were made from paper (calotype) negatives, which the committee didn't feel were as successful as dry collodion-on-glass negatives, however, declaring that ‘the superiority of definition given by Collodion [-on-glass] is very visible when placed side by side with them.’ It is thought that Tripe prefered paper to glass negatives due to paper being easier and safer to work with.
Historical context
The southern districts tour and Madras presidency photographs, 1857-58
The Madras government appointed Tripe as photographer following the 1855 directive from the Court of Directors in London, who discouraged illustration in favour of 'photography as a means by which representations may be obtained of scenes and buildings, with the advantages of perfect accuracy, small expenditure of time, and moderate cash', and asked that photography be the main means of recording architecture and antiquities (Dewan, p.6).

As official photographer to the Madras Government, Tripe set off from Bangalore on 14 December 1857 after delays due to waiting for modifications to his new English camera, and his recovery after falling from a horse. He ended his tour in Madras on 30 April 1858 after travelling via Srirangam, Tiruchchirappalli, Madurai, then Pudukkottai, Tanjore, and Tiruchchirappalli again (then called Seeringham, Trichinopoly, Madura, Poodoocottah and Tanjore).

All of these areas had been forcefully taken under British rule in the previous one hundred years, but Tripe looked for scenes or subjects with architectural or antiquarian interest rather than political significance. He had wanted to ensure his images were practical too: before he had set out he had asked the chief engineer for guidance on what would be most useful from an engineering perspective, and incorporated this input into his work.
Production
Edition number unknown. The album of which this photograph is part is one of between 71 and 74 copies.

Attribution note: The V&A has another copy of Tripe's Photographic Views in Madura, parts I to IV (bound) in the National Art Library, pressmark 104.N. The Royal Photographic Society holds the waxed paper negative.
Reason For Production: Commission
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Linnaeus Tripe (1822-1902) documented much of south India as official photographer to the Madras government (1856-1860). His album Photographs of Madura: Part III contains fifteen images of the Great Pagoda of Madura, a famous and celebrated piece of architecture. This photograph shows the east gopuram, or gateway behind a beautiful pool of water. The text accompanying the image states, 'The origin of this Tank [water] is described in the Kala Puranam as follows. Previously to the discovery by the merchant Dhananjaya of the sacred lingam the deities who were assembled meditating upon and adoring it, expressed a desire for a Tank of surpassing excellence, upon which the complaisant Shiva struck his trisullam or trident into the ground in the vicinity, and on withdrawing it the holy stream of Ganda appeared. This was enclosed within proper bounds and called Pottamarai or the golden lotus, which flower grew in the Tank'.
Bibliographic reference
Dewan, Janet. The Photographs of Linnaeus Tripe: A Catalogue Raisonné. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2003, p.431.
Collection
Accession number
IS.40:14-1889

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Record createdJanuary 3, 2007
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