Babatul Temple, Umritsar. Flying-foxes in trees
Photograph
ca. 1863-1864 (made)
ca. 1863-1864 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The octagonal tower of Baba Atal is the tallest building in Amritsar. It was built as a shrine to Atal Rai, the son of Guru Hargobind. According to popular legend, Atal Rai performed a miracle that restored a close friend to life. Guru Hargobind saw this as defying the law of nature, and his son therefore offered to give his own life in return for breaking the law. Atal Rai died after going into a meditative trance. Although only a child, he was given the title ‘Baba’, to denote his wisdom. The building was started in 1778 on the south side of the Harmandir complex, and was completed by the end of the 1790s. Its nine storeys represent the nine years of Baba Atal’s life. The photographer Samuel Bourne always sought the most picturesque view, as seen here.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Babatul Temple, Umritsar. Flying-foxes in trees |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
| Brief description | Photograph of the Baba Atal tower, Amritsar, c.1863-4. |
| Physical description | Baba Atal's tower stands in the centre of the photograph with the lake in front of it and trees and shrubs surrounding it. The tree in the foreground has the nests of flying foxes hanging from it. The Bourne and Shepherd negative number is in the bottom right hand corner. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | The octagonal tower of Baba Atal is the tallest building in Amritsar. It was built as a shrine to Atal Rai, the son of Guru Hargobind. According to popular legend, Atal Rai performed a miracle that restored a close friend to life. Guru Hargobind saw this as defying the law of nature, and his son therefore offered to give his own life in return for breaking the law. Atal Rai died after going into a meditative trance. Although only a child, he was given the title ‘Baba’, to denote his wisdom. The building was started in 1778 on the south side of the Harmandir complex, and was completed by the end of the 1790s. Its nine storeys represent the nine years of Baba Atal’s life. The photographer Samuel Bourne always sought the most picturesque view, as seen here. |
| Bibliographic reference | Stronge, S. (Ed.) "The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms", V&A, 1999
p. 54, Pl. 52, Cat. 220, p.239 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 52899 |
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| Record created | December 19, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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