Not currently on display at the V&A

Baba Atal's Temple - the sacred temple - east view

Photograph
ca. 1858-1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Beato, Felice (artist)
Place of origin
Amritsar (made)

Felice Beato took many photographs of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, from different viewpoints. This one shows the east view of the temple. In the distance on the left-hand side is Baba Atal’s tower.


Object details

Categories
Photographs
SCRAN
Object type
Photograph
TitleBaba Atal's Temple - the sacred temple - east view
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Photograph of the Golden Temple with Baba Atal's tower in the distance.
Physical description
This photograph shows the east view of the Golden Temple. In the distance on the left hand side is Baba Atal's tower.
Dimensions
  • Height: 23.2cm
  • Width: 27.9cm
Historical context
After the Indian army 'mutinied' in 1857 Felice Beato travelled through India photographing the sites connected with it. Although there had been incidents in Amritsar, it was not a 'Mutiny' site such as Lucknow and Delhi. In all, Beato took eleven photographs of the Golden Temple from different view points. The photographs were offered for sale to the public, ten of the 17 views of Amritsar listed in the sales catalogue were displayed in the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. The V&A has 11 of the 17 views, three of which were displayed in Paris and retain their original 1867 mounts marked with their 1867 catalogue numbers.
Subject depicted
Architecture, Buildings
Summary
Felice Beato took many photographs of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, from different viewpoints. This one shows the east view of the temple. In the distance on the left-hand side is Baba Atal’s tower.
Bibliographic reference
Stronge, S. (Ed.) "The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms", V&A, 1999 p. 38, Pl. 33 and p. 211, Cat. 19
Other number
U2 - Beato's negative number
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
80093

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Record createdDecember 20, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72280/baba-atals-temple---photograph-beato-felice/
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