Photograph
ca.1863-1866 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The Taj Mahal from the corner of the quadrangle. This magnificent, white marble mausoleum was built under the rule of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in honour of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth of their 14 child. Built over a period of 20 years the tomb was completed in 1648 by thousands of workmen and master craftsmen who contributed to its renowned achitectural splendor and beauty.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
Brief description | Photograph by Samuel Bourne of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India. ca.1863-1866. |
Physical description | The Taj Mahal from the corner of the quadrangle. This magnificent, white marble mausoleum was built under the rule of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in honour of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth of their 14 child. Built over a period of 20 years the tomb was completed in 1648 by thousands of workmen and master craftsmen who contributed to its renowned achitectural splendor and beauty. |
Dimensions |
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Historical context | Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) left his job as a bank clerk in Nottingham to become a professional photographer, and in 1863 sailed to India to develop his new career. He remained there for several years to become recognised as one of the most successful British photographers to document the expanding British empire. His photographs were produced primarily for the European market, and provided a glimpse of India as a distant colonised land and its people. Bourne's photographic success was a combination of his impressive photographic skill and ability to present photographs of India that co-incided with the western, Orientalist vision of the exotic East. In 1870 Bourne took up permanent residency in England and withdrew from photography after establishing a cotton-doubling mill. In 1896 after retiring from business he devoted his time to watercolour painting. |
Bibliographic reference | Haworth-Booth, Mark (1984) 'The Golden Age of British Photography 1839-1900: Photography from the Victoria and Albert Museum' Aperture in assoc. with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Taylor, Roger (1980) "Samuel Bourne: Photographic Views in India", Sheffield City Polytechnic, Nottingham. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 53237 |
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Record created | May 14, 2003 |
Record URL |
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