Interior courtyard of the Jama Masjid, Delhi
Photograph
mid 19th century (made)
mid 19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Jama Masjid was built in 1644 and completed in 1658 by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658). The Mosque was under military occupation for five years after the Indian Mutiny in 1857 though it was not vandalised in contrast to the Kings Palace, the Red Fort. Built in red sandstone and crowned with elegant white marble domes, the Jama Masjid has three main gateways, four towers and two 40 metre minarets, and is recognised as one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Interior courtyard of the Jama Masjid, Delhi (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen photographic print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Felice Beato of Interior courtyard of the Jama Masjid, Delhi, India, about 1858 |
| Physical description | The Jama Masjid was built in 1644 and completed in 1658 by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658). The Mosque was under military occupation for five years after the Indian Mutiny in 1857 though it was not vandalised in contrast to the Kings Palace, the Red Fort. Built in red sandstone and crowned with elegant white marble domes, the Jama Masjid has three main gateways, four towers and two 40 metre minarets, and is recognised as one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Beato had a particular interest in photographing military campaigns. The rich diversity of his work in India developed after his arrival in February 1858, where he photographed the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and devastation in Delhi, Cawnpore and Lucknow, famous for its massacre of Europeans by the Indian army. Beato's war photographs of India range from portraits of commanding officers to vast landscapes and derelict forts and palaces. |
| Historical context | There is little conclusive evidence about the life of the 19th century photographer Felice A. Beato, who was born in Venice between 1825 and 1830, but became a naturalised British subject. Beato is most recognised as a war photographer where his travel from Europe provided the opportunity to record military war in India after the Mutiny of 1857, the opium wars in China in 1860 and Japan in 1862. Beato later died in Burma, ca 1908-1909. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Masselos, Jim and Gupta, Narayani (2000) " Beato's Delhi 1857, 1997", Ravi Dayal, Delhi. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.2066-1905 |
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| Record created | May 19, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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