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Chota Imambada

Photograph
mid 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Chota Imambada or Hussainabad was built by and for the Nawab Muhammed Ali Shah. In front of this palace there is a large courtyard with a small raised bridge above a rectangular watertank, and on either side of the courtyard there is a miniature version of the Taj Mahal. In one of the tombs lies the daughter of Muhammed Ali Shah, and in the other the remains of her husband.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleChota Imambada (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen photographic print
Brief description
Photograph by Felice Beato of Chota Imambada, Hussainabad, after the Indian Mutiny, Lucknow, India. ca.1858.
Physical description
The Chota Imambada or Hussainabad was built by and for the Nawab Muhammed Ali Shah. In front of this palace there is a large courtyard with a small raised bridge above a rectangular watertank, and on either side of the courtyard there is a miniature version of the Taj Mahal. In one of the tombs lies the daughter of Muhammed Ali Shah, and in the other the remains of her husband.
Dimensions
  • Height: 25.2cm
  • Width: 30cm
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 Indian 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.
Subject depicted
Bibliographic reference
Masselos, Jim and Gupta, Narayani (2000) " Beato's Delhi 1857, 1997", Ravi Dayal, Delhi.
Collection
Accession number
PH.2100-1905

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Record createdMay 20, 2003
Record URL
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