Photograph of sculptures at Hampi, 19th century, India.

In the centre of the image is a sculpture of Krishna carved on a pillar in a temple at Hampi.

The V&A holds 16+? prints of Vijayanagara photographed by students of the School of Industrial Arts, Madras. This print was purchased by the V&A in 1871 from the superintendent of the school, Dr Hunter, and is held in the Asian Dept.

The Photograph Register No.71275-77283 held in the V&A's PDP dept lists this photograph as "Purchased of Dr Hunter, Superintendent of Art School, Madras. 29th Aug. 1871".

The glass negative, along with this print, were both made in the late 1860s, and a duplicate print 2736-1906 also held at the V&A was probably made at a later date prior to 1906. The glass negative is not known and the two V&A prints of this photograph are the only known prints.

This photograph was initially part of the photographic collection held in the National Art Library at the V&A. The markings on the mount are an indication of the history of the object, its movement through the museum and the way it is categorised.

Mount inscriptions -

The photograph is top mounted on cream board and shows the original handwritten inscriptions:

Top right corner: 'A.in. HAMPI'
Bottom left corner: 'School of Arts' overwritten with 'Hampi: Krishna Dancing/ on the Snake. Carved stone pillar.'
Bottom right corner: '71,890./ Krishna dancing o--/ the Snake/ Carved Stone P--'
Verso: 'Sch of Arts Madras'

Historical significance: The Vijayanagara empire ruled southern India from 1336 -1565. As India’s last large state system prior to the British colonial takeover, it has been perceived as the final great era of 'traditional' Hindu India and also as a transitional phase which transformed Indian society from its medieval past towards its modern, colonial era. The empire built its imperial capital, Vijayanagara ('city of victory'), around the ancient religious centre of the Virupaksha temple on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River at Hampi, Bellary District, Northern Karnataka. Three dynasties ruled from Vijayanagara: the Sangama (1336-1485), the Saluva (1485-1505) and the Tuluva (1505-1565). By the year 1500,Vijayanagara was the second most populous city (after Beijing) in the late medieval world. The Vijayanagara rulers fostered developments in intellectual pursuits and the arts, warfare, engineering and agriculture, and were also great patrons of religion.

The ruins at Hampi represent the largest concentration of Vijayanagara architecture and are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as 'the Group of Monuments at Hampi'. Vijayanagara architecture consists of religious, courtly and civic buildings and sculpture. Granite, the local and durable stone, was used with plaster applied to many sculptures to produce a smooth finish which was then gilded or colourfully painted. Its sacred architecture is characterised by a return to a more serene art of the past, taking elements from the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola periods, while its secular architecture fuses together Hindu and Islamic forms to produce a new, hybrid style.

This sculpted pier is found in the south face of the maha mandapa of the Vitthala temple. The sculpture depicts Krishna dancing on the snake.

The photograph is significant as both a visual record of structures within the Vitthala temple complex and as an example of photography at that time. Taken in the late 1860s when photography was considered both an art form and a tool of documentation, the School of Industrial Arts' photographs present elegantly cropped compositions and technically proficient images of sculpture at Vijayanagara. Unlike the more usual picturesque treatment of architectural photography at Hampi at that time, these photographs have closely cropped compositions which often emphasize strong verticals and dynamic use of natural light.

Since then, many of the sculptures have altered in appearance due to further disintegration, banditry, conservation, tourism and development, and some have been moved or disappeared altogether.

As one of the first schools in Asia to offer the subject, the School of Industrial Arts, Madras, introduced photography as a subject in 1855. The school's principal, Dr. A. Hunter, encouraged students to record ethnographic practices and to document monuments. These photographs were taken by students in the late 1860s.

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