Museum objects, artifacts, and archival items from the Sarmaya collection.
This book contains observation on Indian customs as well as accounts of sports as practiced by natives from the years before 1801. It attempts to document different methods of hunting in the subcontinent and gives details on the differences that existed between practices in various districts and regions. This edition, the second, of the book… Read more »
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, company officials and professional artists played an important role in collecting and disseminating knowledge about India – an activity central to British imperialism. The discovery and definition of vegetation and fauna helped the Company’s mission of exploiting lucrative raw materials and furthering scientific research. Sketching was a quick and… Read more »
The 18th and 19th centuries saw many visits from British artists to India. They travelled everywhere and stayed with royal families. Before the lithographic press was invented, artists collaborated with engravers and woodcutters to get portraits engraved and then printed. This is an engraving of a portrait of Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, the eldest son… Read more »
The Delhi Durbar of 1903 was conceived by Lord Curzon to celebrate the succession of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark as Emperor and Empress of India. On 24 January 1901, two days after the death of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII was proclaimed the Emperor of India. King Edward, for many ruling heads of… Read more »
This shadow puppet of Lord Ganesha is from Tholu Bommalaata, puppet tradition of Andhra Pradesh in India. Here, tholu means leather, bommalu means puppets and aata means dance. Every Tholu Bomalaata performance starts with offering a prayer to Lord Ganesha asking for his blessings. He is an important deity in the Hindu Pantheon and is regarded as the remover of obstacles… Read more »
The coin was minted in surat and is a ‘kalima’ type. It reads “kalima shahada” inscribed around the name of four Khalifas (Caliphs) which are inscribed inside the square, on the obverse. It reads “muhammad murad baksh badshah ghazi” on the reverse. Murad Bakhsh was the youngest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz… Read more »
This coin is a ‘noordah’ couplet coin minted in the town of Kabul. It reads ‘Tazand az namme jahangir shah, sikka buwad noor dahe mihr-o-mah, do chashmi he, zarb kabul’. The coin is silver and struck inside a circle. The coin flan is broad and the inscription on both obverse and reverse appears interspersed with… Read more »
This coin is a decorative ‘kalima type’ seen during the reign of Jahangir. It was minted probably in the brief period that Bijapur was in the possession of the Mughals. Both Akbar and Jahangir attempted yet failed to consolidate power in the state of Bijapur. The coin is silver and struck inside a circle. The… Read more »
This photograph from the ‘Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore’ was taken by Dr. A.C.B.Neill in 1856. Pictured are the incomplete facets of the adhisthana (temple base) and the bhitti (wall) of the temple. The Chennakeshava Temple complex in Belur consists of several smaller shrines and monuments constructed by several kings over the centuries. According to James Fergusson, it was… Read more »
This photograph from the ‘Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore’ was taken by Dr. A.C.B.Neill in 1856. Pictured here is the outer wall of the pillared hall of the temple. The photographer has finely captured the carved rows and niches of the adhisthana (temple base), jali vatayana (netted wall), and the pilasters on the bhitti (body/wall) of the temple. The adhisthana (temple… Read more »
The Battle of Ramnagar which took place between British and Sikh forces during the 2nd Sikh War (1848-1849) incurred great losses for the British. Fought on the banks of the river Chenab in Punjab on 22 November 1848, the battle had resulted in an unambiguous victory for the Sikh forces. Yet, this engraving which depicts… Read more »
A mezzotint engraving produced by John Vendramini, this triptych illustrates three episodes from the final victory of the British over the Mysore state during the 4th Anglo-Mysore War (1798-99). Spanning nine feet across, it was created after a painting by Sir Robert Ker Porter, one of the first artists to depict this landmark episode in… Read more »
This topographical map of a part of the Coromandel Coast depicts Pondicherry and its surrounding territories. Tranquebar was a small town on the Carnatic Coast. Fort Dansborg at Tranquebar was established by the Danes in 1620 and sold to the British in 1845. The Danish East India Company lost out to the British, who cornered… Read more »
This historic paper map entitled ‘The East Indies including more particularly the British Dominions on the Continent of India’, by John Blair ; T. Kitchin, senr. sculpsit., was published by in 1773. It covers India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and portions of Maldives, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Burma, and Indonesia. The map shows features… Read more »
This photograph from the ‘Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore’ was taken by Dr. A.C.B.Neill in 1856. The temple identified here is the Chennakeshava temple in Belur, Karnataka. The photograph shows the entrance to the temple flanked by small subordinating shrines on either side of the stairway. The topmost structure consists of five devakoshtas (niches) with divinities inside. … Read more »
This photograph from the ‘Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore’ was taken by photographer Dr. William Henry Pigou in 1856. The temple identified here is the Chalukyan Doddabasappa temple built in the 12th century and is located 20kms away from Gadag city in Karnataka. Incorrectly captioned as a Jain temple by the photographer/publisher, the temple is dedicated… Read more »
This is a shadow puppet of Bangarakka, a comic character from Tholu Bommalaata, shadow puppet tradition of Andhra Pradesh in India. Here, tholu means leather, bommalu means puppets and aata means dance. Bangarakka, a female comic, and her husband Ketigadu are popular jesters best known for their witty and humorous dialogues during the performance of… Read more »
This Mata-ni-Pachedi venerates the Bahuchara Mata, depicted sitting on a rooster. Two diminutive goddesses flank her on either side. Benevolent protector of India’s hijra community, the Bahuchara Mata or Becharaji is most commonly portrayed seated on a rooster. The bird represents virility and devotees of the goddess seek help with infertility, among other maladies. Historically,… Read more »
This Mata-ni-Pachedi celebrates and venerates the Hadkai Mata, depicted standing on a large chariot shrine pulled by four dogs. Goddess Hadkai, also known as Hadkamai, Hadaksha, Hadkabai and Hulan, is the Goddess who protects against rabies. Rabies is a real and present danger due to the large population of dogs that live in and around… Read more »
Edward Weller’s engraving is part of a series of maps from around the world published in the British Weekly Dispatch newspaper. The city of Lucknow is remembered as the site of prolonged siege during the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion. Weller’s engraving emphasises the dividing lines within the recently acquired settlement, highlighting the separation of the British… Read more »