Museum objects, artifacts, and archival items from the Sarmaya collection.
This is a photograph taken by Bourne and Shepherd in 1903 of the Maharaja of Alwar, Jai Singh Prabhakar (1882-1937), with members of the Council and Colonel Fagan. The state of Alwar (present-day Rajasthan) was one of the princely states of the Rajputana region of British India. Founded by Rajput chief Pratap Singh in 1775,… Read more »
This engraving depicts the battle scene between the British troops led by Major Vincent Eyre and the Oudh (Oude) rebel forces in Allahabad (now, Prayagraj). The revolt of 1857 was a crucial point in India’s colonial history, marking the first widespread form of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company. It spread… Read more »
This engraving depicts the charge of the Highlanders’ 78th unit before the city of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) during the revolt of 1857. Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in Uttar Pradesh was an important fortified town for the East India Company’s forces. Kanpur was the site of a massacre on June 27, 1857, when the city’s besieged population,… Read more »
This engraving depicts British officers, a woman and a child facing the rebel soldiers while escaping during the revolt of 1857-58. The revolt of 1857 was a crucial moment in India’s colonial past and the first widespread and semi-structured form of rebellion against the rule of the British East India company. It was widespread across… Read more »
This engraving portrays a morbid scene depicting the shooting of Colonel John Platt of the 23 Regiment Bengal Native Infantry and Station Commander Mhow by the mutineers in 1857. Mhow in Madhya Pradesh was a critical battlefield during the Rebellion of 1857 in Central India. On July 1, 1857, the revolt reached Mhow, when numerous… Read more »
This engraving depicts scenes from the disarming of cavalry of soldiers by the British units at Berhampur in present-day West Bengal during the revolt of 1857. On the 27th of February 1857, Berhampur (now Berhampore) was one of the first places of sepoy insurrection in the British cantonments at Barrack Square, when the 19th Native… Read more »
This 19th-century engraving of the tomb of Mohamed Adil Shah, the 7th ruler of Bijapur, Karnataka, was drawn by S. Prout, a British artist, after a sketch by R. Elliot, a Royal Navy officer. After the Bahmani kingdoms (1347-1526 A.D) fell apart, the Adil Shah dynasty of Bijapur rose to prominence as the most potent… Read more »
This book is a gazetteer compiled from the London Times Correspondence, by McCullock, and others containing geographical and statistical information on various aspects of India, including topography, water systems, religion, education, and arts and culture. Published in 1858, the book contains illustrations by British artists in India. The succeeding section of the book delves into… Read more »
This photograph, by Francis Frith (1822-1898) & Co, is of the Madras Harbour. This vista of commercial facilities and warehouses on the Mardas beachfront illustrates Britain’s extensive commerce with the world. In 1639, a British trading corporation was granted permission to establish a factory on a three-mile-long stretch of the shore on the Coromandel. The Nayakas,… Read more »
This photograph, from the late 19th century, is of the Mowbray Road in Madras (Chennai), Tamil Nadu. The long avenue lined with trees on either side got its name after a house built by George Moubray, the Moubray’s Cupola (presently, the Madras Club). George Moubray served the EIC (East India Company) and was the first… Read more »
This Bhil painting on canvas is by artist Ramesh Baria, son of celebrated artist Bhuri Bai. Bhil painting, traditionally made on walls, is practised today on canvas by one of the oldest tribal communities of India – the Bhils. Residing in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, etc, they live lives that are intricately… Read more »
This map presenting the plan and surroundings of Ootacamund (Ooty) was published in the Constable’s Hand Atlas of India by John Bartholomew & Co. Located in Tamil Nadu at an altitude of 2,240 mt above sea level, Ootacamund (Ooty) flourishes in the Nilgiri hills. Because of its cooler climate, Ooty, was considered an oasis by… Read more »
This late 19th-century photograph is of the French Sepoy Regiment standing in front of the statue of Joseph Francois Dupleix, Governor-General of the French establishment in India. Pondicherry, a port town on the Coromandel coast, was governed by numerous southern dynasties before European forces arrived in the 1600s, including the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas. Powerful European imperial… Read more »
This view of the Ootacamund in Tamil Nadu was taken by Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) in 1869. The Madras government’s headquarters were relocated to Ootacamund from April to October during colonial rule, making it the summer capital after the 1870s. Because of its cooler climate, Ooty, positioned above the Indian plains, was considered an oasis by… Read more »
This coloured lithograph showing a boat nearing the rough shores of Madras was drawn by Leighton and later engraved by William Frederick Measom (active. 1840-1876) in the 19th century. In 1639, a British trading corporation was granted permission to establish a factory on a three-mile-long stretch of the shore on the Coromandel. The Nayakas, feudatory… Read more »
This map, made by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664), a Dutch cartographer, illustrates the Bay of Bengal in detail and is one of the oldest sea maps. While it may appear disorienting, the inclusion of ‘Orixa’ and ‘Ceylon’ aid in establishing orientation, with Ceylon to the left of the map representing the south. The Dutch East India… Read more »
This is a photograph of the east side of the Thanjavur Palace taken in the late 19th century. The Thanjavur Mahal Palace, locally known as Aranmanai, was built by the Nayakas in the 16th century and later inherited by the Marathas, whose descendants continue to call it home. During their reign, the Maratha rulers added… Read more »
This map titled ‘Theatre de la Guerre sur la Cote de Coromandel’ [Theatre of War, on the Coromandel coast] was produced by Jakob van Schley (1715-1779) in the mid 18th century. Both practically and ideologically, maps began to play an increasingly crucial role in realising European nationalist and imperialist objectives. The battles during the Carnatic wars… Read more »
The Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit produced this map titled ‘Magni Mogolis Imperivm de Novo Correctum et Divisum Per’ in the early 18th century. Maps began to play an increasingly important role in realising European nationalist and imperialist ambitions, both practically and ideologically. This map shows the extent of the Mughal Empire in the early… Read more »
This photograph of an open-air sculptural relief at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is attributed to photographer John P Nicholas. Mamallapuram occupies a significant place in India’s cultural and historical landscape and has a rich presence of ancient caves, temples, and rock-cut structures. The sculptural relief in the photograph is dated to the 7th century CE and was… Read more »