Detached building in the Court, Belloor (Chennakeshava Temple, Belur)

1856

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 during the time of Vijaya (1145 AD – 1188 AD) that saw the construction of this temple. However, it was left unfinished as the capital shifted to Halebid. 

The photographer, Dr. Andrew Charles Brisbane Neill, attended the Indian Medical Services from 1838 to 1858. He was a member of the Photographic Society of Bengal and had documented the architecture at Belur and Halebid. Neill was the third photographer to contribute prints to ‘Architecture of Mysore and Dharwar’. Working in the Mysore region in the mid-1850s, he may have accompanied Linnaeus Tripe, the Madras Government Photographer, on his photographic expeditions in South India. In 1885, his prints were exhibited at ‘Madras Industrial Exhibition of Raw products, Art, and Manufacture of South India’.

To read more about temples of India, click here.

Title
Detached building in the Court, Belloor (Chennakeshava Temple, Belur)
Period
1856
Album Title
Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore, 1866
Photographer
Dr. A. C. B. Neill
Author
James Fergusson
Publisher
John Murray
Medium
Albumen Print from waxed paper negative
Dimensions
H: 35.8 cm x W:50 cm
Accession No.
2019.47.1(7)