This is a X kas or 10 Cash coin of Indo-Danish extraction. Relic of an empire we don’t often mention when we talk about colonial rule in India. The Danes made an official appearance in these parts after the monarch of Denmark, King Christian IV signed a charter for the establishment of the Danish East… Read more »
This is a rare copper coin with the denomination of jital issued under the reign of Tirumalaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was the first king of the Empire from the Aravidu dynasty and this coin is of immense historical value. On the obverse side the coin features the official emblem of the Empire featuring… Read more »
This is an engraving on Hand-made paper, after Hilippus Baldaeus (1632 – 1672). Craganor is the Anglisised name of the region of Kodungallur, a municipality in the Thissur district of Kerala. In history, the place was one of the leading ports and commercial centres of South India, also associated with the ancient port town of… Read more »
This is an artist’s imagination of the danger faced by British families in India during the 1857 Uprising. In the engraving, a mother can be seen nursing a baby while a toddler sits close by. Two revolutionaries enter the room, one holding a sword dripping with what looks like blood and the other wielding a… Read more »
During the Uprising of 1857, events in the city of Lucknow took a rather violent turn. As the news of the Uprising broke, the British officials and their families took shelter in the Residency, while the rebelling soldiers blocked every means of outside contact for them and continued their attacks for over 90 days. A… Read more »
This is an aquatint engraving showing the northern entrance of the Bangalore fort post the attack on Bangalore by the British East India Company during the Third Aglo-Mysore War in 1791. The war was fought between the British army and the king of Mysore Tipu Sultan, who was defeated and the fort was captured. This… Read more »
The great-grandson of Aurangzeb is best known for setting a series of unfortunate events in motion. Thanks to Muhammed Farrukhsiyar’s tenuous hold on the throne of the empire, his reign (1713 to 1719 CE) marked a crucial shift in power from the emperor to the court ministers or kingmakers. The ones in question here were… Read more »
Kanpur was the scene of a massacre after the city’s besieged occupants, including women and children, surrendered to the revlting natives on 27 June 1857. The recapture of the city then and the avenging of the massacre became a primary objective of the British officials. The city was retaken from the natives on 16 July… Read more »
This is an engraving depicting the shooting of Dr.Graham, an English medical officer who was shot while travelling in his horse-carriage and succumbed to his wounds. This print was inspired from the original illustration by Charles Ball, in his book “The History of Indian Mutiny”. The image depicts a horse-drawn carriage speeding through the landscape… Read more »
This should give you an idea of how powerful the Vijayanagara dynasty was: they changed the entire currency system in south India. It was the ruler Hari Hara II who impressed upon the administration the importance of collecting state revenue in currency instead of in kind. This led to the mass production of coins in… Read more »
This engraving is titled “Koor Singh, the rebel of ‘Arrah’ and his attendants – from a photograph”. It was first published in the Illustrated London, right after the Uprising of 1857. Kuwar (Koor) Singh was a local zamindar who led the revolt against the soldiers of the Bengal Military Battalion in a small outpost of… Read more »
This print is based on a portrait of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore and hostile opponent of the British in late 18th century South India, in the possession of Richard Wellesley, Governor-General of India during the fourth, and final, Anglo-Mysore war of 1799. Masterminded by Wellesley, the 1799 campaign, which resulted in Tipu’s death and… Read more »
This is a hand-coloured engraving, detailing out one of the activities post the suppression of the Uprising of 1857. The print originally belonged to a larger 1857-Uprising related publications by the London Printing and Publishing Company. In this particular image, British officers are shown blowing the captured sepoys off canons. Two sepoys are tied to… Read more »
This coloured engraving by Rogers, after a large scale history painting by Henry Singleton, is a dramatic depiction of the East India Company’s final storming and capture of Seringapatam, the fortified capital of Tipu Sultan, Mysore ruler and bitter opponent of British imperialism, in May 1799. In the main image, British and Mysorean forces are… Read more »
Inscription Verso Inscription by the Dealer “STATE PRISON AT DELHI. ARTIST: Drawn by William Daniell and Engraved by J. B. Allen. Coloured engraving. Year 1836.” This is after the painting of the bridge connecting the Red Fort to the Salimgarh Fort in Delhi, acorss the Yamuna river. The Salimgarh fort was built by Sher Shah… Read more »
This engraving from the Illustrated London News is a detailed depiction of the walled-city of Delhi before the Uprising of 1857. Bounded by the fort-walls on all sides, the walled city with its landmarks, palaces, havelis and bustling streets is executed in detail and almost every important section is named and numbered for identification. The… Read more »
This is an aquatint engraving showing the southern entrance of the Bangalore fort post the attack on Bangalore by the British East India Company during the Third Aglo-Mysore War in 1791. The war was fought between the British army and the king of Mysore Tipu Sultan, who was defeated and the fort was captured. This… Read more »
This image from the Illustrated London News shows the capital city of Coorg, Mercara, or Madikeri, from a distance (above) and the native Kodava officials of Coorg in their traditional attire (below). The Kodava kingdom of Coorg bitterly opposed the expansionist Mysore state under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, resulting in one of the most… Read more »
This is a copper coin issued by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire – the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty that ruled the region in the early 16th century. On the obverse of the coin is the image of a bull, an animal that symbolised strength and virility and a common motif in the coins of… Read more »
This engraving after an original photograph by Bourne and Shepherd shows the mausoleum of Tipu Sultan and Haider Ali in Seringapatam (now Srirangapatna), erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Mysore.The domed mausoleum is seen situated on a raised platform in the middle of a landscaped garden. The tomb was first built by Tipu to hold… Read more »