Linnaeus Tripe
Tanjore. Great Pagoda. South Facade of Small Chapel

Tanjore.  Great Pagoda.  South Facade of Small Chapel

Public Domain

Tanjore. Great Pagoda. South Facade of Small Chapel
ArtistBritish, 1822–1902
CultureBritish
Titles
  • Tanjore. Great Pagoda. South Facade of Small Chapel
  • The South Facade of Subrahmanya Swami's Temple
DateMarch/April 1858
Place depictedTanjore, India
MediumAlbumen silver print from paper negative
DimensionsImage: 11 9/16 × 14 5/16 in. (29.4 × 36.4 cm)
Mount: 17 1/4 × 22 1/2 in. (43.8 × 57.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2004.757
Not on view

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Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

One of the first photographers appointed by the British
government, Linnaeus Tripe was enlisted to document historic buildings and
religious temples. From March to April 1858, Tripe photographed Thanjavur’s
renowned “Great Pagoda,” the Rajaraesvara temple that is one of South India’s
greatest Chola temple complexes. Tripe’s dramatic compositions and painted-in
skies enhance the natural beauty of the 11th-century structure. The British
considered themselves stewards of India’s monuments following the assumption of
Crown rule in 1858, and pictures such as Tripe’s were published with text
suggesting that under colonial control “a brighter day has already dawned in
India.”




Provenanceex-collection Newberry Library, Chicago; Sotheby's, New York, October 31, 1989, lot 12;
Exhibition History"India Through the Camera's Eye," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 12, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
There are no evident marks or inscriptions besides signature.
Stamped, recto, below image on mount with initials "LT"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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