A Vision of Splendour by Mapin Publishing

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A VISION

SPLENDOUR

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A VI S I ON

S P L E N DOU R

Indian Heritage in the Photographs of Jean Philippe Vogel, 1901â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1913

Gerda Theuns-de Boer

The Kern Institute Collection of Photography Leiden, The Netherlands

Mapin Publishing

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This catalogue is published in conjunction with the exhibition

A Vision of Splendour: Indian Heritage in the Photographs of Jean Philippe Vogel, 1901–1913 held at the National Museum, New Delhi in February/March 2008

Jacket Front: Brehi, Fountain slab, locally believed to be for the use of four castes, the ranas, the rathis, the potters and the carpenters, late medieval period. (See page 134). Back: Bhutesvar, Five stupa railing pillars showing yakshis on crouching male figures and joyful onlookers peeping down from balconies, Kushana period, 1st–2nd centuries C. E. (See page 140). Fig. 1: Gond, Slab with naga couple (1.23 metres high), ca. 9th century C. E. Unknown Photographer A. S. I., ca. 1905,

First published in India in 2008 by

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Fig. 2: Benares, Ganges view, with the Alamgir

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Mosque before the wilful destruction of its

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Research and text: Gerda Theuns-de Boer

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Translation: Steve Schwartz, Amsterdam

Fig. 3: Lorian Tangai, Overview of excavated

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Buddha and Bodhisattva sculptures, Kushana

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Fig. 149: Haveri, Seven-headed anthropomorphic naga couple from the Siddheshvara Temple,

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Contents Introduction

Map

The Kern Institute Photographic Collections

On the Threshold of Renewal: A Reorganized Archaeological Survey

Lahore: Life as a Surveyor

A Delightful Burden: Heritage Care in a New Age

The Art of Fieldwork

Archaeological Heritage in the Museum: To Interest the Uninformed and Inform the Interested

140

All in the Family? On Britishers, Europeans and the Indianization of the Survey

158

Epilogue

176

Chronology

180

Abbreviations and Acknowledgements

183

Glossary

184

Bibliography

186

Index

190

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Introduction A great privilege—that was how the Dutch Sanskritist Jean Philippe Vogel (1871–1958) viewed his entry in 1901 into the Archaeological Survey of India (A. S. I.). As the superintendent of the Panjab, Baluchistan and Ajmir Circle, later geographically expended and renamed the Northern Circle, he was to oversee a wide variety of heritage activities from his office in Lahore. A privilege, because it would enable him, as an Indologist educated in Europe, to enrich his academic knowledge by working in the context of the indigenous culture of India. A privilege also, because by accepting the post, he would be in a position to make a real contribution to the process of “passing on India’s monuments in the full splendour of their authenticity.” There had been a growing awareness of the need for heritage care in both Britain and India—a process which compelled their governments to recognize not only the preservational benefits of archaeology, but even more so its political potential in offering a firm ground to bind together India’s disparate social and religious groups, and at the same time magnify the image of the British Raj. These developments pushed the A. S. I. to professionalize, a path initiated by the Governor General in Council, Lord George Nathaniel Curzon (1859–1925) and the young John Marshall, who was the new Director General of Archaeology from 1902 to 1928. Within this setting, Vogel rose from being Marshall’s apprentice, to ultimately becoming his confidant and prospective successor. He would prove to be a constructive and willing partner who, as anticipated by Marshall, added substance to the tasks of preservation, restoration and research and to increasing the visibility of archaeology in museums. As a researcher, Vogel enjoyed drawing links between a variety of scholarly disciplines, which perfectly suited the purposes of archaeology. As expected, he applied his knowledge of Sanskrit and epigraphy, and firmly established his findings in the context of history and art history. The frequent geographical changes to Vogel’s Circle and the amendments to his job description allowed him to develop into a true all-rounder. He was equally familiar with the Islamic art of Lahore, Delhi and Agra, as with the largely Buddhist art of Gandhara and Mathura, the Hindu art of the Panjab Hill States or the Jain art of Maheth. His excavations at Charsada, at Kusinagara, reputedly the site of the Buddha’s parinirvana, and at Saheth-Maheth turned him into a full-fledged archaeologist. All these factors made him particularly well suited to replace Marshall as Deputy Director General of the A. S. I. between 1910 and 1912. In this capacity Vogel visited Burma to oversee the archaeological activities there, as it constituted an archaeological circle within the A. S. I. For this monograph, I focused on Vogel’s years with the A. S. I., from 1901–1913. I also consciously restricted myself on the selection to source materials from the Kern Institute in Leiden, the centre of expertise for Indian archaeology founded by Vogel in 1924. The institute still serves as the repository for Vogel’s collection of 10,000 photographs. From this rich photographic archive, I have selected 150 views, taken between 1870 and 1920, which—embedded in the context of the historiography of both photography and archaeology—shed light on Vogel’s views on heritage care. The photographs visually underpin the introductory retrospective on nineteenth-century

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Indian archaeology and the four ensuing chapters in which Vogel’s vision to preservation, restoration, the “art of fieldwork” and museal display is analyzed. Further source materials include his publications prepared between 1901 and 1915, letters to and from scholars and family members, and his diaries, which for the greater part were written in English. These diaries, more than any other source, present an intriguing image of how Vogel as a Dutch citizen moved through India’s colonial society, while recording his reflections on Britishers and Indians alike. His entries are not exhaustive descriptions—rather, in a condensed way they reflect his thoughts and emotions, serving as honest documents devoid of any further agenda. The final chapter, based on Vogel’s observations, focuses on these social relations in late-colonial India and the process of Indianization within the “archaeological family.” Finally, my conscious restrictment to sources directly related to Jean Philippe Vogel may serve as an explicit invitation to scholars from India and Pakistan to research the archives of the Northern Circle, both in Lahore and at the A. S. I. offices in Delhi, where a wealth of data merit further research on the period in which the foundations were laid for Indian historical archaeology.

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Jamal amalgarhi arhi Jamalgarhi

INDIAN EMPIRE 1912

Lorian Tan angai ai Tangai Ba Baramula ula

Indu

virikothi Manikyala Mani ala Devirikothi Mardan Ma dan Shalhi Sai Udaipur nabChurah Triloknath riloknath e Chamba Ch Brahmaur ahmaur Brehi ehi Basua Tabo bo Chatrarhi Chat arhi Drangkar angkar Laho i Lahore Sarahan Rav Simla Multan Jehla m

Takht-i-Bahai akht-i-Bahai Shahr-i-Bahlol Shah -i-Bahlol Charsada Peshawar Pesh eshawar ar

n Ga

Delhi

s Mat Mathura Mathu Bha atpur Bharatpur Ag Agra Fatehpur atehpur Sikri

Ba Baroda oda

Jum na

Sravasti asti a utr Brahmap

Kusinagara Kusin usinagara Lu Luckn know Rudarpur Lucknow Bhitargaon Bhita aon Bena es Benares

Mandasor Besn ar Besnagar San hi Sanchi

Ahmed bad Ahmedabad

Bharhut Calcutta

Narmada

Ajanta

ha n ad

A R A B I A N Gond Area

v da Go

S E A

B A Y

Krishn a

O F

Haveri eri Tadpatri adpatri

B E N G A L Mahabalipuram

Tiru iruchengodu hengodu Tiruchengodu Kav eri

Note: Based on the map of INDIAN EMPIRE 1912. The place names on the map refer to the provenance or the site of the monuments shown in the photographs.

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The Kern Institute Photographic Collections All photographs presented in this publication derive from the collection of Jean Philippe Vogel, at the Kern Institute, Leiden, the Netherlands. The prints number almost 10,000 and were made between the 1870s and the 1940s. The greater part of this collection is formed by photographs of the Archaeological Survey of India (A. S. I.), either created by pioneering amateurs, professional photographers, or A. S. I. staff members, including Vogel. Most of these Survey photos were gifted to Vogel; others were purchased by him, initially while working in India, later from Leiden. Vogel also regularly received photographs which were sent to him to call on his expertise. Apart from the prints made for and by the Archaeological Survey, Vogel also bought commercial photographs by Bourne & Shepherd (Simla, Calcutta), Johnston & Hoffmann (Calcutta, Simla), Lala Deen Dayal (Indore), R. C. Mazumdar, Brajbasi & Co. (Mathura), Mirza & Sons (Delhi) and Clifton & Co. (Bombay). These include townscapes, portraits, and everyday scenes. The final constituent part of the Vogel collection is formed by photographs taken while travelling. Jean Philippe Vogel’s collection is not geographically limited to pre-partition India, but also comprises the art and archaeology of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia, countries to which Indian culture had spread. A special group of photographs is the Indological scholars’ collection. These include linguists, epigraphists, architects and archaeologists. A selection of this collection is included in Chapter 6, to present the main actors on the A. S. I. stage in the early twentieth century. The Jean Philippe Vogel collection is part of the huge photographic collection of the Kern Institute, comprising approximately 70,000 South and South-east Asian art and archaeology-related prints. Sub-collections, among others, include the photographs of the Archaeological Service of the Netherlands Indies (21,000), and the smaller sub-collections of Isidore van Kinsbergen and Kassian Cephas (almost 650), Claire Holt (600), J. K. de Cock (600), Josephine Powell (1850), Yves Coffin (8775), Johanna van Lohuizen-de Leeuw (6500) and Gerard Foekema (2500).

Fig. 4: Hendrik Kern (1833–1917), first Professor of Sanskrit in the Netherlands at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden between 1865 and 1903, epigraphist and expert on Indonesian languages. Lithograph after a photograph, ca. 1890,

Part of the collection is accessible at: http://beeldbank.wsd.leidenuniv.nl/kern.

27 x 21.5 cm.

A note on the spelling and captions: The spelling of Indian words and names do not follow a uniform system. However, the names of rulers have been spelled according to The Handbook of Oriental History (1963) by C. H. Philips and the names of places and monuments according to their spelling in the original reports of the A. S. I. The captions are not the original captions from the lists of negatives published by the A. S. I. or by commercial firms. The content of these proved to be uninformative and inadequate for the context of this publication. The set-up of the tripartite captions is as follows: Geographical indicator, description of the monument or object, including a period or an exact date. The creator of the photograph, the year of creation, the official serial number where applicable, the technique of the photograph and the dimensions. The Kern Institute’s inventory number of the photograph.

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Chapter 1

On the Threshold of Renewal: A Reorganized Archaeological Survey When Jean Philippe Vogel (1871–1958) arrived in Lahore in January 1901 to direct the archaeological activities of the Panjab, Baluchistan and Ajmir Circle, it must have felt like arriving in no-man’s-land. There was no archaeological department, no office, not even a single staff member to take charge of an 800,000-square-kilometre region, almost equalling that of present Pakistan in size. More than ten years had passed since Charles J. Rodgers, the last surveyor for the region between 1886 and 1890, had been economized into oblivion, making Lahore’s Central Museum the only visible witness to former archaeological activities and the Circle’s wealth. To be dropped in a “desolate” environment such as this must have been as bewildering as it was challenging. Still, this was what Vogel had envisaged: a job in India to broaden his Indological scholarship. In December 1897, Vogel had successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis, The Little Clay Cart. An Indian Drama Translated from Sanskrit and Prakrit into Dutch, which had resulted in a temporary appointment at the Gemeente Universiteit in Amsterdam as a private teacher of Indian literature.1 But the post did not satisfy him. Vogel’s father, vice-president in the Amsterdam Court, orchestrated an escape from this situation, encouraging his son to continue his Sanskrit studies in Benares and Srinagar and explore the rich palette of Indian culture.2 On 20 October 1899, Vogel started his ten-month “North India tour,” sleeping alternately in railway stations and a second-hand tent.3 While staying in Srinagar, Vogel received a telegram from the Panjab Department of Public Works at Simla, enquiring whether he was interested in the post of archaeological surveyor for the new Panjab, Baluchistan and Ajmir Circle, a temporary job for five years with a starting salary of 300 rupees. Vogel seized the opportunity.4 He requested for a short delay in

Opposite page

taking up duties, left Kashmir at once and set off for the Netherlands by way of Calcutta on

Fig. 5: Agra, Jama Masjid, commissioned by the

28 August 1900. In just a few weeks he arranged his future Indian life and arrived—for the second

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658),

time—in Bombay, on 23 December. Thanks to the renowned Hungarian-born British Sanskritist

completed in 1648. W. Caney, 1870–1875, I. M. L. 512, albumen

Marc Aurel Stein (1862–1943), who had brought Vogel’s capacities to the attention of the Panjab

print, 21 x 28.5 cm.

Government, life had taken an interesting turn5 (Fig. 145).

P-041491

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Fig.2: Benares, Ganges view, with the Alamgir Mosque before the wilful destruction of its minarets. Unknown photographer, ca. 1890, gelatin

A suitable man? Was the thirty-year-old Jean Philippe Vogel the right man for the surveyorship? Ostensibly, no. Vogel lacked any kind of professional, archaeological or architectural education. He

printing-out paper print, 21 x 29 cm.

was neither well informed about conservation or restoration measures, nor had he ever been

Album 11, page 16

involved in excavation work. He was an enthusiastic amateur sketcher and collector of paintings, but could not design maps, plans or cross-sections and was not a particularly successful photographer either. Bearing in mind, however, that professional archaeologists were few and far between, Vogel was not a particularly surprising choice. Sanskrit scholarship in general was considered the academic cult of the hour and necessary to the study of India’s epigraphic records, which constituted the muchdesired foundation for a solid historical framework. Furthermore, Vogel—tutored by the distinguished linguist Christianus Cornelis Uhlenbeck (1866–1951)—turned out to be a highly ambitious man with a strong desire to broaden his knowledge of Indian culture. He took up Sanskrit at Jaipur and later at Benares, where he studied at the Sanskrit College (Figs. 2, 6–9). He was even trained in spoken Sanskrit by a local pandit, Babu Sastri Bhave. In fact, Vogel went on to follow in the footsteps of the Netherlands Sanskritist Hendrik Kern (1833–1917) who had studied in Benares in the 1860s.6 Vogel was quite satisfied with the content of his studies there, in contrast to the lessons in Srinagar, which had proved hard to be organized. Vogel also spoke passable Hindi and he had greatly enjoyed collecting the “wise sayings”

Opposite page

of Govind Raghu, his servant during the travels through India. The many art-historical and

Fig. 6: Benares, Remaining wall of the

archaeological stops along the way to the venues of his Sanskrit study had provided him with a

demolished Vishvanatha Temple, built by Raja

clear impression of the diversity of the country’s predominantly religious art. Even so, he felt that

Todar Mal in ca. 1585, integrated in 1669 into

most buildings were in a terrible state of decay; this in contrast to the Taj, which, in the

Aurangzeb’s Jnana Vapi Mosque. R. C. Mazumdar, ca. 1890, no. 539, collodion printing-out paper print, 21 x 29 cm. Album 11, page 32

moonlight, transformed into an “Eastern fairytale of unbelievable charm” (Fig. 38). Furthermore, Vogel’s investments in his personal network had also borne fruit. He corresponded with Marc Aurel Stein and the French Sanskritist and art historian, Alfred Foucher (1865–1952).7

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Fig. 7: Benares, Bathing women, possibly in the

R. C. Mazumdar, ca. 1890, no. 629, collodion

tank of the Kardameshvara Temple on the

printing-out paper print, 21 x 28.5 cm.

Panchakroshi pilgrimage route, Kandwa, Greater

Album 11, page 4

Benares.

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Fig. 8: Benares, Gai Ghat with a statue of Shivaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mount, Vrishan, the bull. R. C. Mazumdar, ca. 1890, no. 530, collodion printing-out paper print, 21 x 28.5 cm. Album 11, page 8

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However, it was Vogel’s personality that made him the right man for the job precisely in the era when archaeology started to professionalize. Vogel had a clearly academic approach and was exacting in his method. His penmanship—the picture of precision—attests to the nature of his personality. He was imperturbable, level-headed, reliable, and showed a calm certitude. He enjoyed performing accurate studies and drawing links between a variety of disciplines, which suited the purposes of archaeology perfectly. Vogel’s abilities and mindset made him the favourite surveyor of John Marshall (1876–1958), the Director General of Archaeology in India between 1902 and 1928 (Fig. 136). When Vogel was invited to apply for the position of Directorship of the Archaeological Survey in the Dutch East Indies in 1909, Marshall implored Vogel to stay, writing, “There is no one who could continue your work here; no one who could possibly make good the loss.” In 1913, he wanted Vogel to become his Assistant Director General.8 Vogel had proved to be the right scholar to give substance to this new archaeological path. Opposite page

Indian archaeology in retrospect

Fig. 9: Benares, Queen’s College, formerly called

In order to understand how Vogel’s activities differed from the old approach, a short

the Sanskrit College, built by Major Kittoe in

overview of archaeological practice between 1860 and 1900 is called for.

Gothic style, between 1847 and 1852. R. C. Mazumdar ca. 1890, no. 623, collodion printing-out paper print, 21 x 28.5 cm.

The first period of organized colonial archaeology (1862–1889) can be described as

Album 11, page 9

“touring” the Indian subcontinent—by way of one-man missions into the districts under British rule, with the aim of selecting monuments and sites of artistic and historic interest for further

Page 20, left

examination. These tours had been more or less systematic in the northern and central Indian

Fig. 10: Alexander Cunningham (1814–1893),

provinces and were reported upon in an illustrated series of twenty-three District Reports,

Director General of Archaeology, 1861–1864;

produced between 1862 and 1884.9 Understandably, their character is descriptive, bearing a

Director General of the Archaeological Survey of

strong personal content reflected in the first-person narrative. Reading this valuable series is like

India, 1871–1885. Unknown photographer, ca. 1880, albumen

walking in the shadow of explorers to whom the many and diverse expressions of Indian cultural

print, 20 x 15 cm.

heritage were first revealed. The main author of the series was Alexander Cunningham

Scholars 5

(1814–1893) (Fig. 10), an engineer and self-taught archaeologist with a respectable service record,

Page 20, right

who in 1862 had been appointed India’s first Director General of Archaeology and who, after a

Fig. 11: James Burgess (1832–1916),

temporary cessation of the function, proceeded with his activities as the first nominal Director

Archaeological Surveyor 1874–1885; Director

General of the Archaeological Survey of India between 1871 and 1885.10 It was his duty “to

General of the Archaeological Survey of India,

superintend a complete search across the entire country and make a systematic record and description of all architectural and other remains remarkable whether for their antiquity, beauty, or historical interest.” 11

1885–1889. Maul & Fox, London, 1905, collodion printing-out paper print, 15 x 9.5 cm. Scholars, unnumbered

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While he permitted himself to focus primarily on the ancient Buddhist sites referred to by the itinerant Chinese monks Faxian (5th century C. E.) and Xuanzang (7th century C. E.), his assistants J. D. Beglar (active 1871–1880) (Fig. 12), A. C. L. Carlleyle (1871–1882) and H. W. B. Garrick (1880–1885), constructed an archaeological momentum that presented a picture of the time which satisfied even the exacting Cunningham. By the end of his career he declared their collective explorations as more or less complete, as all the other remains were still buried and not yet their concern. Meanwhile, the Bombay Presidency and, later, the Madras Presidency, were explored by separate governmental surveys carried out by James Burgess (1832–1916), from respectively 1874 and 1881 onwards (Fig. 11). In his capacity as the second Director General of the A. S. I., between 1886 and 1889, Burgess gave North India only limited attention. His contribution to Indian archaeology can not be labelled as “archaeologically mapping the area,” but rather as a scholarly examination of West and South Indian architecture with a strong focus on rock-cut architecture. His impressive list of publications, including the seven volumes of the New Imperial Series of Reports, testifies to the range and quality of his investigations and the stature of his personality. Although the efforts of both main characters, Cunningham and Burgess, on the nineteenth-century archaeological stage are now viewed positively, each according to his own merit, their activities were criticized at the turn of the century. Publications were “too descriptive” or “too scholarly” and thus of an exhausting nature, making them less interesting for a broader public. Also, their

Fig. 12: Joseph Daviditch Melik Beglar

publication timetable faced continuous delays, making them lose their topicality and, with it, the

(1845–1907), Assistant Surveyor of Alexander

sense of “fresh” discovery. Thus presented, these publications were regarded as only serving an

Cunningham, 1871–1880; Supervisor of the Bodh

“inner circle” of art and archaeology lovers. Had these publications—by dint of their

Gaya Temple restoration, 1880–1884;

exhaustiveness and their suggestion of “final authority,” as John Marshall expressed— not fuelled the idea that archaeological efforts could have been finalized by that point, thereby playing into the hands of the politically anti-archaeology camp and the indifferent masses?12

Archaeological Surveyor for Bengal, 1885–1890. Unknown photographer, ca. 1880, collodion printing-out paper print, 21 x 15 cm. Scholars 67

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Opposite page Fig. 13: Bharhut, Section of the stupa railing, inner view, showing part of the eastern gateway and three pillars, Shunga period, 1st century B. C. E. Joseph Beglar, 1874â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1876, I. M. L. 1478, albumen print, 24.5 x 19.5 cm. P-036316

Fig. 14: Bharhut, Pillar of the stupa railing, depicting yaksha Gangita standing on an elephant. Shunga period, 1st century B. C. E. Joseph Beglar, 1874â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1876, I. M. L. number unknown, reprint, collodion printing-out paper print, 24.5 x 19.5 cm. IP-036386

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Fig. 15: Sanchi, Stupa 1, northern gateway before cleaning and restoration, Shunga period, 1st century C. E. Lala Deen Dayal, 1881, I. O. L. 2393, albumen print, 23 x 14 cm. P-036418

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It looked as if archaeology had dug its own grave. India’s visual remnants had been described and, to some degree, put into an art-historical context by eminent scholars such as James Fergusson (1808–1886). But proper excavations had not been carried out and only few sites

Fig. 16: Sanchi, Stupa 1, eastern gateway after

had benefited from preservation steps 13 (Figs. 13–16).

restoration. Shunga period, 1st century C. E. Lala Deen Dayal, 1881–1883, I. O. L. 2393,

Even the efforts of Captain Henry Hardy Cole (1843–1916), the first and only Curator of Monuments—a position created by the Supreme Government in April 1880—proved to be short-

reprint, collodion printing-out paper print, 23 x 14 cm. P-036426

lived, as it existed less than four years.14 It was Cole’s duty

investigate

the

condition

India’s

monuments and to advise local governments, administrations and Native States on conservation measures. To this end, he engaged, inspected and directed “parties of draughtsmen” to document the monuments.

Where

possible,

brought

photographers. Cole’s post was abolished in 1884 due to budget cuttings, a poor working relationship with James Burgess and extraordinary demands for highquality publications, of which the costs by far exceeded the annual Imperial Fund’s repair budget, which averaged 50,000 rupees.15 Both

Cole’s

reports

and

illustrated

preservation volumes provided little contextual information, a remarkable fact. The attempt to arrive at a well-founded, active form of conservation through a process of documentation and consultancy had failed completely. It allows for the conclusion that,

after

archaeology,

forty the

years

concepts

organized of

colonial

excavation

and

conservation had barely moved forward.

The triumph of photography Nevertheless, the strength of nineteenthcentury

Indian

archaeology

lay

heritage

documentation. This is attributable to the triumph of photography, which started around 1850, although

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the medium could only be experienced by a limited public, as learned societies—acting as the initial repositories for photographic collections—were either inaccessible or at best poorly accessible. Photomechanical reproduction procedures had not yet sufficiently developed. A major step in improving access was the publication in 1900 of the list of negatives by Theodore Bloch, superintendent of the Bengal Circle. He described the collection of glass plates and prints in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and at the India Office in London; altogether some 6,000 exposures. The number of photographers was remarkably limited—only thirteen people; some had been employed full-time or part-time by the A. S. I.; others had been commissioned by the A. S. I., or had sold negatives to the A. S. I. Together, these photographs constructed a preliminary image of Indian architectural heritage which, thanks to the authenticity of the information, did full justice to the artistic qualities of the monuments. This made it especially easy to find a platform for them through international exhibitions and nineteenth-century travel magazines.16 Besides having an acknowledged aesthetic value, the photographs constituted the first reliable visual documentation and thus a suitable starting point for conservation and restoration steps. Even these 6,000 exposures by no means made up the entire corpus of photographic heritage. As far back as the early 1870s, Cunningham had advised the Government on the possible purchase of other photographs, many of buildings that he had not hitherto heard of.17 He had also finished a detailed list of 1,800 photographs of Indian buildings. In an accompanying letter he mentioned the existence of many other photographs, although he was not able to present lists. He also expressed his displeasure at the fact that photographs donated to the government went to the Asiatic Society and the School of Art in Calcutta, rather than to the Archaeological Department, even though they were of paramount importance to the service. All these photographs were made through the labour-intensive wet-plate technique, in which glass plates serve the purpose of a negative. Shortly before appliance these had to be wetted with a mixture of collodion and silver iodide to make them light-sensitive. To avoid Opposite page

further exposure, a dark tent was needed on the spot to develop and fix the image. Considering

Fig. 17: Ahmedabad, Mosque of Shah Alam

how unwieldy cameras were at the time, and how litres of chemicals were required for

Bahadur Shah, part of the shrine complex of

preparation, it is evident that photo-documenting was not travel-friendly. However, the prints

this Muslim saint, 16th century C. E. Henry Cousens, ca. 1880, I. M. L. 1692, albumen print, 21 x 27 cm. P-041717

on albumen paper provided photographs unmatched in sharpness, depth, and breadth of tonal scale, although these were certainly dependent on the photographer’s equipment and skills as well.

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Fig. 18: Ajanta, Facade of Cave 26, a Buddhist caitya hall, showing the remains of a veranda; Vakataka period, late-5th century C. E. Lala Deen Dayal, ca. 1890, no. 3597, collodion printing-out paper print, 29 x 23.5 cm. P-039984 Opposite page Fig. 19: Tadpatri, Ramalingeshvara Temple, decoration of the inner jamb of the northern gateway, Vijayanagar period, 16th century C. E. E. D. Lyon, 1865â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1871, I. O. L. 2505, reprint, collodion printing-out paper print, 26.5 x 21.5 cm. P-041178

Page 30 Fig. 20: Madurai, Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Pudu Mandapa, Nayaka period, 17th century C. E. Henry Hardy Cole, ca. 1875, I. O. L. 2303, reprint, collodion printing-out paper print, 21.5 x 27.5 cm. P-040846

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Fig. 21: Mahabalipuram, Monolithic shrine

Fig. 22: Jamalgarhi, Sculptural remains

dedicated to Durga, known under the misnomer

showing a Surya image, a narrative relief

Draupadi Ratha, Pallava period,

depicting the scene “The white dog barking at

mid-7th century C. E.

the Buddha” and a relief with the guirlande

E. D. Lyon, 1865–1871, I. O. L. 1963, reprint,

and puti motif, Kushana period,

collodion printing-out paper print, 29 x 24.5 cm.

2nd–4th centuries C. E.

P-040236

James Craddock, 1880, I. M. L. 996, albumen print, 23.5 x 27 cm. Album 2, page 48

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Above Fig. 23: Agra, Red Fort, Khas Mahal of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) and the Anguri Bagh, 1631–1641. W. Caney, ca. 1870–1875, I. M. L. 515, albumen print, 21 x 27 cm. P-041469 Fig. 24: Agra, Red Fort, Diwan-i-am, used by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658), 1628–1635. Joseph Beglar, 1871–1880, I. M. L. 503, albumen print, 18 x 23.5 cm. P-041467

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Fig. 25: Agra, Chini-ka-rauza, tomb of Afzal Khan, prime minister of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658), 1635. W. Caney, 1870–1875, I. M. L. 502, albumen print, 27 x 23 cm. P-041481

Page 34 Fig. 26: Delhi, Ala-i Darwaza, the southern gateway to the Quwwatu’l-Islam Mosque, part of the Qutb Minar complex, Delhi Sultanate period, 1311. W. Caney, 1870–1875, I. M. L. 863, albumen print, 23.5 x 28.5 cm. P-041341 Page 35 Fig. 27: Delhi, Entrance to the tomb of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish (r. 1210–1235), Qutb Minar complex, Delhi Sultanate period, ca. 1235. W. Caney, 1870–1875, I. M. L. 888, albumen print, 22.5 x 28.5 cm. P-041345

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Fig. 28: Delhi, General view of the Khirki Mosque, commissioned by Khan-i Jahan Junan Shah, Minister of Firuz Shah III Tughluq (r. 1351–1388), ca. 1351–1354. W. Caney, 1870–1875, I. M. L. 872, albumen print, 23.5 x 29.5. Album 4, page 9

Opposite page

Vogel had Bloch’s list at hand, knew exactly what had been recorded, and gratefully took

Fig. 29: Sikandra, Tomb of Mughal emperor

advantage of the situation. Early in his career in Lahore, he assembled two albums of nineteenth-

Akbar (r. 1556–1605). The construction was

century prints of the Panjab, the primary focus being Gandharan and Islamic period art 18

initiated by Akbar but completed by his son,

(Figs. 3, 22–33). While visiting Burma in 1912, Vogel ordered a set of temple photographs and

then the Mughal emperor Jahangir, in 1613. W. Caney, 1870-1875, I. M. L. 648, albumen print, 21 x 27 cm. 41494

portraits by the commercial photographer Philip Adolphe Klier (ca. 1845–1911).19 Although these are not part of the archaeology corpus, they can be considered a set of real photographic jewels (Figs. 34–37).

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“A meticulously produced work of colonial and photographic history.” —The Telegraph

PHOTOGRAPHY

A Vision of Splendour

Indian Heritage in the Photographs of Jean Philippe Vogel, 1901–1913 Gerda Theuns-de Boer 192 pages, 150 colour illustrations 11 x 9.5” (280 x 240 mm), hc ISBN: 978-81-89995-02-7 (Mapin) ISBN: 978-0-944142-74-5 (Grantha) ₹2000 | $65 | £42 2008 • World rights