Photographic treasures from India

To mark the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, an exhibition of photographs examines some of the earliest documentation of the country.

Felice Beato was one of the earliest war photographers, travelling to India having already shot groundbreaking coverage of the Crimean War. Images such as this one of the Taj Mahal were shot two years after the 1857 Indian Rebellion, at the site of the Battle of Agra. Other images from the series show bones Beato dug up specifically for his photographs.

This photograph of Girgaum Road, in Bombay (now known as Mumbai), is an example of an early colour photography process, the photochrom. Black-and-white negatives were exposed on to “tint stones” to make mass-produced images for the tourist market. This was much quicker than hand-tinting each print.

The twisted coils of the Raja Sahib of Liniri’s fashionably stitched pugree headwear look like silver vines, and his clothing is covered with incredibly ornate detail. During the British Raj, rulers such as these had their powers diluted, but their public profile maintained. This gave the impression of an Indian government separate from British colonial rule.

Taken in about 1856, the tall masts of these tea clippers in a Bombay harbour show the dominance of the East India Company. As early as 1855, the company was despatching photographers, rather than draughtsmen, to survey Indian territories and antiquities. British military officers were also given cameras.

The rock formation at Tiruchirappalli (formerly Trichinopoly), in the state of Tamil Nadu, is one of the oldest in the world. The dramatic geography clearly interested Samuel Bourne, but the rock was also a scene of an early victory by the British Army. This photograph is where ancient and modern colonial history combines.

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