Bridge of Shops, Srinagar, Kashmir (1864): Art, History and Details

Bridge of Shops, Srinagar, Kashmir (1864) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Samuel Bourne (British, 1834–1912).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Taking up photography in his teens, Samuel Bourne soon achieved recognition for both his superb technical skills and keen aesthetic talents. When he sailed to India in late 1862, he left a banking career to pursue his passion for photography . He hoped to use his camera throughout the country and to write about his experiences for the British Journal of Photography. This charming photograph of a bridge filled with small huts demonstrates his creative ability to organize the random environment. His lively use of light and shade clearly defines the elements of architecture and landscape. The photographer allowed a favorite, early interest in water to dominate this picturesque image of Jaipur, which was founded in 1727 by Maharajah Jai Singh II. By the beginning of the 21st century, this small town had developed into a commercial city with a population of well over two million.

Object facts

• Title: Bridge of Shops, Srinagar, Kashmir
• Date: 1864
• Creator attribution: Samuel Bourne (British, 1834–1912)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print from wet collodion negative
• Dimensions: Image: 23.6 x 29.1 cm (9 5/16 x 11 7/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 1994.185

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.