Maharaja of Rewa and Sardars (1886): Art, History and Details

Maharaja of Rewa and Sardars (1886) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905).

The work and its context

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

Deen Dayal uses the arrangement of people and the architecture to point to the most important person in the photograph. Here, the Maharaja of Rewa is placed front and center. “Sardars,” inscribed on the top picture’s mount, refers to the military officials surrounding him. After 1858, British influence dictated that Indian rulers be educated in European history and ideas as well as their local culture and history. In the bottom image, the young maharaja is shown with Indian teachers, but the instructional tools are Western: bound books and a raised relief globe (with Asia visible).

Object facts

• Title: Maharaja of Rewa and Sardars
• Date: 1886
• Creator attribution: Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905)
• Culture: India
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print
• Dimensions: Image: 19.7 x 26.9 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 19.7 x 26.9 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.)
• Collection: PH - Misc. 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2016.266.20

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

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.