Photographic Panorama of the Coronation Park, Delhi Coronation Durbar, 1911
1911
Albumen print
7.25 x 51.25 in | 18.4 x 130 cm
5-part silver gelatin panorama, rebacked with rice paper, each panel 7.25 x 10.25 in (18.3 x 25.9 cm), together 7.25 x 51.2 in (18.3 x 130 cm)
NON-EXPORTABLE
This lot will be shipped unframed and will be sold in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each photograph.
The present lot is a panoramic scene depicting the final Durbar held in Delhi to celebrate the coronation of King George V the only monarch to visit British India and Queen Mary. Photographs of a durbar were typically taken to document royal visits from Britain or large assemblies, such as Lord Curzon's Durbar in 1903 or the Delhi Durbars of 1877 and 1911. These occasions, marked by pageantry that sometimes extended to multiple days, were attended by rulers, nawabs, nobles, intellectuals and thousands of local spectators. Photographs and panoramas of durbars provide a rare visual glimpse of many leaders and notable persons of the country coming together, marking an event of historical importance.
Among the oldest established photographic businesses, Bourne & Shepherd was an Indian photo studio founded in 1863 as a partnership between Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd. Headquartered in Calcutta and Simla, they were the official photographers of the Durbar, for which they were awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal. The studio shut down in 2016.