West and South Sides of the Vimana Walls, Great Temple (Brihadeshvara) at Tanjore (Thanjavur)

1858

Captain Linnaeus Tripe

(British, 1822–1902)

albumenized salt print from a waxed paper negative

Image: 27.4 x 36 cm (10 13/16 x 14 3/16 in.); Paper: 27.4 x 36 cm (10 13/16 x 14 3/16 in.); Mounted: 45.3 x 57.3 cm (17 13/16 x 22 9/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2020.210

Catalogue raisonné: Dewan: CR6-219

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

This is thought to have been the tallest structure in the world when it was constructed around 1000.

Description

The double-storied exterior base of one of the largest temples constructed and still standing on the Indian subcontinent is articulated with niches containing images of Hindu gods. Within these walls is an inner sanctum containing a monolithic linga (the phallic emblem marking the sacred presence of the god Shiva).

Tripe used waxed paper instead of glass negatives, possibly because he was concerned about breakage and weight. When printing the photograph, he laid the negative on a paper treated with a light-sensitive emulsion of sodium chloride (table salt) and silver nitrate and exposed it to light, to create a “salt print.”