Arts of the Book: Illustrated Texts, Miniatures
Palace At Delhi
Mughal, circa 1820-30 CE
Materials and technique
Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper
29.3 x 21 cm
This painting depicts the palace of Begum Somru, which is also illustrated in Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, an album of 89 folios and around 130 paintings of Delhi monuments from the pre-Mughal and Mughal periods, compiled by and accompanied by the text of Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853 CE), the Governor-General’s Agent at the imperial court. Metcalfe describes Begum Somru as the widow of a certain “Walter Reinihard, born of obscure parents,” who entered the French Service under the name of “Summer.” Due to his dark complexion, he was given the sobriquet “Sombre,” subsequently corrupted into Sumroo, by which name Her Highness was generally known, though she always styled herself the Begum Sombre” (Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, The Sir Thomas Metcalfe Album, The British Library, London). Metcalfe also comments on the doubtful origins of the Begum, who was either believed to come from a noble Mughal family or to have been a native Kashmiri who was sold to Somru as a slave. In either case, Begum Somru inherited her husband’s principality upon his death and remained active as an independent ruler until her death in 1837 CE. The current view of the colonial style palace is from the south; the building was later converted into a bank.
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