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

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

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

1858

Captain Linnaeus Tripe

(British, 1822–1902)
Culture
England, 19th century
Medium
albumenized salt print from a waxed paper negative
Measurements
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.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2020.210
Catalogue raisonné
Dewan: CR6-219
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

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.”
Horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph of the base of the Great Temple at Tanjore from the corner, showing the West and South sides. Two rows with square-columned niches are filled with statues of various Hindu gods, continuing up to the third layer with smaller niches carved with geometric patterns before extending beyond the picture. Where the temple meets the ground, the stone's brick pattern is swapped for a base of vertically oriented light and dark stripes.

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

1858

Captain Linnaeus Tripe

(British, 1822–1902)
England, 19th century

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