His Eminence Commander in Chief and Party, Shimla

1887

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)

View all records in artwork set

Culture

India

Medium

albumen print

Measurements

Image: 19.5 x 27.2 cm (7 11/16 x 10 11/16 in.); Paper: 19.5 x 27.2 cm (7 11/16 x 10 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2016.266.4

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Description

In 1887 Deen Dayal was appointed photographer to the commander in chief of the British Indian Army, Field Marshal Frederick Roberts (1832–1914) (seated, third from left). This casually dressed group of Roberts’s family and friends had just enjoyed a week of formal events, including a “fancy dress” ball celebrating the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. That party inaugurated a ballroom built onto Roberts’s home. The following day, Roberts was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. The tiger skin attests to British success at big game hunting. Its use as a rug reveals a very different attitude toward this favored pastime among the British than the Indians, for whom it symbolized royal power.