The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

The Mutiny of the Heroine Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi

c. 1890

Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat

Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
Secondary Support: 48.5 x 29.6 cm (19 1/8 x 11 5/8 in.); Painting only: 45.5 x 28 cm (17 15/16 x 11 in.)
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.146
Location: Not on view

Description

Rani Lakshmi Bai was a widow of Raja Gangadhar Rao, the Maharaja of Jhansi, whose state had been annexed by the British. On June 10, 1857, following a massacre of Europeans by local Indian troops, she was proclaimed ruler. One of the first freedom fighters, she resisted the British and was killed in June 1858. She later became a legendary mutiny heroine and an icon for the Indian independence movement. In this image she wears a British crown and has her sword raised.
  • ?-2003
    William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2003-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Indian Kalighat Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-September 18, 2011).
  • {{cite web|title=The Mutiny of the Heroine Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi|url=false|author=|year=c. 1890|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.146