The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

View from the Top of the Rock, looking over the native Town, Trichinopoly, India

1878

Nicholas & Co.

(British, active India, 1873–1905)
India
albumen print
Paper: 22.6 x 28.5 cm (8 7/8 x 11 1/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2024.78
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The towers in the background mark the largest temple compound in India, which occupies 156 acres.

Description

The Ranganathaswamy Temple, dedicated to the god Vishnu, originated in the 1st century CE and is still active today. This view sets the gopura (temple entrance towers) in their urban context and juxtaposes the vast scale of the complex against the much humbler buildings where the Indian population lived and worked. To see carvings inside the temple complex, look at 2015.37 in the collection.
  • ?–2007
    Kanwardip Gujral Collection, Germany
    2007
    Purchased by Prahlad Bubbar Ltd., London, England
    2007–2024
    (Prahlad Bubbar Ltd., London, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    September 9, 2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=View from the Top of the Rock, looking over the native Town, Trichinopoly, India|url=false|author=Nicholas & Co.|year=1878|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.78