Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

Linnaeus Tripe photographs

Summary

Collection ID:
FSA.A2001.10
Creators:
Tripe, Linnaeus
Dates:
circa 1856-1858
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3 Prints
albumenized salt paper
images 25 x 37 cm. or smaller, mounted 44 x 57 or smaller.
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of three photographs: I. Albumenized salt print from wet collodion negative, 22 x 28 cm., circa 1858, on original mount, 33 x 45 cm. Depicts a piece of sculpture from the Great Stupa at Amaravati; these sculptures were then known as the Elliot marbles. II. Albumenized salt print from wet collodion negative, 18 x 29 cm., circa 1858, on original mount, 34 x 46 cm. Depicts an Indian sculpture with a measuring device. III. Albumenized salt print from wet collodion negative, 25 x 37 cm., circa 1856, on original mount, 44 x 57 cm. Depicts the idgah and tomb at Ryakotta (Rayakottai).

Arrangement

Arrangement
One flat box.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Linnaeus Tripe (1822-1902) was an official photographer for the British Government, employed to document Southern Indian archaeological remains before they further decayed. He photographed widely in southern India, including Rayakottai (Ryakotta), which was then a British stronghold. Around 1858 Tripe took this image of sculptures from the ruined Buddhist stupa at Amaravati, which was a large monument built approximately 2000 years ago in what is now Andhra Pradesh. The stupa was a mound-like structure made of brick, adorned with bas-relief medallions, paneled friezes made of limestone and freestanding sculpture. As time passed, the stupa fell into disrepair and was eventually buried under rubble. Eventually, the structure was excavated and some of the decorative elements were shipped to the British Museum, London. These pieces were referred to as the 'Elliot marbles' after Walter Elliot, the antiquarian, linguist and member of the Madras Council who recovered them.

Administration

Custodial History
Gift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro, 2001.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Preferred Citation
Linnaeus Tripe photographs, FSA A2001.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
FSA A2001.10


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Tombs -- India Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Buddhist sculpture -- India -- Amaravati Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Amaravati (India) -- Antiquities Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Monuments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
India Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Salted paper prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
India -- Andhra Pradesh -- Amaravati Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
National Museum of Asian Art Archives
Washington, D.C. 20013
AVRreference@si.edu