A French print of the Lal Qila (ca. 1750)

 

I thought I’d move away from 20^th century Delhi this week and instead share a French print of the Lal Qila (the Mughal palace) from 1750. The image titled ‘Vue du Serrail’ is translated as a ‘view of the interiors of the palace’. Serrail would loosely correspond with the Mughal Seraglio or private quarters. 

 

As you can see, the information and nature of knowledge about India (and Delhi) was quite unique in the 1750s. Despite the political turmoil that engulfed the Mughal state at the time, the image of the ‘Great Mughal’ still piqued the curiosity of an enamoured European audience. In this case the artist may not even have been to India and this is why the architectural representation of the Lal Qila is in a familiar European idiom. I would also hesitate to call this an Orientalist representation, despite the allusion to the seraglio. There is very little in terms of exoticisation or cultural difference that suggests a hierarchy between the ‘East’ and ‘West’ in the picture.

 

In reality, this image would have been a part of a series of prints meant for a magnifying device called the ‘zograscope’. The idea was to generate an optical illusion of a deep recession (which a focus on the straight lines would allow) and enable the viewer to have greater sensory perception. Like the later stereoscopes of the 19^th century (I wrote about these a while ago), these prints enabled vicarious travel and enjoyment of distant places around the globe. The image of Delhi’s palace was perhaps being consumed by an elite European audience as an educational tool.

 

Significantly, soon after the image was created French presence in Delhi grew. This included mercenaries for hire such as Walter Reinhardt Sombre, the husband of the powerbroker, Begam Sumroo. Others like General de Boigne trained the Maratha army so they could hold North Indian cities like Delhi. 

 

Right, on that note, I will see you next Friday.