Sawai Ram Singh II: Meet The Maharajah Who Helped Pioneer Indian Photography

One of India's pioneering photographers was a maharajah. His name was Sawai Ram Singh II, and he was the Maharajah of Jaipur from 1835 till 1880. Unlike other maharajahs and royal patrons of the period, Ram Singh II did not only sit for and collect photographs. Rather, he made them in his studio. Today, the photographic archive from the Maharajah's studio consists of cameras and other photographic equipment — vintage brass Voigtlander lenses, wooden large format cameras, and tripods — and almost 2000 glass plates.

Although very little is know about when or how the Maharajah came to learn photography, it is widely speculated that he first came across a camera when the travelling photographer T. Murray visited Jaipur in 1864. Ram Singh II was fascinated by the new technology. Soon, the Maharajah acquired the necessary equipment, set up his own studio, and made photographs of his courtiers, fellow royals, and visiting Western dignitaries and delegates. He also took his cameras, lenses, and a mobile darkroom with him on his travels to Calcutta, Benares, and Agra, and created an extensive body of work that captured people, architecture, and landscapes of the time. He was a keen student of photography and often engaged visiting Western photographers like T. Murray, Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd, and travellers like Louis Rousselet in conversations on the art and craft of photography.

Interestingly, the Maharajah also made photographs of the women in the royal zenana or women's quarters at a time when the women lived behind the purdah or veil — almost entirely out of public view and were rarely photographed. These photographs give us intimate looks at the women of the Jaipur court — the concubines, the courtesans, and the maids. They are remarkable by themselves, but what's more remarkable is how the Maharajah decided to depict these women. Made in the style of Victorian studio portraits, these photographs show the women in a surprisingly modern light.

It is, however, important to note that these women rarely had any say in how they were represented and none of the photographs bear their names. In posing for the photographs, likely at the Maharajah's whim and because of his aesthetic curiosity — and not because of any transgressions against the status quo of the royal court.

The Maharajah passed away in 1880 at the age of 47. A collection of his photographs and photographic equipment is currently on display at the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum in City Palace, Jaipur. Learn more or plan your visit here.

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