Linnaeus Tripe
Pugahm Myo, Kyoung near the Ananda Pagoda, Burma
1855
Category:
In 1855 Linnaeus Tripe was appointed official photographer to the British Government of India's Mission to Ava (Burma). Although the mission's main purpose was diplomatic, it was also a pretext for intelligence-gathering about the remote, largely unexplored country. At Pugahm Myo, which contained the most extensive antiquities in the country, Tripe took twenty studies of pagodas, as well as this enigmatic image of a monastery. The complex had only recently been built by a Burmese oil entrepreneur, and thus hints at the riches of the oil trade, the importance of Buddhism, and the philanthropic nature of its wealthy residents, all of which would have represented valuable intelligence to the Government of India.
Artist
Title
Pugahm Myo, Kyoung near the Ananda Pagoda, Burma
Date
1855
Medium
Photograph
Materials
albumen silver printDimensions
24.8 x 34.3 cm
Nationality
British
Credit line
Purchased 1984
Accession number
20621