These images of the monumental Qutb Minar, a thirteenth-century minaret built of red sandstone, were produced by Robert and Harriet Tytler as studies for a painting. Both amateur photographers, they were stationed in Delhi, where Robert was serving as an officer in the British army, during the 1857 Indian uprising. As a distraction from these traumatic events, Major Tytler convinced his wife to embark on a painting project to create a visual record of the city in circular panoramic format. Qutb Minar is considered one of the finest examples of early Mughal architecture, and was a popular subject among early photographers.