Exhibition at JNU – The Marshall Albums

E-Invite

The Marshall Albums: Photography and Archaeology on 14th January, Friday, 5:00 pm at the Exhibition Gallery, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU.(E-invite attached).

There will be an introductory talk on the exhibition by Akshaya Tankha and Joyoti Roy at 5:15 pm.

About the exhibition:

One of the most important collections in the Alkazi Collection of Photography, The Marshall Albums displays images taken by Sir John Marshall and the ASI during his service as its first Director General between 1902 and 1928. The images reflect his keen interest in photography as a tool for successful conservation campaigns and highlight a unique process, which helped set important trends and standards in photography for archaeological scholarship in the formative years of the ASI.

The exhibition is drawn from a publication by the same name, edited by Dr. Sudeshna Guha, which explores the many discoveries and interpretations of Indian history that emerged through archaeological fieldwork. While maintaining focus on Marshall’s contributions to South Asian archaeology, the themes presented include the rise of archaeology as an authoritative element for historical scholarship during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the politics and contestations involved in the archaeological preservation of monuments and historical landscapes, and the relationship between photography and archaeology.

The exhibition aims to present reflexive histories of an investigative technique that developed into a disciplinary science within British India.