Kirwuttee, A Temple, India

About the Artwork

William Henry Pigou, a medical doctor who was an amateur photographer, spent 1856–57 working for the British colonial government recording ancient Indian monuments. This image of the temple at Kirwuttee (current accepted spelling is Kuruvatti) was taken around two years after the introduction of photography to India. This building primarily has miniature temple models as its exterior ornamentation in combination with only a few figural sculptures.

Inscriptions

Imprinted in black type on white paper label mounted to recto: “Plate XXXVI. KIRWUTTEE. A Temple”

Provenance

?–2019: (Daniella Dangoor, London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) March 4, 2019–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Temples and Worship in South Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14, 2024-March 9, 2025).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: William Henry Pigou (British, 1818–1858)
Date: c. 1857
Medium: albumen print from paper negative
Dimensions: Image: 27.6 x 38.9 cm (10 7/8 x 15 5/16 in.); Image with border: 31.6 x 42.6 cm (12 7/16 x 16 3/4 in.); Paper: 35.7 x 55 cm (14 1/16 x 21 5/8 in.)
Type: Photograph
Classification: Photograph
Department: Photography
Credit line: Photography Discretionary Fund
Accession no.: 2019.54

Open-access museum record · AT-00000381