Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00012979Temple at Naveshera, Kashmir, India
About the Artwork
One of the most important British expeditionary photographers, Samuel Bourne was propelled by his great desire to travel to lovely, remote locations and to record images of what he considered picturesque. From 1863 to 1869, he worked widely in India, making three major expeditions to the Himalayas. This exquisite photograph of the decaying Temple of Naveshera was taken on his nine-month, second journey to this stunning, mountainous terrain. He balanced the ordered, constructed architectural forms with glimpses of the majestic natural landscape. Bourne included a few people in the scene to add a sense of scale, but they are incidental to the subject matter and symbolism of the photograph, which stresses the dominance of natural forces.
Inscriptions
Written in pencil on verso: "Kashmir / Ancient Temple / at Naveshera"; "999"; "4-2053"; "$1,400.00"
Exhibition history
Travel Photography: Early Images of India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 2-July 17, 2002).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Samuel Bourne (British, 1834–1912)
- Date
- 1864
- Medium
- albumen print from wet collodion negative
- Dimensions
- Image: 24 x 28.7 cm (9 7/16 x 11 5/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1994.186
More by Samuel Bourne in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00012979
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