The Jewels of the Pagoda
January 1858
Medium
Albumen silver print from waxed paper negative
Dimensions
Image: 26.4 x 36.9 cm (10 3/8 x 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Cynthia Hazen Polsky Gift, 1988
Accession Number
1988.1048
Tags
Art Historical Context
Linnaeus Tripe's * Jewels of the Pagoda* (January 1858) captures the exquisite sculptural adornments of a Burmese pagoda their intricate, jewel-like details sparkling in sharp clarity. As a British Army officer and pioneering photographer, Tripe ventured into Southeast Asia during the colonial era, documenting architectural wonders with a meticulous eye. This albumen silver print, made from a waxed paper negative exemplifies mid-19th-century fieldwork photography—lightweight and portable, it allowed Tripe to record remote sites with remarkable fidelity. The medium's significance lies in its t...
About the Artist
Linnaeus Tripe
Linnaeus Tripe (1822–1902), born in Devonport, England, as the ninth of twelve children to Mary and Cornelius Tripe, pursued a military career influenced by his sister Emily's marriage to an army colonel. Joining the East India Company's Madras Infantry as a cadet in 1838, he rose to lieutenant in southern India by 1840 and captain in Bangalore by 1854. Extended leave in England from 1850 due to i...