Indian Lady 250 BC (verso, right)
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a woman in a sari, standing against a plain wall, holding a small object in her hands. This isn’t a painting—it’s an early photograph. Raja Deen Dayal was one of India’s first professional photographers, working when cameras were rare and heavy. The woman’s calm gaze feels modern, but the photo is over 130 years old. It was made for a British official’s souvenir album, a mix of colonial life and local portraits. Look up more of Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905) to see how he documented India in the 1800s.
