Representing Sindh: Images of the British Encounter

The book is a wide-ranging examination of the way in which the British recorded their engagement with Sindh, then part of undivided India, in visual terms. Following the early years of exploration, conquest and settlement, the British began to record new aspects of the natural and cultural world of Sindh, from architecture and archaeology to arts and crafts and folklore. Illustration of these areas of engagement was at first relatively restricted. However, the rapidly developing technology of the 19th century, particularly photography, facilitated the dissemination of images in increasingly sophisticated ways, while a burgeoning publishing industry and the growth of the periodical press brought illustration to a greatly extended public. With a wealth of illustrations of paintings, drawings, prints and photographs from journals, folios, books and periodicals, this book gives a comprehensive and unrivalled picture of the evolution of the way the British portrayed Sindh to the outside world. Contents: Introduction; 1. Early Views of Sindh; 2. Close Encounters: The Army of the Indus; 3. Enter the Civilians; 4. New Interests; 5. Circulating Images; 6. Heroes and Villains; Conclusion.