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The Death of Queen Victoria: the Politics of Mourning and Memorialisation in the British Persian Gulf
This blog post marks the 195 anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth on 24 May 1819. On the afternoon of 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. In the United Kingdom, as well as many thousands of miles away around the Empire, reactions ‘were...Lowe, Daniel
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Blog post
Distinctive leg-of-mutton legs and fine jewels: a new display of Indian paintings in the Treasures of the British Library
Regular visitors to the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library, may have encountered our recent display of Natural History drawings from India next to the entrance to the Magna Carta. From 8 March 2014, a new display of Indian paintings from the Visual Arts collection will be...Roy, Malini
Hinduism, South Asia, exhibitions, and art
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Blog post
The accident that befell Sir Donald Friell McLeod
Even if the attendant or station inspector had shouted ‘Mind the Gap’ (the phrase first used in 1969 at rail stations in the United Kingdom), it would not have prevented the horrific accident that befell Sir Donald Friell McLeod at the railway station at Gloucester Road in 1872. Arriving at...Roy, Malini
religion, South Asia, art, and visual arts
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Blog post
William Beckford's albums on Hindu mythology
The English novelist and noted bibliophile William Beckford is highlighted in the British Library’s current exhibition ‘Terror and Wonder: the Gothic Imagination’. Exhibition curators (Greg Buzwell, Tanya Kirk and Tim Pye) feature Beckford’s Gothic novel Vathek as one of the earliest examples in this style. Beckford’s masterpiece expressed the ‘orientalist...Roy, Malini
Hinduism, religion, South Asia, exhibitions, and art
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Blog post
George Percy Churchill’s Biographical Notices of Persian Statesmen and Notables
In 1906, the Government of India Foreign Department published (and republished in 1910) an index of prominent Qajar statesmen, compiled by George Percy Churchill, Oriental Secretary at the British Legation in Tehran. According to Cyrus Ghani, this collection of notes and genealogical tables, entitled Biographical Notices of Persian Statesmen and...Lowe, Daniel
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Blog post
Performing Authority: the ‘Islamic’ Seals of British Colonial Officers
The function of seals as symbols of textual authority and ownership is deeply rooted in the Islamic world, especially in Arabic and Persian-speaking societies. Historically, seals were used for authorising various documents, including letters and legal contracts, and for marking the ownership of books and manuscripts. Edward William Lane attests...Lowe, Daniel
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Blog post
Colonial Knowledge: Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia
John Gordon Lorimer’s monumental Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia – often simply referred to as ‘Lorimer’ by many researchers - has been digitised and is now accessible for free through the Qatar Digital Library.Lowe, Daniel
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Blog post
The Death of a Political Agent: Captain Shakespear
Today, 24 January 2015, marks 100 years since the death of colonial officer and Arabian explorer and photographer, Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, who died in a battle at Jarrab between the forces of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern-day Saudi Arabia, and his adversary, Ibn Rashid. Shakespear was well...Lowe, Daniel
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Blog post
Speaking out: political protest and print cultures in West Africa
West Africans made powerful use of writing and publishing to oppose colonialism and fight for independence. Since then, authors have not been reluctant to comment on the state of their nations and the world. Stephanie Newell (Yale University) and Marion Wallace (British Library) reflect on these developments.Newell, Stephanie ; Wallace, Marion