Buland Darwaza with Figure

1858–62

Buland Darwaza with Figure, 1858–62. Dr. John Murray (Scottish, 1809–1898). Waxed paper negative; image: 37.5 x 46.5 cm (14 3/4 x 18 5/16 in.); paper: 37.5 x 46.5 cm (14 3/4 x 18 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William and Margaret Lipscomb 2021.203 This gateway is the entrance to the Great Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, not far from where John Murray was stationed for half of his four decades in India. Murray was by profession a doctor in the army of the East India Company, a British trading company that ruled much of India from 1757–1858. He took up photography in 1849 and made it his personal mission to photograph the many famous buildings in the region. The Buland Darwaza, or “high gate,” was built in 1575 by Mughal emperor Akbar and is said to be the tallest gate in the world.