Portret van Ahmed Khan, een man met een landgoed in de buurt van Hyderabad before 1872

Henry Charles Baskerville Tanner created this albumen silver print portrait of Ahmed Khan, a landowner near Hyderabad, at an unknown date. The photograph offers a glimpse into the visual culture of British colonial India, a time of significant social and political upheaval. As an artist working in British India, Tanner was part of a larger colonial project in which photography played a crucial role, particularly within institutional frameworks such as the British army. The image signifies power relations between colonizer and colonized. It's likely this photograph was commissioned to document local elites, serving administrative and political purposes. By examining archival materials, such as colonial records and ethnographic studies, we can better understand the social dynamics captured in this portrait and the role of photography in shaping perceptions of race, class, and identity during the colonial era. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.