Poort van het Chota Imambara in Lucknow before 1874

Darogha Ubbas Alli captured this image of the gateway to the Chota Imambara in Lucknow as part of an album of photographs. Photography in 19th-century India was enmeshed with colonial power. While offering aesthetic beauty, photographs like these also served the interests of the British Empire, documenting its presence and reach. This image is no exception. Alli, an Indian photographer, worked within the aesthetic parameters set by the British, producing images that confirmed their vision of India. The architecture itself reflects a fusion of cultural influences, blending Persian, Islamic, and European elements. The image freezes in time a particular vision of cultural synthesis, yet we can see the power dynamic embedded in its production and consumption. Historians might use such images, alongside written accounts and other visual materials, to gain a more complete and critical understanding of the cultural and political exchanges that took place during the colonial period. These documents allow us to understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production and the politics of imagery.