A.D.F.A.S. Scone
Association of Australian Decorative & Fine Arts A.D.F.A.S
For all enquiries please email: scone@adfas.org.au
PORTRAITS OF THE MAHARANIS
Presented by Dr John Stevens
Time & Venue: 6.30pm, Scone Arts & Crafts Hall
The Maharajahs and Maharanis of India were semi-independent rulers, responsible for governing territories outside the direct control of the British Empire. They fascinated the British public and functioned as powerful symbols of ‘exotic India’. This lecture provides insights into their lives and memoirs, with a broader view of the role they played in the Empire, drawing on extensive collection of portraits & photographs of Indian Maharanis. These images and the costumes they depict are stunning works of art in their own right, providing some of the earliest images of Indian women, which portray them as powerful, dignified and educated figures.
Dr John Stevens is a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London and holds a PhD in History. He teaches and publishes on British Imperial and Indian history as well as teaching Bengali, and is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh. His biography of Indian guru Keshab Chandra Sen was published in 2018. He appears regularly in the Indian media and recently on BBC Radio 4, discussing the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.