010056.i.4(22)

Genre: Architectural Photography

View looking towards the entrance gateway and flanking façades of the Kaiserbagh, 'or the famous palace of the ex-King, Wajid Ali Shah Sultan-a-Aulum. This great palace was commenced by the ex-King in the year 1850, and, in his wild ambition to have a palace of surpassing grandeur, he had it completed in the shortest time possible, at a cost of more than a million sterling. The principal part of the palace comprised the great rectangle, the buildings surrounding which would provide quarters for upwards of a thousand Mehals, or Queens; there were many other detached buildings also forming part of the palace; each building was provided with a private garden of its own, the whole was enclosed by a high masonry wall, and the gardens, in the centre of the square, were most tastefully laid out and adorned with innumerable fountains; the walks were lined with classic statuary, the surrounding buildings were sumptuously furnished and richly decorated with large chandeliers, girandoles, wall brackets, furniture elaborately mounted in silver and gold, embroidered curtains, Cashmere tapestry: everything calculated to add to the splendour of an Oriental Court was brought into requisition, no matter what the cost, or from what distance the articles had to be brought. This, like the flickering of a lamp, was the last attempt of the monarchs of Oudh, to make themselves great among nations; it was a brilliant attempt, but not sufficiently dazzling to deceive the British Government. Although long since deserted by royalty, the remains of the palace are still magnificent ruins in a good state of preservation...The great arched entrances still remain with their massive gates in bronze, bearing on their panels, in basso relievo, representations of the mermaid and the royal insignia of the King of Oudh...' Built between 1848 and 1852, with portions surviving (Llewellyn-Jones).