Set in Stone: Victoria's Monuments in India
Mary Ann Steggles recalls the circumstances of the many monuments to Queen Victoria that were erected in India, and traces their fate.
The nineteenth century was an era of ‘statumania’, and sculpture stands as the supreme imperial art form. Throughout the duration of the Raj, the British residents of India and their loyal supporters erected portrait statues in marble and bronze as symbols of a national and civic pride and evincing the moral virtue required for the expansion and security of the Empire. Whether erected by public subscription or funded through private benefaction, these symbols of allegiant nationalism were intended to inspire a sense of patriotic fervour in the native population, a function frequently emphasised by elaborate and grandiose unveiling ceremonies.
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