Imperial Knowledge and Cultural Display: Representations of Colonial India in Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Century London

University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 IMPERIAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DISPLAY: REPRESENTATIONS OF COLONIAL INDIA IN LATE-NINETEENTH AND EARLY-TWENTIETH CENTURY LONDON Alayna Wilburn University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wilburn, Alayna, "IMPERIAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DISPLAY: REPRESENTATIONS OF COLONIAL INDIA IN LATE-NINETEENTH AND EARLY-TWENTIETH CENTURY LONDON" (2008). University of Kentucky Master's Theses. 558. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/558 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF THESIS IMPERIAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DISPLAY: REPRESENTATIONS OF COLONIAL INDIA IN LATE-NINETEENTH AND EARLY-TWENTIETH CENTURY LONDON The cultural venue of European exhibitions in the late-nineteenth century enabled the promotion of the modern nationhoods of imperial powers. This study examines the official attempts of Britain to project its imperial power and modern nationhood through exhibits of colonial Indian “tradition” in London. It traces the historical dynamics of such Indian displays in three exhibitions: the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition, and the 1924 Empire Exhibition. The juxtaposition of Indian “tradition” and British “modernity” at the exhibitions denoted India’s inferior “difference” from Britain, and thus the necessity of imperial rule in India. The exhibitions also evidenced the tensions of such notions with those of Indian modernity, especially by the inter-war period. Chapter One examines how the spatial and architectural landscapes of the exhibitions made visible the hierarchies of British imperial rule in India. Chapter Two discusses exhibits of India’s supposedly pre-industrial socio- economic conditions. Chapter Three assesses the ethnography of the exhibitions, and how they denoted the racial inferiority of Indian “natives” at the same time that they recognized the political power of Indian princes and middle-class elites. KEYWORDS: Exhibitions, Colonial India, Modern Britain, Imperial Hierarchy, Cultural Display. ________Alayna Wilburn______ _________10/23/08___________ Copyright © Alayna Wilburn 2008. IMPERIAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DISPLAY: REPRESENTATIONS OF COLONIAL INDIA IN LATE-NINETEENTH AND EARLY-TWENTIETH CENTURY LONDON By Alayna Wilburn ______Dr. Phil Harling___________ Director of Thesis ______Dr. David Hamilton_______ Director of Graduate Studies ______10/23/08________________ Date RULES FOR THE USE OF THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the Master’s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the thesis in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this thesis for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ THESIS Alayna Wilburn The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 IMPERIAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DISPLAY: REPRESENTATIONS OF COLONIAL INDIA IN LATE-NINETEENTH AND EARLY-TWENTIETH CENTURY LONDON ____________________________________________ THESIS ____________________________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Alayna Wilburn Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Phil Harling, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © Alayna Wilburn 2008. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following thesis benefited immensely from the support, insight, and direction of my thesis Director and Co-Directors. Dr. Phil Harling, my Director, has inspired my historical research since my first semester in the history program, and his consistent encouragement made this thesis possible. Dr. Ellen Furlough also provided constant support both within and outside my courses with her and my thesis would never be complete without her direction. Dr. Karen Petrone, as well, gave me instructive and supportive comments for this thesis. I truly thank these wonderful professors for their informative and personable assistance throughout my graduate work with them. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF FILES ................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 The Meanings of Tradition ........................................................................................... 2 Exhibitions and their Historical Contexts .................................................................... 7 Post-war Changes ....................................................................................................... 11 Social Hierarchies and the Native .............................................................................. 16 CHAPTER TWO: EXHIBITIONARY LANDSCAPES AND VIRTUAL TRAVEL ..... 21 Imperial Spectacle and Tourism ................................................................................. 23 Architecture and Organization ................................................................................... 28 Indian Administration in the Exhibitions ................................................................... 39 Indian Sections at the Exhibitions .............................................................................. 42 CHAPTER THREE: ARTISANAL BAZAARS AND PEASANT VILLAGES ............. 47 The Colonial Space of Bazaars and Villages in India ................................................ 49 The Tradition of Indian Artisans and Peasants .......................................................... 52 Handmade Objects and Indian Industry ..................................................................... 57 Simulated Bazaars in the Early Twentieth Century ................................................... 65 CHAPTER FOUR: THE NATIVE ON DISPLAY AND COLONIAL HIERARCHIES 72 The Economic Ethnography of the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition ................. 76 The Native of the Early Twentieth-Century Village .................................................. 79 The Tradition of Indian Princes ................................................................................. 84 Class Divisions ........................................................................................................... 90 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION................................................................................... 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 97 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 104 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Picture of the Indian Building at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition ....................32 Figure 1.2 Photograph of the Indian Building at the 1924 Empire Exhibition .........................32 Figure 1.3 Map of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition ............................................................34 Figure 1.4 Plan of the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition ....................................................35 Figure 1.5 Map of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition ............................................................37 Figure 1.6 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, Indian Palace ...............................................43 Figure 2.1 Woodcarvers and Gold Brocade Weavers (Courtyard of Indian Palace) at the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition ...............................................53 Figure 2.2 Model of Native Fruit Shop, 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition ........................53 Figure 3.1 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition: Native of Oudh, Andaman

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