 "Photo:")
Inside UM-St. Louis' Thomas Jefferson Library is a cozy area downstairs where the St. Louis Mercantile Library is located.
The Mercantile Library has the oldest book collection west of the Mississippi River, with over 250,000 books, early prints and photos of western Americana.
Most of the books in this library seem to be about major historical events, and the histories of great civilizations and cultures.
The library also has classical art including sculptures, rare artifacts and landscape paintings that depict nature scenes mainly in the Midwest and West, and most from the nineteenth century that embody the historical events and feelings of that time.
The current exhibit at the Mercantile Library is "Indian Independence." This display is about the First War of Indian Independence in India in 1857.
It was the greatest armed resistance to British rule in the nineteenth century. Indians fought the British for violating their religious rights. The British tried to impose their culture upon India.
In fighting this war, Indian rebels hoped to gain more freedom and a return to their traditional way of life.
There is an array of original artwork, books, documents, paintings and other Indian artifacts in this exhibit. To add to the authentic and historic feel, there are Indian sculptures, pottery and rugs from that period included amongst the images of the war - elephant figures on the pottery and earth-toned green, gray and rusty-red coloring on the rugs. The exhibit also features a flat-screen computer with several Indian Independence war scenes that flash by in entertaining sequences.
According to Julie Dunn-Morton, Curator of Fine Art Collections at the Mercantile Library, "…the key thing about the exhibition is that it's revisionist history."
"The event in 1857 was traditionally called the 'Sepoy Mutiny' because the Sepoy Indians decided to rise up against the British army of which they were once a part. Different groups of Indians revolted not just those in the military," Dunn-Morton said. "The images in the exhibition are images from books in the 1850s that told the story, and all were told by the British point of view."
Dunn-Morton pointed out that The International Studies Department collaborated with the Mercantile Library to put this exhibit together.
They worked with Shalini Arya, who was the main curator of the exhibit. She brought over the images from her research.
Dunn-Morton said that most of the images and information displayed in the exhibit are reprints from books of actual drawings created by members of the British army.
Most are from either Narrative of the Indian Revolt from its Outbreak to the Capture of Lucknow (London, 1858), or from The History of the Indian Mutiny (Vol. 1 London).
The paintings in the exhibit are meant to portray the force and persistence with which the Indians resisted British power. Some of the captured Indian rebels were hung in the gallows, as seen in the reprint "Gallows Swinging at Peshawar for the executing Sepoys," (May 21, 1857).
It was also reported that other Indians were strapped to, then shot out of, cannons. Typically, the British rounded up the rebels and then executed them over several days.
The massacres at Dehli were the most significant. The King of Dehli and two princes were captured by the British and executed. In battle, it looks like the Indians mainly used rifles, while the English had bayonets as well as rifles.
And there seemed to be more British than Indians who fought on horseback. Several reprints depict terrified horses and even oxen , getting caught in the crossfire of war.
"Letters Written During the Indian Mutiny," by Frederick Roberts (London: Macmillan & Co., 1924), features a letter written by Roberts that describes the high levels of military manpower in Delhi.
There is also a pretty portrait of Begum Hazrat Mahol, who denounced British rule and played a leading role in organizing the revolt. Also included is a striking painting of battle scenes - the last stand of the rebels and the final surrender in Delhi to the British, on Sept. 21, 1857.
Another drawing in the collection that captures the events of this war is of British "Prize" agents extorting money from citizens after the capture of Delhi.
The Indian rebels put up a good fight, but when the war was over about a year after it began, the Indians were still under British rule. Their fight for freedom makes for an interesting art display.
Do not miss this historic journey into India's past. This unique exhibit runs through the end of September.
Be the first to comment on this article!