Orcha - The Vintage collection

Orchha State was founded in 1501 AD by the Bundela chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became its first king. He reigned between 1501-1531, during which time he built the fort at what is now the town of Orchha, on the banks of the river Betwa. He moved his capital from Garhkundar to that town in 1531 and died in the same year.

Jahangir Mandir palace at Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, 

The Jahangir Mahal was built by Bir Singh Deo. William Prinsep, an employee of the Calcutta firm Palmer & Co., came from a family who served in India for several generations. After the collapse of the company he worked as an indigo broker, was on the board of the Assam Company, and was credited with the establishment of the Indian Tea industry as well as establishing the Bengal Coal Company and inheriting the Bengal Salt Company on the death of his brother George.

Taken by Lala Deen Dayal in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of places proposed to be visited by Their Excellencies Lord & Lady Curzon during Autumn Tour 1902'. Orchha was founded in 1501 by the Bundela Rajput Raja Rudra Pratap (r.1501-1531) on an island of rock beside the Betwa River, approached by a bridge. The city reached the height of its political power with its greatest architectural achievements during the reign of Raja Bir Singh Deo (r.1605-1627). Its fortunes later declined and it was eventually abandoned in 1783. The Jahangir Mandir was built in c.1605 by Bir Singh Deo and named after his imperial patron, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r.1628-58). 

Orchha is unusual among Rajput capitals because there are three separate garh palaces rather than one gradually-extended palace. This is a general view of the last to be built and most sophisticated, the Jahangir Mandir, built in c.1605 by Bir Singh Deo and named after his imperial patron. It has a square symmetrical plan and elevation around an inner courtyard and is crowned by eight large domes. The photograph is from an album containing architectural and landscape studies of various sites in Central India. The majority of the photographs were taken by Deen Dayal while on tour with Sir Lepel Griffin (1838-1908), who served as Resident at Indore and Agent to the Governor-General of Central India between 1881 and 1888. Many are reproduced in autotype in his ‘Famous Monuments of Central India’ (London, 1886). The album was formerly in the collection of Sir William Lee-Warner (1846-1912), who served in the Indian Civil Service and was a Member of the Council of India between 1902 and 1912.

Photograph of the Fort and Raj Mandir Palace at Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, taken by Lala Deen Dayal in 1882. It was built beside the Betwa River, with a fortified palace complex on an island in the river, approached by a causeway over a bridge

 Orcha citadel

 Royal Palace Orcha

 Phool  Bagh Orcha

 General view from the south-west of the Raj Mandir and Jahangir Mandir Palaces, Orchha, a photo by Edmund William Smith, 1880'

  William Prinsep (1794-1874), of the town of Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, beneath its massive rock, with the fort and a mosque in the foreground, dated 1818. The image is inscribed below: 'The Fort and Town of Oochar. No. 1.' The area is famous for its pinkish-grey granite outcrops of rock. Orchha, meaning 'hidden place', is situated near the Betwa river. Orchha's Fort complex contains the Raj Mahal , the Rai Praveen Mahal and the Jahangir Mahal. The Raj Mahal is a medieval granite bridge built by Rudra Pratap and completed by Madhukar Shah. The Rai Praveen Mahal was built in the mid-1670's by Raja Indramani for his concubine. 

The Chaturbhuj Temple was built, during the time of Akbar, by the Queen of Orchha

The Raj Mandir was built by Madhukar Shah during his reign, 1554 to 1591

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 This view shows one of the rocks with two soldiers on the top and in the foreground a mounted trooper of the Dromedary Corps. Orchha, meaning 'hidden place', is situated near the Betwa river and the area is famous for its pinkish-grey granite outcrops of rock.

     Photograph of the Jahangir Mandir and Raj Mandir in Orchha, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by Edmund William Smith in the 1880s. 

 Orchha was founded in 1501 by the Bundela Rajput Raja Rudra Pratap (r.1501-1531) on an island of rock beside the Betwa River that is approached by a bridge. The city reached the height of its political power with its greatest architectural achievements during the reign of Raja Bir Singh Deo (r.1605-1627). Its fortunes later declined and it was eventually abandoned in 1783. The Jahangir Mandir was built in c.1605 by Bir Singh Deo and named after his imperial patron, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r.1628-58). The palace is one of the finest examples of mediaeval fortification in India from the period of the Bundela Rajputs. The building is square and is crowned by domes with rounded angle bastions capped by open pavilions. There are eight domes and a number of small chattris. The Raj Mandir was built by Madhukar Shah between 1554 and 1591. The palace is square with a central open courtyard. The centre of each side is projected outwards. The roof is flat but on the top of the outer wall there is a line of small chattris  

Orcha (1818) (The actual city of Orcha had declined and been abandoned. This was just a village/small town near it's ruins)

The southern part

 Bir SingDeo Chatri

 Mausoleum at Orcha

General View

 Orcha Courtyard Temple RamRaja ji

 Orcha Fort

Sawan Bhadon Towers

The photograph is from an album containing architectural and landscape studies of various sites in Central India. The majority were taken by Deen Dayal while on tour with Sir Lepel Griffin (1838-1908), who served as Resident at Indore and Agent to the Governor-General of Central India between 1881 and 1888. Many are reproduced in autotype in his ‘Famous Monuments of Central India’ (London, 1886). This photograph is similar to plate 74, 'Oorcha Fort'. The album was formerly in the collection of Sir William Lee-Warner (1846-1912), who served in the Indian Civil Service and was a Member of the Council of India between 1902 and 1912.

The Sawan Bhadon towers, which one can see here are actually air shafts, which captured the prevailing wind and circulating cool air to the underground halls that served as pleasure retreats for the royals during summer months. There is an resourceful system of water ventilation connecting the underground palace with Chandan Katora. These cooling towers, came to Orchha from their origin in Yazd in Iran.