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Badminton Party at Mashobra, Shimla
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This scene is from one of many lavish entertainments hosted by caterer, restaurateur, and hotelier Federico Peliti (Italian, 1844–1914) at his forested country estate outside Simla. In the photograph, Peliti is on horseback and his wife Judith on the swing.. Swings have a long history as items of leisurely pleasure in Europe and India. Badminton, which originated in England in 1873, was popular in India. Deen Dayal may have been invited to document this gathering because he and Peliti, an amateur photographer, both belonged to the Photographic Society of Bombay.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBadminton Party at Mashobra, Shimla, 1887. Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905). Albumen print; image: 19.9 x 27.1 cm (7 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.); paper: 19.9 x 27.1 cm (7 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2016.266.9
