Marks she made

Name: Marks she made
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ISBN: 9781526187116

The art and architecture of Begum Samru

Mrinalini Rajagopalan

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Manchester University Press
31 March 2026

Art: financial aspects; History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900; Gender studies: women

Series: Rethinking Art's Histories

Begum Samru (b. circa 1750-d. 1836) was a north Indian woman ruler who used art and architecture to facilitate her social, political, and financial station in early modern India. Rising from the ranks of courtesans in Mughal Delhi to become the commander of her own mercenary army, she later became the ruler of an independent territory of Sardhana (60 km northwest of Delhi). The begum (Urdu/ Hindustani title for noblewoman) was a trusted ally to the Mughal emperor and the English East India Company, two of the dominant political powers in north India at the time. As a sovereign ruler, she corresponded with two popes and King Louis Philippe of France, exchanging portraits, architectural drawings, and letters with these powerful men in addition to her Mughal counterparts in India. Art and architecture played a key role in establishing Begum Samru as a powerful but non-threatening ruler; as an upholder and patron of the Catholic faith in India; as a political ally to several European and Indian factions that were vying for power; and as ruling matriarch of a cosmopolitan household, court, and army. In narrating the story of a single woman in nineteenth-century India, this book offers a path to think of the creative ways in which women participated in public and political spheres. It also illustrates how women without pedigree, women who did not bear biological children or produce male heirs, and women who lived in contravention of gendered norms found alternative methods of recognition, dignity, power, and sometimes, as in the case of Begum Samru, global visibility.

By: Mrinalini Rajagopalan
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 27mm
Weight: 800g
ISBN: 9781526187116
ISBN 10: 1526187116
Series: Rethinking Art's Histories
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 31 March 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Introduction: Making marks 1. About face 2. Dancing to diplomacy 3. Gifted 4. Courtesan, Amazon, and ruler 5. Why she built Conclusion Bibliography -- .

Mrinalini Rajagopalan is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh.