Queen Victoria's bronze statue, Agra,1906, a legacy of the Raj safely languishing in a museum!

Queen Victoria Statue Agra, Old Postcard 1906 past-india.com

This is an old photo of a fine bronze statue of  Queen Victoria in 1906 on a high granite pedestal  in  Agra over over-looking majestically the Akbar's fort and the Taj (seen in the image). The imposing  statue  was a reminder of the British Raj and its presence in the subcontinent. Believed to have been cast in  Italy and brought to the city in 1905, it was made by none other than Thomas Brock (1847-1922), an inventive and productive British sculptor who made many wonderful statues of the English queen. In all, he made as many as 14 statues of the British queen and his famous work was the Victoria memorial in front of the Buckingham palace, London. He made queen's statues for other Indian cities -Bangalore, Kanpur and  Lucknow. Including the one in Agra except the one in Bangalore other statues are kept in the dark shadow of the museums. A total of 50 statues of the woman monarch was installed across India after her demise in January 1901, but I believe, only one is on display in Cubbon Park, Bangalore city as a relic of the British Crown administration in India. 

After Victoria's death - a record-holding reign by a woman monarch, many statues of her  sprang up in many places in India. The sponsors invariably had close link with the Raj and played a great role in installing the statue with a view to be in the good book of the Crown administration. Funds were made available through public subscription and big donations from  rich people and local  rulers 

The prince of Wales (George Frederick Ernest Albert) and his wife were  on a six month tour of the Indian subcontinent in Nov. 1905 - April 1906  to impress on the natives their regal imperial power and Britain's grip on the subcontinent and its people. He unveiled the the Statue of Queen Victoria at Agra," December 18, 1905.

Queen Victoria, Agra, India. tweeter.com

Above image: Abandoned statue of Queen Victoria languishing on the grounds of the Agra City park.. The queen is  dressed in her flowing Order of the Garter robes with some decorations? and  carrying a scepter. Her royal regalia appear dull and dusty. The cross in the sovereign's orb is not visible; her statue is not even barricaded. It was at Paliwal Park in the city, mismanaged and unmaintained, it remained as a junk there.  Later  it was moved over to the museum to avoid vandals. Thanks to historians and heritage lovers; prior to that it was vandalized in November, 2014 by some fanatics as it was a symbol of colonial atrocities that the empress had overlooked...... 

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