Cynthia Hayes

Rajasthan Reimagined

Cynthia Hayes created this series based on her interaction with historical Indian architectural renderings compiled in the Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details (1894) which was issued under the patronage of His Highness Maharaja Sawai Madhu Singh G.C.S.I. of Jeypore (today spelled “Jaipur”). Several of the volumes are housed in the UWM Libraries’ Special Collections.

The twelve volume portfolio is the result of an extensive undertaking initiated in 1887 by British Colonel S.S. Jacob, Engineer to the Jeypore State, to record Rajput architectural wonders in the region in or near Delhi and Agra. Realizing these sites were rapidly decaying, the goal was to produce a reference collection of ornamental patterns to be of practical use to artists and architects.

Highly accurate original drawings, done by graduates of the Jeypore School of Art, were reproduced in England by W. Griggs and Sons in large scale photo-lithograph plates with hopes they would be used chiefly as working drawings for the artisan.