Page 280 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

278  EASTERN INDIA

8 Victoria Memorial
. Angel
The city’s most celebrated landmark, this monument of Victory
Surmounting the
to imperial self-confidence was the brainchild of dome is this 6-m (20-ft)
Lord Curzon (1859–1925), one of British India’s high bronze revolving
most flamboyant viceroys. The domed Neo-Classical figure, with a trumpet,
structure, completed in 1921, was constructed with made in Italy.
marble from Makrana, which also supplied marble
for the Taj Mahal, and financed by “donations” from
princes and ordinary citizens. Now a museum, its 25
galleries are spread over the ground and first floors.
The collection, which covers a fascinating selection of
Raj memorabilia, includes the Calcutta Gallery, with
oil paintings and watercolours of the city’s history.

. Statue of the Young Queen Victoria
The queen, sculpted in marble by
Thomas Brock in 1921, holds an orb
and a sceptre.

Entrance

KEY
1 Lord Cornwallis, an 18th-century
governor general established the
Raj’s administration.
General View 2 Durbar Hall
The impressive marble façade 3 Picture Gallery
of the Victoria Memorial.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p697 and pp710–11

278-279_EW_India.indd 278 26/04/17 11:54 am