“Princess Gouramma of Coorg,” by Baron Marochetti (1805-1867)

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Princess Gouramma of Coorg, by Baron Marochetti

Princess Gouramma of Coorg (1841-64)

Baron Marochetti (1805-1867)

1855

Marble, painted in watercolour, with gilding

Osborne House (Durbar Corridor)

Isle of Wight

Queen Victoria commissioned this bust as a Christmas gift for Prince Albert. She was fond of the girl, who had been presented to her when she and her father, the deposed Rajah of Coorg, came to England in 1852. [Commentary continued below.]

Photograph (with background digitally removed) and text by Jacqueline Banerjee

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The Princess was baptised in the Buckingham Palace chapel, with the Queen as one of the godparents — hence the prominent cross. The Queen had hoped that the girl would marry her other protégé, Maharajah Duleep Singh, but instead she married a much older man, Colonel John Campbell in 1864. They had one daughter, but, sadly, the princess died of consumption in 1864.

Of special note is the controversial colouring of the marble, which Henry Weekes thought warranted in this case, but generally to be avoided (see Read 174).

Related Material

Bibliography

Marsden, Jonathan, ed. (and author of this entry). Victoria & Albert: Art & Love. London: Royal Collection Publications, 2010.

Read,Benedict. Victporian Sculpture. New Have and London: Yale University Press, 1982.

Created 6 September 2017