Khan of Khelat at a meeting with the Viceroy, Lord Lansdowne, in the early 1890s

A fine full plate, 11 x 9 ins, photographic group portrait by Bremner taken in the early 1890s showing a meeting between the Khan of Khelat  [or Kalat ] and his suite and the Viceroy of India, Lord Lansdowne with Lady Lansdowne and his military and political officers. The portrait, signed in the negative BREMNER lower left, is pasted to an old card leaf and is well toned and in good condition. I have not yet found time to identify all the sitters, although the Mehmod Khan is seated on the right end, separated from the Governor General only by a senior high political officer whose medals show service back as far as the 1857 Mutiny.  Noticeable among the aides de camp at the very back of the group is Lt. Colonel Lord William de la Poer Beresford wearing the V.C. he had won during the Zulu War.The splendidly attired staff officer on the extreme left is the Viceroy’s Private Secretary, Sir John Charles Ardagh, K.C.I.E., C.B. [1840-1907]. A scarce image which we have not come across before although, several years ago we handled a very similar group taken when Lord Curzon was Viceroy. apr7/1

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne [1845-1927] was a very keen supporter of the Forward Policy in his approach towards the North West Frontier, Afghanistan and the perceived Russian threat to Britain’s Empire of India.