East vestibule of the Great Pagoda (Shwesandaw or Temple of the Golden Hair Relic) at Rangoon, 1852

Photograph by Surgeon John McCosh (1805-1885), Burma, 1852.

The Great Dagon Pagoda, or Shwedagon, is a sacred stupa in Rangoon (Yangon) that is believed to hold relics including strands of hair from the Buddha.

John McCosh (1805-1885) was a pioneer of both military photography and the photography of south-east Asia. During his service as a surgeon with the Bengal Army in the 2nd Sikh War (1848-1849) and the 2nd Burma War (1852-1853), he succeeded in taking a remarkable series of calotype pictures which are among the earliest military photographs in existence. Limited at first to portraiture, his work illustrates his wide-ranging interest and artistic eye, with subjects including British military personnel and their families, as well as local people. As his skill improved, he was able to include larger landscape and architectural photographs. While in Burma (Myanmar), he took pictures of many of the splendid buildings in Prome (Pyay) and Rangoon.

From an album of 310 photographs taken by Surgeon John McCosh, 1848-1853.