2-979-725 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Ex-Queen of Oude (Lucknow), 1857. Begum Hazrat Mahal was the second wife of Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, and the regent of Awadh. She is known for the leading role she played in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. '...the nails and palms of the hands, are stained with the rouge-coloured henna; while the black of the eyelids is also heightened artificially, and the stray hairs of the eyebrow are carefully subjected to the depilatory instrument, and the hair is smoothed and perfumed with jessamine oil...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857.