This picture is not a rare photograph of the Chola princess Kundavai - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 21, 2022
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows a rare photograph of the Chola princess Kundavai which is housed in the British Museum in Malaysia. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A rare photograph of the Chola princess Kundavai which is housed in the British Museum in Malaysia.
Fact: The woman in the photo is not Chola princess Kundavai. The photo was taken in the 19 century CE whereas Chola princess Kundavai reportedly lived during the 10-11 century CE. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same picture was found to be uploaded on multiple websites. The ‘Alamy’ stock photos website has the same photo on its website with the following description – “Portrait of a seated girl wearing jewellery, from Madras (c. 1872)”. So, the photo was taken in the 19th century CE whereas the Chola Princess Kundavai reportedly lived during the 10th-11th century CE.
Also, the same photo can be seen on the ‘British Library’ website with a similar description that the photo is related to the 19 century CE.
To sum it up, portrait of an unrelated girl wearing jewellery is shared as a rare photograph of Chola princess Kundavai housed in the British Museum in Malaysia.