Gauhar Jaan, Indian stage star of Armenian descent

The photograph shows Gauhar Jaan, who was born in Calcutta and is known as a prominent figure of Indian music and dance. Her father was Armenian and her mother Jewish. She stands in a photographer's studio, one hand resting on a carved chair and the other on her waist. She wears a long dark tunic with embroidered borders and wide sleeves, and several strands of beads around her neck.

She was one of the first performers in India to record music on gramophone discs. From the late 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century she recorded about 600 works in more than 10 languages. Gauhar Jaan served at royal courts and became an influential and charitable woman.