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DANIELL, Thomas and William
Interior of the Temple of Mandeswara, near Chaynpore, Bahar
London: Published as the Act Directs for Thos. Daniell, Howland Street, Fitzroy Square, 1 December 1808. Colour printed aquatint with hand-finishing by Thomas and William Daniell. Printed on wove Whatman paper. Image size: 23 3/8 x 16 3/4 inches. Sheet size: 29 x 21 inches.
A stunning view of the interior of the Mundesvari temple, from Thomas and William Daniell's celebrated book "Oriental Scenery".
The Daniells' Oriental Scenery is considered one of the finest illustrated works on India. Thomas Daniell and his nephew William spent nine years in India making studies, sketches and drawings of the scenery, architecture, and antiquities that graced the countryside. They then devoted a further thirteen years to publishing their remarkably accurate aquatints. In Britain, the impact was explosive. A cult of Indian architecture, landscaping and interior decoration arose, with the Royal Pavilion at Brighton as its centerpiece. The Daniells gave the English public their first accurate look at the exotic sub-continent. Their great achievement still lies in their ability to blend the picturesque with the real, resulting in images that capture the European taste for the sublime landscape, while still remaining faithful to their subjects. The Daniells brought the romance of the English landscape to the antiquities of India and provided England with an accurate vision of this wondrous country.
Consisting of one hundred and forty-four views, published in six parts, the work was issued in seven stages: three sets of twenty-four plates titled Oriental Scenery with title dates of 1795, 1797, and 1801; twelve plates titled Antiquities of India dated 1799; twenty-four plates titled Hindoo Excavations dated 1803; twenty-four plates titled Views in Hindoostan dated 1807; and twelve further plates of Antiquities of India published without a title page in 1808. All plates were engraved by the Daniells and all are taken from their drawings save the twenty-four plates of Hindoo Excavations, which are after drawings by James Wales.
Before climbing the hill to visit the Mundeshvari temple, the Daniells visited the small town of Ramgarh on the banks of a tranquil lake. They spent some time here, during which they sketched the village with its thatched houses and domed temple. They then proceeded up the steep slopes to the Mundesvari temple on the summit. Dating from 635 this temple was one of the oldest standing hindu monuments in Northern India. The Daniells sketched two views of this sacred shrine including this image of the interior with a pilgrim at prayer. While in the region William made the following observations, "22 January 1790. The Temple... terminates the top of the hill of Seeta, and was dedicated to Mandeswara, one of the apellations of Maha-Deva". This is a magnificent image from this important book and a wonderful glimpse of India at the close of the eighteenth century.
Abbey Travel II.420 no.73; Archer, Early Views of India. The Picturesque Journey's of Thomas and William Daniell, no. 22; Martinelli and Michell, India: Yesterday and Today, p. 15, no 29
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#5141 $2,000.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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