Description
In an 1816 publication, the Daniells describe these plates:
NEAR BANDELL, ON THE RIVER HOOGLEY [sic]. The village of Bandell, near to which this view was taken is situated on the western bank of the river Hoogley, one of the most considerable branches that serve to convey the mighty flood of the Ganges into the ocean. […] The small monumental erection in the centre of this view, as well as the obelisk near it, rudely carved in wood, are called Suttees; and though possessed of no sculptural elegance, are most curious memorials of the perversion of human intellect, having been raised to commemorate the immolation of certain unfortunate females, who, in compliance with a horrid custom among the Hindoos, had been induced to give the last dreadful proof of conjugal fidelity, by a voluntary death on the funeral pile of their deceased husbands, …it has been expressly prohibited in all the territories over which the authority of the British government extends… and it is believed that examples at this time, even in secret, but rarely occur in the British Oriental dominions.
RAMGUR. Ramgur [or Rampoor, in the Benares District], is an Hindoo village, delightfully situated in a valley sheltered by hills, richly clothed with woods. From the numerous fragments of ancient buildings that lay scattered about this village and its neighbourhood, it is evident that Ramgur has at some remote period seen better days; at present it has little of magnificence to boast of; but although its inhabitants have been stripped of all their worldly greatness, they seem to have held fast to the faith of their forefathers; they still retain a temple and a tank for prayer and pious washing; indeed its recluse situation, with its large and wide-spreading trees, give it an air well suited to the solemnity of Hindoo worship.
Between 1795 and 1807 Thomas published a total of 96 plates from his collaboration with William under the title Views in Hindoostan in four volumes of 24 prints each. The Daniells also brought out an additional 48 prints in two related volumes on Indian antiquities and archaeology. Collectively, these 144 views and six volumes are sometimes referred to as the “Oriental Scenery” plates. The Royal Institute of British Architects, London, has some of the original drawings on which the prints are based in its collection.
Thomas Daniell and William Daniell were both British artists and engravers. Thomas began as a coach builder’s apprentice, but after assisting the royal coach painter, decided to become an artist and was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools in 1773. He exhibited regularly there until 1784, eventually becoming a full Academician in 1799. In 1786, Thomas managed to get permission to travel to India under the auspices of the East India Company by describing himself as an engraver and brought along his nephew William Daniell, then in his mid teens, as his assistant. They spent the next eight years recording the landscapes, buildings and antiquities. On returning to England, they published their drawings as prints over a 13-year period, in what is known collectively as Oriental Scenery. They also exhibited oil paintings of Indian subjects at the Royal Academy and the British Institution.
William Daniell was a painter, aquatint engraver and publisher. After returning from the eight-year sketching trip he made with his uncle Thomas Daniell to India, he studied at the Royal Academy in 1799 and became a full Academician in 1822. In addition to the six volumes of Views of Hindoostan that he worked on with Thomas Daniell, he is also known for his aquatints for R. Ayton’s A Picturesque Voyage round Great Britain (1814-25) and engravings after Robert Smirke which Daniell published as The Adventure of Hunch-Back, And the Stories Connected With It (1814).
Condition: Apparently a true pair – each with similar printing, paper, size, condition.
Full Title: Oriental Scenery Part 4: Twenty Four Landscapes, Views In Hindoostan; Drawn And Engraved By Thomas Daniell And William Daniell, With Permission Respectfully Dedicated To The Right Honourable George Obrien Earl Of Egremont
Full publication information, lower margin: “Drawn & engraved by Thos. & Wm. Daniell. Published as the Act directs by Thos. Daniell R.A. Howland Street Fitzroy Square, London, Jan’y 1, 1804.”
References:
Abbey, J.R. Travel in Aquatint and Lithograph 1770-1860. A.W. Fine Arts, 1991 (reprint of 1957 edition). II. 420 no.88.
Daniell, Thomas and William. Oriental Scenery. London: Thomas and William Daniell, 1816. pp. 21-22. Online at Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=jeT5RQptma0C&pg=PA21 (24 December 2020)
“Oriental Scenery. Twenty Four Views in Hindoostan.” Royal Academy of Arts. https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/book/oriental-scenery-twenty-four-views-in-hindoostan-drawn-and-engraved-by (24 December 2020).
Tillotson, Giles. “The Unlikely Voyage to India that Inspired Over 100 Paintings.” Sahapedia. 26 April 2019. https://www.sahapedia.org/unlikely-voyage-india-inspired-over-100-paintings (24 December 2020).
