Lot Essay
The fort of Chunar, on a hill overlooking the Ganges up river from Benares, was substantially developed, from older foundations, by the Mughals. It subsequently belonged to the Nawabs of Avadh, and was annexed by the British after the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Close to the fort is the dargah of the Muslim divine Shah Kasim Salaiman. He had been imprisoned in Chunar fort by the Emperor Jahangir, for supporting the Emperor's rebellious son Khusrau, and he died there in 1606. His followers built a tomb for him in the town and established it as a centre of pilgrimage. From an architectural point of view it is the gateway of the dargah, shown here, that is the most impressive feature. The quarries of Chunar are a famous source of sandstone, and the material has been used here to superb decorative effect.
The gateway was earlier one of Hodges's most impressive subjects. Along with Warren Hastings and his party, Hodges had sought refuge in the fort of Chunar at the height of the Chait Singh Affair (see lot 23); he nevertheless found time to sketch the gateway of the dargah and published an aquatint of it (Select Views, no.19) in 1786. The Daniells arrived at Chunar from Benares on 29 December 1789 and stayed over the new year. They have shown the gateway from a more oblique angle than Hodges did, and have emphasized those aspects that they admired:
'The effect of this gate, at a distance, is grand, from the bold projection of its superior parts; and its ornaments, though numerous, are applied with so much art and discretion, as to form the happiest union of beauty and gandeur' (Oriental Scenery).
This watercolour was the basis for the aquatint Oriental Scenery, vol.I, no.24 (published January 1797). The engraved title, like the inscription on the reverse of this drawing, mistakenly calls the subject a gate 'leading to a mosque', rather than to a dargah (i.e. a mosque and tomb complex, associated with a saint). The mistake was inherited from Hodges.
The gateway was earlier one of Hodges's most impressive subjects. Along with Warren Hastings and his party, Hodges had sought refuge in the fort of Chunar at the height of the Chait Singh Affair (see lot 23); he nevertheless found time to sketch the gateway of the dargah and published an aquatint of it (Select Views, no.19) in 1786. The Daniells arrived at Chunar from Benares on 29 December 1789 and stayed over the new year. They have shown the gateway from a more oblique angle than Hodges did, and have emphasized those aspects that they admired:
'The effect of this gate, at a distance, is grand, from the bold projection of its superior parts; and its ornaments, though numerous, are applied with so much art and discretion, as to form the happiest union of beauty and gandeur' (Oriental Scenery).
This watercolour was the basis for the aquatint Oriental Scenery, vol.I, no.24 (published January 1797). The engraved title, like the inscription on the reverse of this drawing, mistakenly calls the subject a gate 'leading to a mosque', rather than to a dargah (i.e. a mosque and tomb complex, associated with a saint). The mistake was inherited from Hodges.