The temple of Dechen Phodrang, Thinphu, Bhutan (illustrated); The village of Buxa Duar(or Pasakha), Bhutan; The bridge of Wangdü Zam,Bhutan; Suspension bridge over the Thinchu river at Chukha, Bhutan

Details

After Samuel Davis (1760-1819)
The temple of Dechen Phodrang, Thinphu, Bhutan (illustrated); The village of Buxa Duar(or Pasakha), Bhutan; The bridge of Wangdü Zam,Bhutan; Suspension bridge over the Thinchu river at Chukha, Bhutan
one dated 23.6.1800' (lower left) and inscribed respectively 'The Residence of Lam Glassa-too, in Bootan'; 'The Pass of Buxadewar, in Tibet'; 'The Castle of Wandipore in Bootan' and further inscribed 'Peshoo Loomboo or Lubrong, the seat of Teshoo-Lama' (on the reverse); 'Chuka-cha-zum or the chain bridge at chuka in Bootan (lower centre in the margin) and is further inscribed with details of longitude and latitude.
three pen and black and grey ink and grey wash, one pen and black and brown ink and grey, brown and blue wash
7 x 10 in. (17.8 x 25.4 cm.) (4)

Exhibited

London and Hong Kong, Martyn Gregory, China and the East Indies, April - July 1995, cat. 66, nos. 40-43.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Samuel Davis was the first Western artist to paint in the Himalayas and the only Western artist of distinction to work in Bhutan. For an account of his work in Bhutan see M. Arris, Views of Medieval Bhutan, The Diary and Drawings of Samuel Davis, 1783, London, 1982.
The present drawings are early copies after Davis's originals, many of which are now in the Paul Mellon Center at Yale.
The inscriptions on the reverse of each drawing are thought to be copied from Davis's Journal, published in either The Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1830 pp. 491- 517, or The Oriental Annual, 1834-1840, iv, pp. 52-4 or 105-7.
Copies after Davis's drawings were also published as engravings by James Basire in Samuel Turner's An Account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet, 1800, pls. 7, 1, 6 and 4.

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