The entrance to the cave at Elephanta, Bombay

Details

William Westall, A.R.A. (1781-1850)
The entrance to the cave at Elephanta, Bombay
pencil and watercolour, unframed
8¼ x 11½ in. (21 x 29 cm.)

Provenance

Anon. sale; Sotheby's, London, June 1970, where purchased for the present collection.

Literature

C. Bentley, 1804, for Capt. R.M. Grindlay, Scenery, Costumes and Architecture, Chiefly on the Western Side of India, London, 1830, part V, pl. 29.

Exhibited

India Observed, no. 47.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

On his return from Australia to England in 1804, Westall stopped at Bombay and became one of the first artists to depict the temples in the region. His drawings were used in Grindlay's ambitious publication (see R. Grindlay, op. cit) and capture the dramatic scenery of the West Coast. Westall made several views of the 6th century temples carved into the cliffs at Elephanta.

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