Elephanta Cave Temple and Gwalior Fort, India, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859
€ 260
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1859
Mapmaker / artist
Not named on the sheet
Publisher
Furne et Cie, Paris
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-11494-6
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light handling wear to the bottom left corner; edges straight and without nicks. Even age toning, soiled along the bottom, right and top edges. A few small foxing spots and one larger brown spot in the margin.
About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, with two Indian views, captioned "TEMPLE SOUTERRAIN D'ELEPHANTA" and "JUALIOR". The upper vignette looks into the rock cut hall on Elephanta Island near Bombay, with massive columns crowned by cushion capitals and, at the center, the great carved relief of a deity with three heads. Further carved figures stand in the panels to the right, and two men, one seated on a block of stone, rest on the rubble strewn floor. The lower vignette shows the fortress of Gwalior along the top of a steep rocky hill, its walls and towers outlined against the sky, with a domed pavilion, a walled enclosure, low white houses and dense trees at the foot of the cliff.
The captions translate as Underground temple of Elephanta and Gwalior, Jualior being the spelling engraved on the plate. Below them the publisher's line reads "Publié par Furne, à Paris" (Published by Furne, in Paris), and in small letters at the lower right corner of the lower image the printer's line reads "Imp. Delamain, 8, r. Git-le-Cœur, Paris." No artist or engraver is named.
The plate comes from Voyage en Asie et en Afrique by MM. Eyriès and Alfred Jacobs, published in Paris by Furne et Cie, éditeurs, of 45 rue Saint-André-des-Arts, with a title page dated M DCCC LIX (1859). The volume belongs to the Histoire générale des voyages, issued under the names of Dumont d'Urville, d'Orbigny, Eyriès and A. Jacobs, a French collection of travel accounts illustrated with steel engravings and captioned in French.
The pairing of a cave sanctuary and a hill fort makes this a good choice for a collection on Indian architecture.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
