The Great Nandi Bull of Tanjore Temple, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859
€ 190
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1859
Mapmaker / artist
Published by Gebroeders Kraay
Publisher
Gebroeders Kraay, Amsterdam
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-00114-23
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 top right corner; edges straight and without nicks. Light, uneven toning, soiled along the edges. Scattered light foxing and one larger brown spot in the margin. A few small light flecks in the printed area.
About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, titled "DE GROOTE OS VAN TANJORE." Under a flat-roofed pavilion carried on carved columns, a great stone bull lies on a high platform, with worshippers gathered around it. Behind rises the tall tapering tower of the temple, its tiers richly carved and crowned by a dome. A tall standard with a pointed finial rises above the pavilion roof, and large trees grow at its left. Steps lead up from the open ground in the foreground, where cattle rest on the platform and people walk, carry pots on their heads and lead oxen. At the far left stands a stone gateway with an arch, with a man leading a laden ox past it, and palm trees appear in the distance at the right.
The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "DE GROOTE OS VAN TANJORE.", which translates as "The great ox of Tanjore". Beneath the caption, in a small script, is the publisher's imprint "Uitg. Gebrs Kraaÿ, Amsterdam.", short for uitgegeven (published) by the Kraay brothers of Amsterdam. No artist or engraver is named on the plate.
It was issued in 1859 in A. van Otterloo's Britsch-Indië, beschreven naar de nieuwste bronnen, published in Amsterdam by Gebroeders Kraay as the opening volume of their series Vreemde Landen en Volken (Foreign Lands and Peoples). The title page describes the book as illustrated with twenty-four steel engravings and a map, and each view carries its own Dutch caption and the Kraay imprint.
The great temple at Tanjore, now Thanjavur, was built under the Chola king Rajaraja I around 1010, and its colossal bull represents Nandi, the mount of Shiva. The plate makes a fine companion to the other temple and mosque views from the book.
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.
