About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, of the tomb of the Mughal emperor Akbar at Sikandra near Agra, lettered "GRAFSTEDE VAN DEN GROOT-MOGOL AKBAR TE SECUNDRA BY AGRA." The great gateway of the tomb complex fills the center, its tall pointed arch framed by carved panels and arched balconies, with four slender minarets rising from the corners and a small flag flying at its left. In front of it a camp has been pitched on open ground: large peaked tents stand to the left and right, and figures stroll, sit and talk among them, with dogs running across the sandy foreground. A broad, spreading tree fills the left of the view, an arcaded wall and distant buildings close the scene at the right, and summer clouds build up behind the minarets.
The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "GRAFSTEDE VAN DEN GROOT-MOGOL AKBAR TE SECUNDRA BY AGRA.", which translates as "Tomb of the Great Mogul Akbar at Secundra near Agra". 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.
The plate comes from Britsch-Indië, beschreven naar de nieuwste bronnen (British India, described from the newest sources) by A. van Otterloo, published in Amsterdam by Gebroeders Kraay in 1859. The book is the first part, or Eerste Deel, of the publisher's series Vreemde Landen en Volken (Foreign Lands and Peoples), and its title page announces twenty-four steel engravings and a map. Steel plates held fine, even lines through long print runs, which suited illustrated books of this kind.
Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, died in 1605 and lies buried at Sikandra, a few miles outside Agra. The fine tonal range of the steel plate, from the dark foreground grass to the pale sky, gives the small view real depth on a wall or a library shelf.
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.
