drawing
- Museum number
- 1900,0411.35
- Description
-
Aurungabad; an entrance gate to the fortified town, seen across a stream spanned by a bridge and on which are figures and a cart pulled by oxen, two figures at left, another carrying a vessel. 1875
Watercolour, heightened with white, over graphite
- Production date
- 1875
- Dimensions
-
Height: 273 millimetres
-
Width: 432 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- This is one of four watercolours depicting Indian landscapes by William Simpson in the collection of the British Museum. The work shows the Mecca Gate in the city of Aurangabad in the district of Maharashtra. It was exhibited in the ‘India “Special”’ show at the Burlington Galleries, Piccadilly, in 1876 alongside 200 other watercolours and sketches showcasing the Prince of Wales’s visit to India in 1875/76. In the exhibition catalogue, the watercolour is listed as no. 37 and is offered for the comparatively high price of 15 guineas. An accompanying caption explains the depiction as follows: “This is an old Mahommedan city in the Nizam’s territory, which the prince was to have visited; but as he did not see the Nizam, the visit to this place did not occur.” Like Simpson’s other views of India, this watercolour was not sold at the exhibition and instead remained in the artist’s possession until his death in 1899. It was offered to the British Museum by his widow, Maria Eliza Simpson, in 1900.
For more information about Simpson’s work in India, see 1900,0411.37. Other works by this artist in the collection of the British Museum include documentary style drawings of the Crimea (see reg. no. 1971,0515.10), views of archaeological sites in Asia Minor (see reg. no. 1900,0411.40) as well as one view of Magdala in present day Ethiopia (see reg. no. 1900,0411.33).
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1876 May-Jul, Burlington Gallery, 191 Piccadilly, 'India "Special"', no. 37
- Acquisition date
- 1900
- Acquisition notes
- Purchased from Maria Eliza Simpson for £100 together with 1900,0411.33 to 41.
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1900,0411.35
