GANTZ, John (1772–1853)

An original hand-coloured lithograph by GANTZ, John (1772–1853) from the landmark publication The Indian Microcosm, published by John Gantz & Son, Madras, in 1827. Entitled “Building and Repairing Masoola Boats,” the plate documents the construction and maintenance of the distinctive Masoola (Masula) boats used along the Coromandel Coast.

The scene depicts Indian craftsmen engaged in the building and repair of these unique surf boats on a sandy shoreline. Characterised by their stitched plank construction rather than iron fastenings, Masoola boats were specially designed to withstand the heavy surf of the Bay of Bengal and served as the principal means of transferring passengers and cargo between ships anchored offshore and the open beaches of Madras, where no natural harbour then existed.

John Gantz faithfully records both the specialised methods of boat construction and the daily labour associated with one of the most important maritime industries of colonial South India. The lithograph provides a valuable documentary record of indigenous shipbuilding practices and the coastal economy of early nineteenth-century Madras.

The Indian Microcosm remains one of the earliest and most important lithographic publications produced in India, celebrated for its detailed visual record of Indian occupations, industries, customs and everyday life. Individual plates from the series are increasingly sought after by collectors of colonial Indian prints, maritime history, ethnographic art and early Indian lithography.

Abbey, J.R., Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770–1860, Abbey Travel 445; The Descriptive Letter Press to The Indian Microcosm. Madras: John Gantz & Son, 1827; Mildred Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period (for the historical context of Indian occupations and maritime industries).