GANTZ, John (1772–1853)

An original hand-coloured lithograph by GANTZ, John (1772–1853) from the celebrated publication The Indian Microcosm, published by John Gantz & Son, Madras, in 1827. Entitled “The Mohurum Eeed or Festival,” the plate illustrates the vibrant public celebrations associated with the Islamic festival of Muharram, one of the most widely observed religious processions in nineteenth-century India.

The composition captures a ceremonial procession moving through a bustling colonial streetscape, with musicians, standard bearers and participants dressed in festive attire passing before European-style buildings. Gantz records the event with remarkable ethnographic accuracy, presenting not only the ritual itself but also the interaction of Indian religious customs within the urban fabric of colonial Madras.

Unlike many contemporary topographical publications that concentrated solely upon architecture and landscape, The Indian Microcosm documented the customs, occupations and everyday life of India with exceptional fidelity. The work remains one of the earliest and most important lithographic publications produced in India, offering an invaluable visual record of nineteenth-century Indian society.

Printed by John Gantz & Son, pioneers of lithographic printing in Madras, the series is highly prized for both its artistic quality and documentary significance. Individual plates from The Indian Microcosm are increasingly sought after by collectors of colonial Indian prints, early lithography and visual records of Indian social history.

Ref. Abbey, J.R., Travel in Aquatint and Lithography, Abbey Travel 445; The Descriptive Letter Press to The Indian Microcosm. Madras: John Gantz & Son, 1827