DANIELL, Thomas and William Daniell

This impression comes from the 1816 collected edition of the celebrated Oriental Scenery, one of the most important illustrated works on the architecture and antiquities of India. The plate was originally engraved for the Ellora series and later incorporated into the complete folio edition issued in 1816.

The composition depicts the vast interior of one of the ancient Buddhist chaitya caves on Salsette Island (present-day Mumbai), probably within the renowned Kanheri Cave complex. Massive stone columns with elaborately carved capitals flank the central nave, directing the eye toward the monumental stupa at the far end beneath a soaring ribbed barrel-vaulted ceiling. Two small figures standing before the shrine emphasize the extraordinary scale of the excavation while subtle illumination from the entrance creates a dramatic interplay of light and shadow throughout the cavernous interior.

Executed during the Daniells’ extensive travels across India between 1786 and 1793, this view records one of western India’s earliest and most significant rock-cut Buddhist monuments. Their accurate architectural renderings combined archaeological observation with picturesque composition, introducing European audiences to India’s remarkable cave architecture decades before systematic archaeological study. Today, the plate remains one of the finest early printed representations of the Buddhist caves of Salsette.

reff. Abbey, J.R., Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770–1860, Abbey Travel 420; Sutton, Thomas, The Daniells: Artists and Travellers (1954); Archer, Mildred, Early Views of India; Daniell, Thomas & William, Oriental Scenery (London, 1795–1808).