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. Executed by Thomas Daniell (1749–1840) and William Daniell (1769–1837), the print depicts one of the remarkable rock-cut Buddhist cave temples on Salsette Island, today identified with the Kanheri Caves within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai.

The composition presents the monumental façade of a cave temple carved directly into the basalt hillside, approached by a broad flight of steps and enclosed by sculptured railings. Massive rock-cut pillars frame the entrance, while subsidiary excavations and the rugged natural landscape emphasise the extraordinary fusion of architecture and geology that fascinated early European travellers. The Daniells combine archaeological accuracy with picturesque composition, creating one of the earliest published visual records of these important Buddhist monuments.

The Salsette caves were among the first ancient Indian monuments systematically documented by British artists. Through Oriental Scenery, the Daniells introduced these remarkable cave temples to European audiences, greatly influencing nineteenth-century appreciation of Indian architecture and archaeology. Their views remain among the finest and most historically significant topographical prints produced during the British period in India.

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).