Thomas Daniell

Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1749-1840) Ruins at the Ancient City of Gour Formerly on the Banks of the River Ganges, (Abbey Travel 420, no. 5) handcoloured aqauatint, from Oriental Scenery, published by R. Bowyer, London, 1795 S. 19¼ x 25½in. (49 x 65cm.) with 'A view of Serampore from the Park at Barrackpore' and 'A view of the Scotch Church from the Gate of Tank Square', handcoloured aquatints after James Ballie Fraser, published by Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1826 (3)

326. Thomas Daniell Calcutta, No.8, depicting the Gentoo Buildings from the River Hoogly, from Views in Calcutta, etching with aquatint on laid paper, with some hand-colouring, [Abbey Travel 492, no.8] 1788, by the artist in Calcutta, 400 x 520mm (15 3/4 x 20 1/2 in), unframed, preserved in a blue cloth solander box bearing the bookplate of Robert & Maria Travis, gilt-lettered label morocco label, Daniell, Calcutta, on spine. *** Provenance: ex-collection of Robert & Maria Travis (Sotheby's London, May 2005, c.f. lot 75). From the series of 12 views proposed by Thomas and his nephew, William Daniell, almost as soon as they arrived in Calcutta in 1786. It shows the artist/printmaker experimenting with the relatively new technique of aquatinting, which does not seem to have come easily to him, particularly in the trying circumstances of publishing locally. Half of the series was issued later that year, but the remainder not until two years later. Condition report: Trimmed to the border line and occasionally shaving into it, as issued. Some browning and spotting, an area of surface abrasion upper right, the sheet lined with japan tissue an mounted at corners onto a support sheet.

Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1749-1840) Near Raje Gaut, Benares inscribed 'N.48. Near Raje Gaut Benares -' (on slip of paperattached to the backing board pencil and watercolour on laid paper bearing J WHATMANwatermark 14¾ x 21in. (37.5 x 53.3cm.) Pre-Lot Text Property from the Collection of the late Andrew Franklin Provenance Andrew Franklin, and thence by descent to the presentowner Lot Notes During the Daniell's first tour which took them along theGanges, they sailed past Benares and spent some time makingnumerous sketches and drawings from the river which were later usedas the basis for fully worked up oils. On 4 December 1788, Williamrecorded in his diary 'The general view of Benares from thePinnacle was so very grand that I stayed on Board the whole day todraw it, fearing if we let slip the present opportunity that wemight never see it in a better point of View' (M. Hardie and M.Clayton, Walker's Quarterly, 1932). The Daniells returned toBenares for a longer stay on their return voyage a year later(November-December). Benares (now known as Varanasi) continues to be the religiouscapital of India and one of the most important places of pilgrimageand of ritual bathing. The Daniells depicted the Ghats in theirOriental Scenery and the accompanying text describes them as 'themost considerable of any of the Ganges.....vast multitudes ofdevotees..... to this city perform penance, and transact mercantileaffairs. An opinion prevails amongst them that drawing the lastbreath at Coss (Benares) is a circumstance much in favour of theirenjoyment of future happiness'

Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1749-1840) View of the French Island looking up the Canton River pencil and watercolour on paper 20 1/8 x 28 7/8in. (51.1 x 73.4cm.) Provenance From the direct descendants of Captain Robert BennettForbes. Henry Ashton Crosby Forbes. Lot Notes In 1784, Thomas Daniell was granted permission by the East IndiaCompany 'to proceed to Bengal to follow his profession of anengraver'. He took his twenty-six year old nephew, William, asassistant. On their outward journey to India, they sailed on theAtlas, reaching Whampoa on 23 August 1785. They travelled up riverto Canton where they spent several months sketching the people andscenery before proceeding to India for their lengthy and nowcelebrated tour. They returned to England by the same route as theyhad come out, proceeding again to China, seeking a safe passagehome to England during the war with France. They were recorded inCanton from September 1793 until March the following year, joiningthe convoy of Lord Macartney, and returning to England with hisembassy in 1794. In their Picturesque Voyage to India by the Way ofChina (1810), which includes two views of Whampoa, the Daniellsextolled its 'sweet romantic scenery' and added that 'nothingindeed can exceed the beauty of the country in thisvicinity'. There is a smaller variant of the present watercolour by ThomasDaniell in the Jardine Matheson collection (for which see P.Conner, The China Trade 1600-1860, Brighton, 1986 (exhibitioncatalogue), illustrated p.39, no. 37), and an oil of the same viewgiven to William Daniell by Shellim (M. Shellim, India and theDaniells, London, 1979, WD7). Another large watercolour of Whampoa(View of the Canton River, near Whampoa, China) by Thomas is in theYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon collection, and forfurther oils of Whampoa by both artists, worked up from Thomas'ssketches, see Christie's London, 16 November 1996, lot 267(Shipping at Whampoa, by Thomas), and Christie's London, 21 April1998, lot 757 (by William). Most of Thomas and William's sketches,and the large watercolours in particular, were retained rather thansold by the artists, as they were used as the models for theambitious series of large pictures and aquatints that the twoworked up on their return to England. They were sold following theartists' deaths, and the most significant group of largewatercolours, all of Indian subjects, was acquired by the Bromley-Davenport family, and subsequently entered the P&O Collection,finally dispersed in these Rooms on 24 September 1996. The lattersale included their South-East View of Bijaigarh, Uttar Pradesh,which shows, as in the present Whampoa view, Thomassketching. The present watercolour, rare both in being a Chinese view, and forits large format, comes from the distinguished collection of one ofthe most successful American China traders, Robert Bennett Forbes(1804-1889). Forbes, a New Englander, made his first trip to Chinaon the Canton Packet in 1817, aged 13, arriving in Canton in March1818. Forbes and his Perkins uncles would come to spearhead theexpansion of U.S. trade with China, contributing to Boston's statusas the second busiest port in America during the mid 1830s. By 1840Forbes was running Russell and Company which became the largestAmerican commercial house in China under his charge, dealingprimarily in silks, tea and opium. Russell and Company, along withthe larger British firm of Jardine Matheson, dominated the trade,their activities playing a prominent role in the outbreak of thefirst of the Opium Wars in 1839. Whampoa (Huangbu) reach, was the deep-water anchorage and loadingpoint for the western fleets, the intermediate way station betweenthe western colony of Macao and the Chinese city of Canton. Goodswere unloaded here before being shipped by barge ten miles up theshallow reaches of the Pearl river to Canton (Guangzhou). At theheight of the China trade, the American W.C. Hunter described thescene: 'no finer sight of the kind could be seen in any part of theworld than the Company's fleet collected at Whampoa, with theirinward cargoes discharged, and every ship in beautiful order,waiting for teas ... everything indicated system, discipline andforce.' Whampoa was where the fleets were anchored for the durationof the trading season, and its facilities were improved through thesecond half of the 18th century: a variety of craft were mooredpermanently here creating a floating village around the confinedships, and the foreigners were eventually granted rights to land,the English allocated Dane's Island and the French French Islandfor recreation, and docks, bankshalls and punch houses wereconstructed on Whampoa. Most of the many views of Whampoa islandwere taken, like Daniell's watercolour, from the heights of Dane'sand French islands, to show the extensive anchorage, with Whampoaand its pagoda beyond. The view at Whampoa was often included inthe sets of four views painted by Chinese export artists throughthe 19th century, which depicted the four stages of the tradersroute, from Macao, through the narrows and fort at Bocca Tigris, tothe anchorage at Whampoa and the city of Canton itself.

Lot No 13 Thomas Daniell (1769-1840) & William Daniell (1769-1837) Oriental Scenery Provenance Private Trust, London. Acquired by present owners from Bernard Shapero Book Sellers, London INR 6,400,000 - 8,000,000 USD 133,330 - 166,670