Thappatalli - Residence of Maharaja Jang Bahadur, Katmandu (Nepal) - December 1852

Watercolour of Thappatalli, the Residence of Maharaja Jang Bahadur at Kathmandu in Nepal, by Henry Ambrose Oldfield (1822-1871), dated December 1852. The image is inscribed on the front in ink: 'H.A. Oldfield. Nepal'; and on the back: 'Thappatully; the Residence of General Jung Buhadour. December. 1852.' Maharajah Sir Jang Bahadur (1816-1877) was Prime Minister and Commander-In-Chief of Nepal from 1846 to 1877. It was he who seized power in Nepal and ushered in the rule of the Ranas, making the post of Prime Minister hereditary and reducing the king to a figurehead. The artist, Dr Oldfield, was Residency Surgeon at Kathmandu from 1850-1863. This image is the original drawing for the illustration facing page 388 of Volume I of Oldfield's 'Sketches from Nipal, Historical and Descriptive...' (1880); published by his family after his death. The two volumes contained an account of life at the court of Maharajah Jung Bahadur together with descriptions of the religious monuments and architecture of the region with illustrations from Oldfield's own drawings.

Source : British Library