Tomb of the Emperor Jahangir, Shahdara (Punjab) - January 1849

Watercolour by Henry Ambrose Oldfield (1822-1871) of the Tomb of the Emperor Jahangir at Shahdara outside Lahore in the Punjab, Pakistan, dated January 1849. The image is inscribed on the front in watercolour: 'Jehangeer's Tomb, near Lahore. H.A. Oldfield. Jany. 1849'; on the back of the sheet are notes in ink. Shahdara is situated opposite the city of Lahore on the banks of the Ravi River. Many gardens and serais were built there to be used as resting places before making the approach to the city; 'shahdara' means royal gateway or entrance. Jahangir's tomb, in the Dilkusha Garden, together with that of his wife Nur Jahan and his brother-in-law Asaf Khan, were built close to each other forming an unusual and important royal funerary complex at the site. Dr Oldfield was Residency Surgeon at Kathmandu from 1850-1863. After his death his family published his two volume 'Sketches from Nipal, Historical and Descriptive...' (1880), which described life at the court of the Maharajah Jung Bahadur and also contained descriptions of religious monuments and architecture with illustrations of the latter from Oldfield's own drawings.

Source : British Library