An architectural watercolour, mainly sepia, of a colonnade in the Rameshwaram Temple - 1840

Inscribed: Colonnade in the Pagoda of Ramisseram 220 yds long. Drawn by Lieuts Jenkins and Whelpdale and Ravanat Naig.

It would appear that in the transfer of 1879 these five drawings became separated from three drawings by the same artists which are still in the India Office Library and Records (WD 557-9). Together with five drawings by Justinian Gantz (WD 552-6), they were presented to the East India Company by Captain Lock on 16 January 1845. Jenkins went to India in the Madras Army in 1832 and became a lieutenant in 1836; Whelpdale went to India in the same year and became a lieutenant in 1835; Ravanat naik must have been a Madura artist, probably working as a draughtsman for the East India Company.

When Col.Mackenzie was collecting material in Madura, 1801-5, he had drawings of the temple, and the 'choultry' of Tirumala Nayak made for him by an Indian draughtsman (see M. Archer, 1969, vol. n. pp.531-2, plate 114: for Whelpdale and Jenkins, see ibid, vol. 1, pp. 17 and 233, and vol.n, p. 607, and M. Archer, 1972, pp 52-4). The present drawings are significant in illustrating the process by which Indian artists were recruited to help with archeological records. It is not known how the actual drawing process was divided between the three artists. The lieutenants probably did the main perspective drawing of the monuments and the Indian artist may have added the sculptural detail and the colouring.

It is interesting to note that the early photographer Captain Lyon made a photograph of exactly the same view using reflectors to light up the dark colonnade.

Source: V&A, London