The four-pillared mantapam of the Vijayanagar period in front of the unfinished gopuram of the modern temple, Mahabalipuram - 1825.

Watercolour of a pavilion of the Vijayanagar period in front of an unfinished gopuram of a temple, by John Gantz, c. 1825. Inscribed: 'The Muntapom at Mahabalipoorum. J. Gantz'.

John Gantz (1772-1853) and his son Justinian ran a lithographic press, but are remembered best for their watercolours of flat-top houses and public buildings in and around Chennai (Madras), dating to the first half of the 19th century. Mamallapuram, a tiny village south of Chennai (Madras), was a flourishing port of the Pallava dynasty from the 5th - 8th centuries. The site is famous for a group of temples, a series of rock-cut caves and monolithic sculptures that were most likely created in the 7th century reign of Narasimhavarman Mahamalla. This view depicts the unfinished gateway from the 16th century, Vijayanagara period, situated north of Mamallapuram.