A wood carver thumbnail 1
A wood carver thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

A wood carver

Drawing
1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911) was born in Pickering, Yorkshire. His interest in art and design was aroused by a visit to the Great Exhibition of 1851 and he later became involved in the decoration of the Victoria and Albert Museum; he is depicted in a relief panel on the pediment of the Museum's Lecture Theatre. At the end of 1864, he was appointed Architectural Sculptor, one of three new posts for artist-craftsmen at the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art and Industry in Bombay; he later became its Principal. In the following March he married and a few weeks later set off for a new life in India. In December 1865 his first son was born and christened Rudyard after the place in Staffordshire where his parents had first met. As well as teaching, Lockwood Kipling made decorative designs for buildings in Bombay and even designed the uniforms and decorations for Lord Lytton's Imperial Assemblage of 1877, at which Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. In 1875 he was appointed head of the new Mayo College of Arts in Lahore, where he promoted traditional Indian crafts, which had been declining in the face of cheap European imports. In 1870 Kipling had been commissioned by the government to tour the North-West Provinces and make a series of sketches of Indian craftsmen.This one, depicting a wood-carver in Simla, was drawn on 24 October 1870.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleA wood carver (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, pen and wash on paper
Brief description
Drawing, from a series of drawings of craftspeople of northwest India, pencil, pen and wash on paper, John Lockwood Kipling, Simla, 1870
Physical description
Drawing of a turbaned man seated on the floor, carving a block of wood into a floral design with a chisel and mallet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26cm
  • Width: 36.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
56. Inscribed (recto in ink) Simlah Oct:24/70 J.L.K. 4430; verso in pencil 56. A wood carver. Simla; verso in ink; No 35 (crossed through) a Wood Carving. (English; Lockwood; 1870)
Object history
John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911) was born in Yorkshire and began his career as a designer and architectural sculptor. In the early 1860s, he joined the South Kensington Museum (as the V&A was then known) producing decoration for the new V&A buildings with terracotta architectural sculpture under the direction of Godfrey Sykes.

In 1865, Kipling left London for India and spent ten years in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) to teach at the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art and became fascinated by Indian crafts. He was commissioned by the Indian Government to prepare a series of studies of crafts people and he visited the artisans in their workshops during a tour in 1870 that included Simla, Amritsar, Delhi and Lucknow.

In 1872 on a visit to Khamgaon in Berar he became fascinated by the process of cotton cultivation and produced a series of studies from life showing seeds being sown, filling gunny bags and farmers taking cotton to the market.

Kipling was a supporter of the Arts and Crafts movement in England which sought to re-establish the importance of good craftsmanship and design in the face of rapid industrialisation. His beliefs strongly influenced his teaching and when he was appointed Principal of the Mayo School of Art (today Pakistan’s National College of Arts) and curator of the adjoining museum in Lahore, he promoted the study of traditional crafts.

John Lockwood Kipling was the father of Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book and Kim.

Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [ Room 8. On The Wall.] '0929. TWENTY-EIGHT FRAMES, glazed, each containing two sketches, by J. L. Kipling, of the School of Art, Bombay, illustrating the craftsmen of North-western India. 1 to 56'
Summary
John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911) was born in Pickering, Yorkshire. His interest in art and design was aroused by a visit to the Great Exhibition of 1851 and he later became involved in the decoration of the Victoria and Albert Museum; he is depicted in a relief panel on the pediment of the Museum's Lecture Theatre. At the end of 1864, he was appointed Architectural Sculptor, one of three new posts for artist-craftsmen at the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art and Industry in Bombay; he later became its Principal. In the following March he married and a few weeks later set off for a new life in India. In December 1865 his first son was born and christened Rudyard after the place in Staffordshire where his parents had first met. As well as teaching, Lockwood Kipling made decorative designs for buildings in Bombay and even designed the uniforms and decorations for Lord Lytton's Imperial Assemblage of 1877, at which Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. In 1875 he was appointed head of the new Mayo College of Arts in Lahore, where he promoted traditional Indian crafts, which had been declining in the face of cheap European imports. In 1870 Kipling had been commissioned by the government to tour the North-West Provinces and make a series of sketches of Indian craftsmen.This one, depicting a wood-carver in Simla, was drawn on 24 October 1870.
Bibliographic references
  • Reproduced in J.L.Kipling, 'The Industries of the Punjab', Journal of Indian Art, vol. II, no.20 (October 1888), opp. p. 42 (reprinted from the 'Official "Punjab Gazetteer"').
  • Rohatgi P. and Parlett G., assisted by Imray S. and Godrej P. Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, 17th to the early 20th century. Published by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, in association with V&A, London, 2008. ISBN 81-901020-9-5. p. 322, pl. 35
  • Patel, Divia; Rohatgi, Pauline and Godrej, Pheroza, "Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: an exhibition of paintings and drawings from the 17th to the early 20th century organised by the V&A and CSMVS". Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai and Victoria and Albert Museum, 2008, ISBN:81-901020-8-7 p.79
  • Bryant, Julius and Weber, Susan; John Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London Newhaven: Yale University Press, 2017 fig. 9.17, cat. 70, p. 219
Other number
56 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
Accession number
0929:56/(IS)

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 4, 2002
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest