The Akalis Tower, Amritsar, Punjab
Painting
probably 02/1854 (made)
probably 02/1854 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
William Carpenter was the eldest son of the distinguished portrait painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter and of William Hookham Carpenter, who became Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department at the British Museum. In early 1850 he set off in the footsteps of his younger brother Percy, also an artist, and landed in Bombay. He spent much of his time painting portraits of local rulers and the surrounding countryside, often wearing Indian dress himself. He travelled widely, from Sri Lanka in the south to Kashmir in the north, and he also spent some time in the Punjab and Afghanistan before moving south to Rajasthan. He appears to have returned to England in 1856. Ten years later he was living in Boston, USA, but he later returned to London, where he died in 1899. This painting shows the tower that was part of a gurdwara built to commemorate Baba Atal Rai, the son of the Sikh Guru Hargobind Sahib, who died in his ninth year in 1628.The gurdwara no longer exists, and Carpenter’s drawing provides an invaluable record of what it looked like.
The tower is south of the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple.
The tower is south of the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Akalis Tower, Amritsar, Punjab (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
Brief description | 'The Akalis' Tower, Amritsar, Panjab' by William Carpenter (British); watercolour on paper; India; 1854. |
Physical description | Watercolour on paper. Multi-sided building with central tower and dome, surrounded by water and trees. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Credit line | Purchased from William Carpenter |
Object history | Museum numbers IS.33-1888 to IS.166-1888 purchased from William Carpenter for £500. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. |
Summary | William Carpenter was the eldest son of the distinguished portrait painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter and of William Hookham Carpenter, who became Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department at the British Museum. In early 1850 he set off in the footsteps of his younger brother Percy, also an artist, and landed in Bombay. He spent much of his time painting portraits of local rulers and the surrounding countryside, often wearing Indian dress himself. He travelled widely, from Sri Lanka in the south to Kashmir in the north, and he also spent some time in the Punjab and Afghanistan before moving south to Rajasthan. He appears to have returned to England in 1856. Ten years later he was living in Boston, USA, but he later returned to London, where he died in 1899. This painting shows the tower that was part of a gurdwara built to commemorate Baba Atal Rai, the son of the Sikh Guru Hargobind Sahib, who died in his ninth year in 1628.The gurdwara no longer exists, and Carpenter’s drawing provides an invaluable record of what it looked like. The tower is south of the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple. |
Bibliographic reference | Stronge, S. "The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms", V&A, 1999
p. 52, pl. 51 and pp.238-9, Cat. 212 |
Collection | |
Accession number | IS.40-1882 |
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Record created | November 13, 2002 |
Record URL |
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