Untitled [Two Views of Bombay, circa 1760 – 1860]

a) Eduard Hildebrandt
Indien: Strasse in Bombay (India: Street in Bombay)
Circa 1860s
Chromolithograph on paper laid on board
Print size: 9.5 x 13.5 in (24.1 x 34 cm)
With board size: 13.75 x 17.25 in (35 x 44 cm)

This was one of the last HIGH-END prints made of Bombay (1870s), using a late printing technique called chromolithography, which gave it the semblance of a watercolour painting.

The present lot depicts a wide street in Bombay (possibly Kalbadevi Road), India, after a watercolour by Eduard Hildebrandt (1818-1869). Born in Gdansk, Hildebrandt was a frequent traveller to the Middle East, India, Singapore, Siam (Thailand), Macao, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, Japan and the United States. He worked mainly in watercolours, and his paintings were exhibited in London in 1866 and at the Crystal Palace in 1868, just a year before his death in Berlin. A folio of chromolithographs, mounted in imitation of watercolour presentation, was published as 'Reise um die Erde' (Journey around the World).

b) Jan van Ryne
Vista en Perspectiva de la Isla de Bombay en Africa, cerca de la costa de Malabar, Reyno de Visapour, baxo la dominacion del Rey de la Gran Bretaña
circa 1760s
Original hand-coloured copper engraving on paper
10 x 16.25 in (25.5 x 41 cm)

Hand-coloured copper engraving of Bombay by Jan van Ryne and published by Jean-François Daumont in Paris circa 1760s. Beautiful panoramic view of the city of Bombay, which came under English domination in 1661. At that time, Bombay was located on an island of the same name, now attached to the mainland. The view is dedicated to Francisco de Avellaneda y Trivino.

"The area of Bombay was originally composed of seven islands. In 1661, these islands were acquired by the British Crown from the Portuguese as part of the marriage dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II. From 1668, the East India Company leased the land from the British Crown and developed the area as a trading port. A manor house of the Portuguese, situated on Bombay Island, provided a suitable site for the fort. A custom house, warehouse, quay and fortifications were also built soon after. Under the governorship of Charles Boone in the early 18th century, outer fortifications around the town of Bombay were constructed as well as a number of public buildings, including the Church of St Thomas. In this view, we can see the custom house, the Church of St Thomas and the flagstaff. By the 1860s, the need for military defence lessened and Governor Sir Bartle Frere demolished the fort walls. As a result, Bombay underwent an ambitious phase of building in the Victorian style." (Source: British Library Board)

BOMBAY IN TRANSITION: AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSPECT BY JAN VAN RYNE AND A NINETEENTH-CENTURY STREET SCENE BY EDUARD HILDEBRANDT

Viewed together, Van Ryne’s topographical engraving and Hildebrandt’s chromolithograph trace the evolution of Bombay’s image in the Western imagination—from strategic outpost to imperial metropolis—while illustrating the technological progression of printmaking itself, from hand-coloured copperplate engraving to multi-stone chromolithography. They constitute a compelling visual dialogue between two centuries of urban representation, colonial enterprise, and artistic innovation centred on one of Asia’s most dynamic port cities.

(Set of two)

This work will be shipped unframed

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot is offered at RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each book.