Untitled [The Steamship “Palamcotta” off Bombay Harbour, with the Gateway of India beyond]
Signed "L R Herrick" lower left
Oil on canvas
15.75 x 19.75 in | 40 x 50 cm
THE STEAMSHIP PALAMCOTTA OFF THE GATEWAY OF INDIA, BOMBAY
Palamcotta was a general cargo ship that served from 1945 to 1961, owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd.
This dramatic ship portrait by maritime painter J.R. Herrick depicts the merchant steamship Palamcotta entering Bombay Harbour. Herrick places the vessel centre-stage, her towering hull and smoking funnel dwarfing the traditional lateen-rigged dhows and rowing boats in the foreground. To the left, the Gateway of India and Apollo Bunder waterfront rise recognisably against a brooding sky, situating the scene at the symbolic maritime threshold of colonial Bombay.
Such compositions exemplify the maritime portraiture tradition of the 19th and 20th centuries, in which specific named vessels were celebrated on canvas. The inscription of the ship’s name, Palamcotta , suggests a commissioned work, likely produced for a shipping line, captain, or senior officer. Herrick’s eye for atmospheric conditions—the shifting light, rolling surf, and smoke plumes—combines documentary precision with painterly drama, evoking both the technological might of modern steam shipping and the continuity of older seafaring traditions still active in Bombay Harbour.
Today, paintings like this are valued not only for their aesthetic impact but also for their documentary importance. They record the era when Bombay was among the busiest ports of the British Empire, its harbour simultaneously crowded with ocean liners, freighters, dhows, and local craft. Herrick’s work provides both a visual commemoration of a particular vessel and a testament to Bombay’s central place in global maritime history.
This work will be shipped framed.
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.