Tuesday 14 June 2022

Lot 236

An important archive of Indian botanical watercolours, drawings, letters and notes of and...

View More

Lot 236

An important archive of Indian botanical watercolours, drawings, letters and notes of and...

Price Realised: £33,800

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000

Price realised is hammer price plus fees (30% Buyers Premium inclusive of VAT).

Share this lot

Let your friends and family know about this lot

Lot 236

Description

An important archive of Indian botanical watercolours, drawings, letters and notes of and regarding botanist Hugh F.C. Cleghorn (1820-1895), Major General Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893)and Colonel Heber Drury (1819-1905), India, circa 1840-1860 (18 works)

Provenance: English private collection acquired in 2017

 

Comprising:

Cleghorn material

1. A folder inscribed Notices of Common Indian Trees No. 1, possibly in the hand of Francis Cunningham with whom Cleghorn had healings over the re-establishment of the Lal Bagh garden in Bangalore

Manuscripts of Dr. Charles Drew (d. 1857)

2. An ink sketch of the trunk and inflorescence Baccaurea and sheet of related notes a more developed version is at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

3. Notes on the Dammer tree

4. Notes on another, unidentified tree, probably but not certainly in Drews hand

Manuscripts of Cleghorn

5. A diary page dated 13 August 1857, made in Calicut during his first tour as Conservator of Forests for Madras. It appears to be about the role of Khadars (a tribal group) in forest management.

6. Two sheets with parts of the manuscript of the paper on the uses of coconut published by Cleghorn in 1861in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal.

7. Two watercolours of Acacia melanoxylon, one showing the efforts of nature to survive the process of ringing (the bark forming a mass of callus tissue after it has been damaged), the other the effect of attack by the parasitic plant Loranthus memecylifolius. These are very amateur and could even be by Celghorn himself, the pencil writing is his scrawl used for rough notes. They are interesting as recording his connection with the Australian Plantations in the Nilgris, on which he wrote reports as Madras Conservator. These were set up by Campbell to grow Australian species of Eucalyptus and Acacia as quick growing timber for building projects, and fuel for the growing settlements at Ooty and Coonoor. They were beside the Wellington Barracks near Coonoor.

8. Three copy plates from Celghorns collection copied from two European publications, the rest of which are all at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, comprising Antequtilea laureola, t.161 and Lodhra crategoides, t.110 from Jaquemont, Voyages dans LInde par Victor Jacquemont, 1840-41; and Eucalyptus robusta, plate 7 of J.O. Westwood, Arcana Entomologica, 1845.

9. A proof plate from a work by R.H. Beddone, Cleghors successor as Madras Conservator

10. A lithograph by Dumphy (probably after a drawing by Govindoo) of Diospyros assimilis from Beddomes 1866/67 Forest Report.

11. A fine monochrome watercolour sketch of Portulaca quadrifida, possibly by one of the Madras School of Art pupils.

12. Notes on 12 species of native trees signed by Major Alexander Cunningham. These are in the hand of a clerk and must have been copied either for Cleghorn or perhaps Cunninghams Bangalore-based brother. They must have been made when Cunningham was travelling in Central India in the 1850s.

13. A fine drawing of Carnarium strictum (the black dammer tree), labelled Anagoondy Pass, Cochin.

Material which appears to have been commissioned by Colonel Heber Drury

14. A watercolour of the male inflorescence of Pandanus odoratissimus, hard to say if in an Indian or European hand

15. A watercolour of a fruiting (female) branch of Pisonia aculeata, certainly by an Indian hand.

16. A pencil sketch of infloresence of Cypripedium (now Paphiopedilum) druryi, signed M.W.

17. A pencil sketch of whole plant of P. druryi, annotated 4000 ft. discovered on the Travancore Mts by Col. H. Drury 1866, probably by an Indian hand.

18. A watercolour of a Habenaria species (labelled Satyrium from Travancore Hills 3000 ft., certainly by an Indian hand not unlike Govindoos style, however Drury used his own artists.

The cataloguing of the above was compiled from notes provided by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

Of the Indian botanical collections at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the watercolours, writings and drawings of Hugh F.C. Cleghorn (1820-1895) are by far the most important (H. Noltie, Indian Botanical Drawings, Edinburgh, 1999, p. 31). Cleghorn was the third generation of his family to be involved in India, his grandfather playing a major role in acquiring Ceylon for the British in the late 18th century. Educated in Scotland he went to India in 1842 as part of the Medical Service. He travelled extensively, studying and drawing plants and developed a keen interest in the problems of deforestation. He was appointed Professor of Botany in 1852 at Madras Medical College, publishing the book Forests and Gardens of South India in 1861. His work on the prevention of deforestation resulted in his appointment as Inspector General of Forests. In 1868, having inherited his family home in Stravithie, Cleghorn returned to Scotland and gave lectures on botany in Glasgow. The Cleghorn Memorial Library at the Royal Museum of Scotland was started in 1888 containing much of his works on forestry.

Further reading: H.J. Noltie, Indian Botanical Drawings 1793-1868 from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 1999; H.J. Noltie, The Cleghorn Collection : south Indian botanical drawings, 1845 to 1860 , Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 2016

Buyer's Premium

The buyer shall pay the hammer price together with a premium thereon of 26% up to £20,000 (31.2% inclusive of VAT), 25% from £20,001 - £500,000 (30% inclusive of VAT), 20% from £500,001 thereafter (24% inclusive of VAT). The premium price is subject to VAT at the standard rate.

VAT
VAT is not charged on the hammer price unless it is stated that there is 'VAT applicable on the hammer price at the end of the description. Buyer's premium is subject to VAT.
(ARR) - ARTIST'S RESALE RIGHT

Qualifying living artists and the descendants of artists deceased within the last 70 years are entitled to receive a re-sale royalty each time their work is bought through an auction house or art market professional.

It applies to lots with hammer value over £1,000 as follows:
0 to £50,000 - 4%
£50,000.01 to £200,000 - 3%
£200,000.01 to £350,000 - 1%
£350,000.01 to £500,000 - 0.5%
Exceeding £500,000 - 0.25%
ARR is capped at £12,500

Please note ARR is calculated in euros. Auctioneers will apply current exchange rates.

Export of goods

Buyers intending to export goods should ascertain whether an export licence is required before bidding. Export licences are issued by Arts Council England and application forms can be obtained from its Export Licensing Unit. Details can be found on the ACE website www.artscouncil.org.uk or by phoning ACE on 020 7973 5188. The need for import licences varies from country to country and you should acquaint yourself with all relevant local requirements and provisions before bidding. The refusal of any such licences shall not permit the cancelling of any sale nor allow any delay in making full payment for the lot.

Own a similar item?

Receive alerts about similar lots

Continue Browsing

View More Lots View More Lots

LOT 237

A study of flowering plant, India, 19th century, opaque pigments on paper, the leafy stem...

Estimate: £200 - £300

LOT 238

A late 19th century photo album, with important early photographs of Singapore,...

Estimate: £800 - £1200

LOT 239

An Anglo-Australian photo album, 19th century, 50 pp., with photos of Australia and of...

Estimate: £300 - £500

LOT 240

A lithograph of Bombay Castle1809, after W Westall, published by Joyce Gold 103, Shoe...

Estimate: £100 - £200

LOT 241

The Bhai Gopal Singh English translation of the Siri Guru-Granth Sahib, translated and...

Estimate: £500 - £700

LOT 242

Four Lalit Akademi publications on Indian Art comprising B.N. Goswamy, The Bhāgavata...

Estimate: £100 - £150

LOT 243

Eight books on Indian Art comprising M.S. Randhawa, Basohli Painting, published by New...

Estimate: £200 - £400

LOT 244

CA Amrita Sher-Gil, Special Edition Marg magazine, Vol. 25 March 1972; and another edition...

Estimate: £300 - £500

LOT 245

A group of twelve volumes from the Lalit Kala Akademi Contemporary Art Series, India; comprising...

Estimate: £600 - £800

LOT 246

CA Dr. Mulk Raj Anad ed., Padamsee, Sadanga Publications, 1960

Estimate: £200 - £250

LOT 247

A group of Bonham's auction catalogues on Indian and Islamic Arts, and St. and...

Estimate: £200 - £400

LOT 248

A group of auction catalogues from Christie's, Sotheby's and others on Indian and Islamic...

Estimate: £200 - £400

LOT 249

A quantity of reference books on Indian Art (44)

Estimate: £100 - £120

LOT 250

C. Sivaramamurti, Nataraja in Art,Thought and Literature, National Museum, Delhi, 1974; P,...

Estimate: £50 - £80

LOT 251

A quantity of reference books on Southeast Asian Art (14)

Estimate: £40 - £60

LOT 252

Donald Ramanyake, (Sri Lankan, 1920-1993), Untitled, Outdoor Scene, oil on board, framed,...

Estimate: £300 - £400

Newsletter SignupNewsletter Signup

Keyword AlertsKeyword Alerts