Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 29th Mar 1849 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3.5 pages handwritten
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Major Robert Gill was an army officer, antiquarian, painter and photographer in British India. He is best known for his paintings, copying the frescoes of the Ajanta Caves. Gill was the first painter – after their rediscovery in 1819 – to make extensive copies of the Buddhist cave paintings, which mostly date to the 5th century CE. His surviving copies and drawings remain significant in Ajanta studies as the originals have significantly deteriorated since his time.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
'Copy of a letter addressed to Col. Sykes by Capt. R. Gill, dated Jabneh, 29 March 1849' in which he writes of his latest series of paintings which comprise of copies of nearly all the paintings of the verandah of the caves except that which was supposed to be a representation of the zodiac, but which appeared to Gill as a representation of the states of man. Gill continues to describe the caves and their paintings, inscriptions and layout.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Gill Robert 1804-1879 (Subject)