<< YCBA Home Yale Center for British Art Yale Center for British Art << YCBA Home

YCBA Collections Search

Call Number:
MSS 26
Creator:
Wales, James, 1746 or 1747-1795
Title(s):
Notes on the caves at Ellora
Date:
1795
Classification:
Archives and Manuscripts
Series:
Series II: Cave descriptions and other notes
Part of Collection:
Box 1, folder 5
Provenance:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use:
The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Scope and Content:
One of the documents is dated 23 April 1795; others have no date. One page describes the approach to the caves—a very difficult one, even in the dry season. Wales describes the caves as “very different from anything that I had ever seen.” He finds them surprising, and insists that “no doubt they will have this effect upon every European traveler.” At various points, the papers remark on the “superb” sculpture present, and at one point Wales describes their appeal as stemming from their “singularity of thought, boldness of design, and laborious execution.” He references other complexes at Elephanta and Salsette, likely for comparison. Another recurring theme is the decay the caves are now subject to, on account of the water that affects much of the structure.
Physical Description:
20 pages ; 29 x 20 cm
Genre:
Diaries and Notebooks
Subject Terms:
British
Cave temples
Caves
Description and travel
Ellora Caves (India)
India
Associated Places:
India
Mumbai (India)
Pune (India)
Associated People/Groups:
Daniell, Thomas, 1749-1840
Gaṅgārāma, active 18th century
Mabon, Robert
Malet, Charles Warre, 1752-1815
Wales, James, 1746 or 1747-1795
Finding Aid Title:
James Wales archive
Archival Object:
https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/3410866
Metadata Cloud URL:
https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3410866?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1