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Call Number:
MSS 26
Creator:
Wales, James, 1746 or 1747-1795
Title(s):
Memorandums relating to Garrpoora or Elephanta
Date:
1794?
Classification:
Archives and Manuscripts
Series:
Series II: Cave descriptions and other notes
Part of Collection:
Box 1, folder 4
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:
Includes a narrative account of the cave complex at Elephanta in a hand that may not be Wales’s, though there are annotations that clearly belong to Wales at the bottom of several pages. The text describes the area around the caves, inhabited by people who make their living by making liquor from a certain type of tree. Wales notes the former presence of several sculptures at the entrance to the complex, such as an elephant carrying her young, but says that they are now decayed or missing. The author notes that much of the structure has been damaged by the elements or by vandalism: “I could not help feeling indignant regret on observing that time had not been the only agent employed in destroying the most valuable part of this magnificent effort of Human art.” A footnote, however, gives some details on the British government’s attempts to preserve the site.
Physical Description:
1 folded sheet (4 pages) ; 35 x 24 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/3410879
Metadata Cloud URL:
https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3410879?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1