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Description: | Pen and ink drawing by Sir Charles D'Oyly (1781-1845) of a Muslim tomb near the great banyan tree at Hajipur in Bihar, dated 16th March 1824, from an album of 80 drawings of views in Bengal and Bihar taken between January 1823 and May 1825. This image is one of a group of miscellaneous sketches which were made either at Patna, D'Oyly's headquarters, or at near-by Hajipur in March and October 1824 and May 1825. Banyan trees are sacred to the Hindus. As it is forbidden to cut their trunks or branches, they can grow to an immense size, providing a useful source of shade from the intense summer heat. Banyan trees send out aerial roots which may embed themselves in the ground and in turn become new trunks thus continually increasing the tree's size. The trees are also considered a symbol of fertility. In this sketch a Muslim tomb rests in the shade of the banyan.
D'Oyly arrived in India in 1797 and spent his first few years in Calcutta as Assistant to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal. He was Collector of Dacca from 1808-18 and was made Opium Agent at Patna in 1821. Whilst at Dacca he met the artist George Chinnery and became his pupil from 1808-12. D'Oyly was a prolific amateur artist who was greatly admired by the European community. He set up and ran a lithographic press, the 'Behar Lithography', and also formed an amateur art society the 'United Patna and Gaya Society' or 'Behar School of Athens': 'for the promotion of Arts and Sciences and for the circulation of fun and merriment of all descriptions.' | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | D'Oyly, Sir Charles (1781-1845) | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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