Constance Frederica Gordon-Cumming Bunyan Bungalows on the Mahaweli Ganga

Kurunégala from the top of the Rock Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Kurunégala from the top of the Rock/C.F Gordon Cumming./April 18th 1874/Nalunde Hills/Rock Temple/Yakdessa Gala/Devil Dancers Rock/140, and signed by three others including G.J. Julungalle (?), watercolour over pencil 29 x 66.5 cm.; 11 3/8 x 26 ¼ inches Kurunegalla, 58 miles north east of Colombo, was Sri Lanka’s capital from 1293 to 1341, and the site of an extensive royal complex, which included the palace of the tooth relic. The town and lake lie at the base of a large red rock shaped like a giant beetle, three miles long. The countryside is a mixture of paddy fields and palms. Plumbago mining (an historic name for graphite) took place here.

Bridge of Boats and Old Fort, Benares Inscribed and dated l.l.: Bridge of boats and/old Fort-/Benares-/Nov. 20th, watercolour and pencil 17 x 35 cm.; 6 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches In this work, drawn on the spot at Benares, now Varanasi, the Hindu holy city on the banks of the Ganges, a colossal sculpture can be seen on the steps of an old fort. Across the river boats have been lined up and firmly anchored, so that planks can be laid across them to provide passageway for people, carts and carriages, In the Himalayas, p108.

Raldung from Chigaom over Jula Inscribed l.l.: Raldung from Chigaom over Jula., watercolour over pencil 17.3 x 29.5 cm.; 6 ¾ x 11 5/8 inches A ‘Jula’ (a rope-bridge) runs over the Sutlej river by Chagaon in Himachal Pradesh. The artist recorded an encounter where ‘we found a most horribly unsafe jula- four ropes, quite decayed, stretching from rock to rock, while far below raged the turbid river, swollen by the mass of melted snow,’ which she was eventually forced to cross, In the Himalayas, p, 446.

Watercolour over pencil 36.5 x 57.5 cm.; 14 ½ x 22 ¾ inches This is a study for a larger watercolour of this subject, which formed part of this collection and is now in the British Library. Adam’s Peak is about 85 miles east of Colombo.

Dunbar looking to Elbedde-Kandy Inscribed l.r.: Dunbar looking to/Elbedde-Kandy. Between Dimbola &/Dickoya-6631 ft, and signed by J.T. Beckett, Mr Naylor …, C. Swinburnton and one other, watercolour over pencil 27 x 43 cm.; 10 5/8 x 16 7/8 inches Signs of deforestation, of which the artist was critical, are clearly evident in this watercolour. Dunbar is 60 miles east of Colombo.

Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Ruins of the Temple at the furthest/point of Dondra Head. Southernmost point/of Ceylon. CFGC./Nov 7th/1873, and signed by Isabel Lloyd Hill, H Lloyd Hill, Edward Elliott, Mary Emily Elliott, and various others, numbered l.l.: 138A. watercolour and pencil 35.5 x 50.5 cm.; 14 x 19 ¾ inches This was one of many beautiful sunsets witnessed by the artist in Ceylon. Dondra is on Sri Lanka’s south coast, east of Matara.

Hindoo Temple, Jubblepore (Jabalpur) Inscribed and dated l.l.: Hindoo Temple/built before the Christian Era/at the Marble Rocks/Jubblepore-/Nov. 30th/69, pencil with watercolour 17 x 35 cm.; 6 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches This temple in Behdaghat, Jabalpur, is a Chausath Yogini Temple, dedicated to the worship of yoginis, specifically honouring female divinity. The circular wall surrounding the temple is decorated by 84 niches in which sculpted yoginis are visible. The artist encountered this impressive site en route to see the famous ‘Marble Rocks’ of the sacred Nerbudda river, In the Himalayas, p 596.

Selsdon Park, near Croydon Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Selsdon Park/C.F.G.C./1864, watercolour over pencil 35.1 x 50.5 cm.; 13 ¾ x 19 ¾ inches The house was owned by the Smith banking family from 1809 - 1877. George Smith (1765-1836) and his wife Frances, née Moseley, had fifteen children. Frances (1832 - 1922), the daughter of their second son, Oswald, married Claude, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (1824 - 1904) in 1853; they were the paternal grand parents of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The artist may have been introduced to Selsdon Park through this Scottish connection. Selsdon Park still stands, although it was significantly altered around 100 years ago, when it was converted into an hotel.

Tangalla (Tangalle) Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Tangalla/C.F. Gordon Cummming./Nov. 22nd 1873, and signed by J.H. Campbell, Isabell Lloyd Hill and H. Lloyd Hill, watercolour over pencil 25 x 75 cm.; 9 ¾ x 29 ½ inches The artist and her party visited the District Judge at Tangalle, ‘a hospitable Scotsman’ who lived in an old bungalow by the sea. Tangalle was ‘a pretty little seaside town’ about twenty miles away east of Matara, on Sri Lanka’s south coast, where the artist was staying. She writes about ‘the charms of that shore, with the quaintly-built canoes, with great outriggers and nets hung up to dry, and the picturesque groups of brown figures…’ Two Happy Years, p. 454.

The Mahavelli Ganga (the Mahaweli River) Signed, inscribed and dated l.l.: The Mahavelli Ganga/Gampola Hill/C.FGC./May 29th 74 and signed by John A Bell and Mary Bell, watercolour over pencil 27 x 45 cm.; 10 ½ x 17 5/8 inches The Mahaweli is Sri Lanka’s longest river. Gampola was Sri Lanka’s capital from 1347 to around 1410. Gampola is about 50 miles west of Colombo.