Constance Frederica Gordon-Cumming Tangalla (Tangalle)

Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Cave on the Island/of Elephanta/Dec 9th. 69 and further signed by another, watercolour over pencil. The artist visited the famous Hindu temple carved into the rockface on the island of Elephanta. Constructed between the fifth and sixth century, the temple is part of the ‘City of Caves’ devoted to the cult of Shiva. For further work by this artist please see the catalogue link and enquire about availability.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Rock of Gibraltar and the Sierra Nevada Inscribed and dated l.r.: Rock of Gibraltar and /The Sierra Nevada/Nov. 1868/C.F.G.C., watercolour over pencil with touches of white 22.7 x 53.3 cm.; 9 x 21 inches

Badulla from Allugollehella, alias Castle Cumming Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Badulla from Allugollehella/alias Castle Cumming/Namamakuli Kanda Range/CFGC-/Aug. 25th 73 and signed by James Whittaker Gibson, watercolour over pencil ‘Badulla, the capital of Uva, a very pretty little town in the midst of a grassy and well-wooded and well-watered plain, about 2,200 feet above the sea-level, and surrounded on every side by fine hills of very varied form. There is a considerable amount of rice culture round the town, which seems like an island crested with cocoa-palms rising from a sea of velvety green’, Two Happy Years, p. 335. Badulla is in southern central Sri Lanka.

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.

Isle of Sumbawa, Malay Archipelago Signed, inscribed and dated l.l.: Isle of Sumbawa./Malay Archipelago. (& Vlack?)/May 7th. 1875/C.F.G.C., watercolour over pencil 12.4 x 56.5 cm.; 4 7/8 x 22 ¼ inches Sumbawa is one of the lesser Sunda Islands chain, an archipelago within the Indonesian archipelago, which stretches east of Java and north of Australia. The islands of Lombok and Flores are to the west and east respectively.