'Ruins at the Ancient City of Gour formerly on the Banks of the River Ganges'

Coloured aquatint by and after Thomas Daniell, from Part 1 of the series 'Oriental Scenery' published by Robert Bowyer, The Historic Gallery, Pall Mall, March 1795.

Between 1786 and 1793, Thomas Daniell (1749-1840) and his nephew William Daniell (1769-1837) shared a celebrated artistic journey around India. Their subsequent six volume work, entitled 'Oriental Scenery' and published from 1795 to 1815, was one of the first popular artistic endeavours to bring home to people in Britain the true wonders of Indian architecture, landscapes and people.

Gour was once the capital of Bengal but had been abandoned after an outbreak of plague in 1575. In their commentary to the work, Thomas and William describe shooting a wild pig at Gour and the animal is depicted in the tall grass in the foreground of this aquatint.