Gateway to the Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Coloured aquatint by Thomas Daniell, 1796.

Thomas Daniell was probably criticized for not showing the mausoleum in greater detail, with the result that in 1801 he produced two views of the Taj Mahal in a larger format, almost 3 feet (90cm) in width. These are not part of the series Oriental scenery, and are reproduced as nos. 28-29 in Archer op. cit.

The Taj Mahal was raised by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, known as Mumtaz-i-Mahal, "The Elect of the Palace", who died in 1629. Shah Jahan, it is said, planned a similar tomb for himself of black marble, across the river, but after his death he was interred beside her. Archer op. cit.

London (Historic Gallery Pall Mall) : Published as the act directs for Tho[ma]s Daniell by Rob[er]t Bowyer, July 1796.

1 print : aquatint, with watercolour ; platemark 49.2 x 65.3 cm.

The Taje Mahel, at Agra ; drawn and engraved by Thomas Daniell Bears number bottom right : XVIII

Travel in aquatint and lithography 1770-1860 from the library of J.R. Abbey, San Francisco 1991, vol. 2, 420.1918

Mildred Archer, Early views of India, London 1980, reproduced as no. 27 66

Wellcome Collection 27642i