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WALES, James (1747-1795)
View from Malabar Hill

Used with permission from the Peter Anker Collection held in the Kulturhistorisk Museum at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Plate 3: View from Malabar Hill

[Bombay: part of panorama with Plate 4].

This image forms the left hand side of a two-part panorama. The foreground is dominated by the rocky outcrop at the top of Malabar Hill. In the middle distance can seen the outline of Bombay Fort and the associated town. The islands of Karanja and Elephanta are pictured in the distance, with the Mahratta Mountains in the background.

The sweep of the shoreline of Back Bay and the tidal flats are just visible, though there is no indication of the European burial ground at Sonapur or the recently completed Belassis Road that linked Malabar Hill to Bombay. The buildings in the foreground may include 'Randall Lodge', the country residence of Major-General John Bellasis (1744-1808) HEIC, Commander of the Forces and Colonel of Artillery at Bombay. It was located on the promontory leading to Malabar Point.

What is intriguing about this version is that the thick vegetation overhanging the rock on the left, and the palm leaves on the right, do not appear in the completed two-plate version held in the British Library, or elsewhere. These are embellishments or adornments added by the colourist of this individual Plate, possibly Peter Anker.

Source:
Twelve Views of Bombay and its Vicinity. London: R. Cribb, 1800.
Note: Plate 4: View from Malabar Hill [Bombay, part panorama with 3] is not held in the University of Oslo, Kulturhistorisk Museum, Peter Anker Collection]. The remainder of the panoramic view extends across the western half of Back Bay, and includes Old Woman's Island, the lighthouse, Mendham's Point, and the Flag Staff at Malabar Point.

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