f.10 Cave temple, probably at Ellora.

Pencil drawing of a column inside a cave temple at Ellora, from an Album of 83 drawings; 80 of landscapes and antiquities in the northem Deccan, 2 portraits and 1 flower study made during a tour chiefly to Ellora, Rauza, Daulatabad, Aurangabad and Ajanta. September to November 1849. Although the artist is unidentified, these drawings are of some interest since they show the state of the Ajanta and Ellora Caves soon after the Royal Asiatic Society had brought them to the Company's notice in 1844. Robert Gill had been deputed to make a record of Ajanta in 1846 and was presumably on the spot when these sketches were made.The spectacular site of Ellora, in Maharashtra, is famous for its series of Buddhist,Hindu and Jain cave temples excavated into the rocky façade of a cliff of basalt. Theworks were done under the patronage of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties between the sixth and the ninth centuries. The caves are remarkable for the artistic quality of the sculptures that adorn them. This drawing depicts a column with a carved pot and foliage capital and a figure carved on the wall in the background.