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DACCA IN TRANSITION: LANDSEER AND D’OYLY’S ENGRAVED VIEWS OF BRIDGES, RUINS, AND COLONIAL SPACE, 1814–1827

a) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Paugla pool, from the River, 1st June, 1827
This elegantly composed view depicts the arched causeway known as Paugla Pool spanning the river, with boats and local figures in the foreground lending narrative interest. The architectural form is rendered in crisp linear detail,... DACCA IN TRANSITION: LANDSEER AND D’OYLY’S ENGRAVED VIEWS OF BRIDGES, RUINS, AND COLONIAL SPACE, 1814–1827

a) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Paugla pool, from the River, 1st June, 1827
This elegantly composed view depicts the arched causeway known as Paugla Pool spanning the river, with boats and local figures in the foreground lending narrative interest. The architectural form is rendered in crisp linear detail, while the vegetation and water are handled with atmospheric delicacy. The engraving captures the utilitarian elegance of this Mughal-era bridge, still in service at the time of drawing. Executed late in D’Oyly’s Bengal tenure, the print demonstrates the artist's mature sensibility in combining structural observation with pictorial composition.

b) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Remains of a bridge near the Tantee bazar, 4th June, 1814
Among the earliest dated prints in this suite, this plate shows the partial remains of a brick-built bridge near the bustling Tantee Bazar (Cloth Market) in Dacca. Crumbling piers rise from a dry channel, a testament to the declining state of Mughal civic infrastructure. D’Oyly’s eye for the picturesque is evident in the careful placement of figures and debris, while Landseer’s engraving translates the eroded textures with clarity and restraint. The scene exemplifies the British fascination with architectural decay as a symbol of imperial succession.

c) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Ruins of Tungy bridge, 26 December 1825
This view captures the broken arches and encroaching vegetation of the Tungy Bridge, another relic of the Mughal period in the environs of Dacca. Rendered with particular sensitivity to the textures of stone and flora, the plate evokes both historical melancholy and aesthetic charm. D’Oyly frequently sought such transitional structures, emblematic of a vanished order. Landseer’s engraving conveys the shifting boundary between human achievement and natural reclamation.

d) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Paugla pool, with part of Dacca in the extreme distance, 4th June 1817
A companion view to the later 1827 plate, this composition shows the same Paugla Pool from a greater remove, with the low skyline of Dacca just visible beyond the river. The perspective accentuates the bridge’s long horizontal span, while the surrounding terrain is rendered in gently undulating lines. The print stands as a topographical document as well as a meditative image of distance—spatial, architectural, and temporal.

e) G Cooke and John Landseer after Charles D’Oyly
Part of the interior of the city of Dacca, 4th June 1814
Engraved jointly by George Cooke and John Landseer, this image provides a rare glimpse into the dense interior fabric of Dacca. Courtyards, arcades, and narrow alleys are depicted with a fine balance between architectural specificity and compositional harmony. D’Oyly’s original drawing likely derived from field sketches made while stationed in the city. The dual engraving effort lends the scene added depth and tonal complexity.

f) John Landseer after Charles D'Oyly
Part of Dacca from the Douillac Nulla, 1st September 1826
This expansive view looks toward the outskirts of Dacca from the Douillac Nulla (a watercourse or canal), capturing boats, embankments, and a low skyline interrupted by domes and towers. It is both a landscape and a documentary urban prospect, reflecting the balance D’Oyly sought between observed realism and visual poise. Landseer’s engraving preserves these dual intentions with clarity, offering one of the more panoramic images in the suite.

This suite of engravings after Charles D’Oyly, executed chiefly by John Landseer (with one plate in collaboration with G. Cooke), forms part of a broader project of pictorial documentation undertaken during the early 19th century in Bengal. Charles D’Oyly (1781–1845), an East India Company civil servant and accomplished amateur artist, was based in Dacca and later Patna. He was instrumental in fostering a distinctive Anglo-Indian visual culture that blended picturesque aesthetics with topographical precision. Working closely with Indian artists and British engravers, D’Oyly sought to record the built environment, ruins, and daily scenes of Mughal-era cities in decline under Company rule.

The engravings, published in London and bearing dates from 1814 to 1827, reflect D’Oyly’s enduring engagement with the architectural fabric and landscape of Dacca (modern Dhaka, Bangladesh). Executed with finesse by John Landseer (1769–1852), a prominent Royal Academy engraver and father of the painter Sir Edwin Landseer, these views were likely intended for British audiences and Company patrons eager for visual accounts of the expanding empire. The suite serves as a valuable historical record of the city's decaying infrastructure and colonial urban encounters during the transitional period between Mughal decline and British ascendancy.

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