Important Notice

THE CLOSING SCENE OF TRIUMPH: ‘GOOJERAT’, 1849, BY LIEUTENANT W. L. D. SMITH - A Panoramic Lithograph Dedicated to General Lord Gough after the Battle of Goojerat

Dedication in lower border to General the Lord Gough, and captioned This view of Googerat [sic] the closing scene of his many triumphs in the East, is most respectfully dedicated by the author, Lieut. W. L. D. Smith

Lieutenant W. L. D. Smith was a... THE CLOSING SCENE OF TRIUMPH: ‘GOOJERAT’, 1849, BY LIEUTENANT W. L. D. SMITH - A Panoramic Lithograph Dedicated to General Lord Gough after the Battle of Goojerat

Dedication in lower border to General the Lord Gough, and captioned This view of Googerat [sic] the closing scene of his many triumphs in the East, is most respectfully dedicated by the author, Lieut. W. L. D. Smith

Lieutenant W. L. D. Smith was a member of the 29th Regiment of the British Army. The original painting was created shortly after the conclusion of the Second Sikh War in February 1849, which took place in Gujrat, a city located 75 miles north of Lahore and a short distance north of the Chenab River. During the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the fort was reputedly constructed.

This finely executed panoramic aquatint by Lieutenant W L D Smith captures the northwestern Indian city of Goojrat (modern-day Gujrat, Punjab) in the pre-Sikh Wars period. Executed in the prevailing topographical tradition of British military draughtsmen, the scene offers a remarkably detailed urban vista, balancing formal architectural observation with lively ethnographic incident.

The composition presents a view from an elevated terrace, possibly the city’s outer fortifications, looking down over a teeming street scene. Distinct Mughal and Rajput architectural features—such as bulbous domes, flat roofs, and arched gates—reveal the Islamic-Hindu synthesis typical of the region’s historic building style. Trees flank the composition on the right, balancing architectural geometry with natural rhythm. The figures—local merchants, riders, and pedestrians—are sketched with ethnographic specificity, reflecting the British appetite for documentary realism and orientalist aesthetics.

The town appears dense, fortified, and self-contained, with the distant elevation giving way to a larger citadel or palace on the ridge. In the foreground, we see street-side market activity and figures on rooftops—lending a documentary realism to the scene that echoes the imperial agenda of surveillance and control.

The elevated vantage and careful articulation of textures underscore the draughtsman’s familiarity with the environment, likely observed first-hand during the British occupation following the battle. This was the final and most decisive battle of the Sikh Wars, leading to the unconditional surrender of Sikh forces and the annexation of Punjab into British India. Lithographs such as this served not only as personal mementoes for officers and campaign veterans but also functioned as instruments of imperial memory—commemorating military success and projecting an image of triumphant and orderly British authority in the subcontinent.

For the original watercolour of this scene, signed and dated March 1949, please refer to the sale in these rooms at Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 4th October 2011, lot 426 (and previously offered at Christie's, Visions of India, 10th June 1997, lot139).

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