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Richard Banner Oakeley, The Pagoda of Hallibeed, Illustrated by Fifty-Six Photographic Views, with descriptive letter-press, London: Thomas M'Lean, 1856-1857

Contemporary half morocco, title gilt-lettered on original morocco label on front board, edges gilt, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, the bands highlighted in gilt, lettered in gilt in the second compartment. Letterpress title, errata leaf, and explanatory leaf of text to each plate; all prints and leaves laid down
19.75 x 12.75 x 1.75 in (50.2 x 32.4 x 4.7 cm)

A MONUMENTALLY RARE EARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF INDIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE—ONE OF ONLY TWENTY-FIVE COPIES OF OAKELEY’S LANDMARK STUDY OF HALEBID, 1856–1857

“The Pagoda of Hallibeed, Illustrated by Fifty-Six Photographic Views” is a LIMITED EDITION of 25 copies by Richard Oakeley. It is one of the very scarce early photographically illustrated works based out of India. (Gernsheim 104).

Richard Banner Oakeley (1834–1914) was an architectural writer and photographer from England who traveled to Madras Presidency towards the close of 1856. He was one of the best photographers of archaeology in India during the 1850s. Near the end of 1856, advised by his friend Dr Andrew Charles Brisbane Neill, he photographed the ruins of the great temples of Halebid (Halli Beed), the former capital of the Hoysala dynasty in present-day Karnataka at Dwarasamudra, which flourished as a capital of the Hoysala Empire during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Halebid is located in southwestern India and has a magnificent Hindu architecture and sculpture complex built in the 12th century.

Between 1854 and 1857, four photographers are known to have made the difficult journey to Halebid and they are Linnaeus Tripe, William Henry Pigou, Dr Andrew Charles Brisbane Neill, and Richard Banner Oakeley. Richard Banner Oakeley’s series is considered to be the most interesting photographically. According to Janet Dewan, "Oakley's series is the most interesting photographically and technically." (Janet Dewan, 'The Hoysalesvara Temple of Halebid in Early Photography,' History of Photography, Oct.-Dec., 1989, pp. 343-354; Gernsheim 104)

The journey involved a march of some twenty days 'along the most miserable cross-country roads conceivable' before reaching the temple: "Having seen a great number of the most celebrated Pagodas in the South of India, I can unhesitatingly assert it far surpasses any, even the most gorgeous of these beautiful structures."

"Having a photographic apparatus with me, I lost no time in committing to waxed paper faithful representations of almost every portion of the sculpture, which literally covers its wall. Of the merit of the photographs as specimens of art, I must leave an indulgent public to judge, only observing... that they were done under very great disadvantages—a considerable portion of my apparatus was broken in the overland journey, our servants were all ill, many at the same time with rheumatic fever, and moreover, this was my first attempt at photographing in a hot climate. I was compelled to reject the formulae I had used in England and adopt such as residents in the country found to succeed or discover new ones for myself" (Introduction).

Oakeley concentrates on the many gods, goddesses, and avatars represented on its walls, including Siva, Visnu, Kesava, Krsna, and Laksmana. The book begins with depictions of the gods in the major sculptural reliefs before moving on to the narrative friezes, sculpted niches, and doorways of the temple's various buildings. The images capture a sense of the lavish number of vivid sculptures that encircle the temple's walls.

He managed to attain high print quality in extremely difficult circumstances, traveling far in humid and hot conditions with a considerable quantity of equipment. Oakeley documented authentically and with passion, representing almost every portion of the sculpture, which covers the entire temple wall. Despite working under very difficult circumstances, Oakeley captured a range of images that demonstrate his consummate skill at composition.

He used waxed paper negatives to make his photographs. The waxed paper negatives are a variant of the calotype process in which the negatives were made clearer by waxing the paper before treating it with chemicals. These negatives produced a greater definition of the image than the calotype process.

Halebid back then was called Dwarasamudra and was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. The city got the name “Halebidu” (old city) because it was ransacked two times during the invasion of Malik Kafur (General of Alauddin Khilji) in the 14th century. Given that that city was ransacked twice and then abandoned from the 14th century to the 19th century, it is very remarkable that these structures have survived 900 years till today.

Only twenty-five copies of this book were printed, making this extremely rare and priceless. Only three are known to have ever come up for sale—two by Christies and one by Bonhams. Another three are in the permanent collections of the Getty Museum, the British Museum, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

LIST OF PLATES
1) View of a figure of Ganesa, Hoysalesvara Temple
2) View of a figure of Varaha [Boar] incarnation of Vishnu, also showing a female figure on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
3) View of a figure of Lakshmi, also showing a male and female figure on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
4) View of a figure of Kartikeya trampling Tripurasura, also partially showing a male figure on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
5) View of a figure of Krishna, Hoysalesvara Temple
6) View of a figure of Brahma, also showing Saraswati on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
7) View of a figure of Trimurti [Brahma, Vishnu and Siva], also showing other figures on the left and right, Hoysalesvara Temple
8) View of a figure of Durga, also showing other figures on the left and right, Hoysalesvara Temple
9) View of figures of three Apsaras [Rambha, Urvasi and Tilottama], Hoysalesvara Temple
10) View of a figure of Narasimha [Man-Lion] incarnation of Vishnu, also showing a female figure on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
11) View of a figure of Siva, also partially showing a male figure on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
12) View of a figure of Ganesa, also showing figures on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
13) View of a column bearing reliefs and inscriptions, near Hoysalesvara Temple
14) View of a figure of Vishnu, also partially showing figures on the left and right, Hoysalesvara Temple
15) View of a figure of Siva and Parvati, also showing human and decorative figures on the left and right, Hoysalesvara Temple
16) View of the figures of Vishnu and Lakshmi on Garuda on the left and Indra and Indrani on Airavat on the right, also partially showing a female figure on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
17) View showing steps leading to a doorway [?] with figures of a dwarapala [door guardian], a standing female and a seated Ganesa on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
18) View of a wall showing niches from left to right containing figures of an Apsara, Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva and Parvati, Hoysalesvara Temple
19) View of a figure of Vishnu, also showing a female figure on the left, Hoysalesvara Temple
20) View of a small temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
21) View of figures on a carved pedestal, Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebid, India, 1859 or before
22) View of a Siva temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
23) Partial view of a Siva temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
24) View of the Nandi shrine, Siva temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
25) View of a small temple in ruins, near Hoysalesvara Temple
26) Partial view of the outer wall of the Hoysalesvara Temple
27) View of a small temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
28) View of a carved buttress, Hoysalesvara Temple
29) View of a carved wall, Hoysalesvara Temple
30) View of a figure of Vishnu flanked by a male musician on the left and a female dancer on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
31) View of a carved buttress, Hoysalesvara Temple
32) Close-up view of a carved buttress, Hoysalesvara Temple
33) View of carved buttresses, Hoysalesvara Temple
34) View of bas-reliefs and sculpture on a wall, Hoysalesvara Temple
35) Partial view of a wall extension, Hoysalesvara Temple
36) View of carved buttresses, Hoysalesvara Temple
37) View of a figure of a seated Narasimha [Man-Lion] incarnation of Vishnu, also showing other figures on the left and right, Hoysalesvara Temple
38) View of a figure of Bhairava and other figures, Hoysalesvara Temple
39) View of a figure of Durga trampling a demon, Hoysalesvara Temple
40) View of a figure of Nandi, Hoysalesvara Temple
41) View of carved buttresses, Hoysalesvara Temple
42) View of a doorway flanked by Dwarapalas [door guardians], Hoysalesvara Temple
43) View of carved buttresses, Hoysalesvara Temple
44) Partial view of a wall extension, Hoysalesvara Temple
45) Partial view of a wall extension, Hoysalesvara Temple
46) View of the figures of Kartikeya seated on a peacock on the left and Ganesa standing on a mouse on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
47) View of a dancing Apsara flanked by musicians, also partially showing a male figure on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
48) View of a figure of Vamana [Dwarf] incarnation of Vishnu with Garuda on the lower left, also showing female figures on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
49) View of a small temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
50) View of a figure of Parvati [?], also showing other figures on the right and left, Hoysalesvara Temple
51) View of a small temple, near Hoysalesvara Temple
52) Partial view of a column bearing inscriptions, near Hoysalesvara Temple
53) Partial view of a column bearing inscriptions, near Hoysalesvara Temple
54) View of a figure of Siva Nataraja, also showing a male and female figure on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple
55) View of figures showing Siva with Nandi, flanked by female figures, and sculpted panels below, Hoysalesvara Temple
56) View of figures showing Brahma [?] on the left and Siva with Parvati on the right, Hoysalesvara Temple

Issued at a time when archaeology and photography were just beginning to merge in British India, Oakeley's book prefigures later publications by the Archaeological Survey of India and stands today as a rare visual record of Indian temple architecture in the early years of photographic documentation.

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