English Transfer Printed Earthenware at Junagarh Fort, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India an Extraordinary Occurrence
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English Transfer Printed Earthenware at Junagarh Fort, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India An Extraordinary Occurrence David Hoexter and Judie Siddall Figure 1. Junagarh Fort Exterior INTRODUCTION by the coronavirus pandemic. The story palace complex (a total of 39 tour participants were all Transfer- individual palaces) covering 13 acres lthough not exactly remote, ware Collectors Club (TCC) members, enclosing innumerable rooms, court the city of Bikaner in Rajast- although the tour was not an official yards, temples and shrines (at least 9), Ahan, India, situated near the TCC activity. The primary purpose gardens, stables for both horses and border with Pakistan, is certainly not of the tour was to view some of the elephants (!), armories, barracks and a common tourist destination. While remaining Indian scene locations pic- jail, and of course, staircases, which not ignored, it is much less visited tured on 19th century transferware, have been constructed, re-construct- than the so-called Golden Triangle, primarily spread across the northern ed, and expanded over centuries. In consisting of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, part of the country (perhaps the best addition to exquisite Indian art and or other popular destinations within known Indian scene on English trans- stonework are four locations featur- India. The city is best known for its ferware is the Taj Mahal, as viewed on ing transferware, installed, of course, 16th – 20th century Junagarh Fort “Tomb of the Emperor Shah Jehan”, long after the fort’s initial construc- (Figure 1). It is not generally known but there are many more). Download tion. These four locations comprise for 19th century English transfer Michael Sack’s excellent article on an extremely small portion of the fort. printed pottery. However, transfer- this aspect of the tour from the TCC The source(s) of the transferware is ware enthusiasts would be well-re- website: (are) unknown. warded if they arranged a visit to the A note about the images included fort, where four locations display a Visit the website at in this article. We were provided fascinating assemblage of at least 107 www.transcollectorsclub.org > with very limited time at each of the transferware, two painted creamware, Research & Learning > Articles > four transferware locations, and were and three Chinese export patterns. enter “#27 India” in Search Articles. faced with documenting far too many Exactly how such a varied accumula- individual patterns in way too little tion of English transferware ended up One of the highlights of the tour time and tight quarters with poor at this location is uncertain. was the aforementioned Junagarh lighting. In addition, some of the Thirteen transferware enthusiasts Fort (not pictured on transferware). pottery had obviously been impacted participated in a tour to India in This huge complex, initially construct- by prior handling and by the ele- February and March, 2020, return- ed 1589 – 1594 and encompassing ap- ments, including wear and soiling of ing home just in time to be greeted proximately 44 acres, features a five- the pieces, smearing of the plaster TCC Bulletin, 2020 Vol. XXI No. 3, Page 11 adhesive onto surfaces, and pigeon to the FOB bulletin editor, L.G. Fuller, is based on the excellent postings by excrement on outdoor surfaces. and named some of the patterns. Scott Hanson on his personal Face- We’ve done the best we can with the FOB and TCC members Sue and book page, which include several images, and at the same time, have Frank Wagstaff visited the fort in hundred images of the entire India avoided extensive retouching or “pho- 1993, and wrote about their experi- tour and of course many from Jun- toshopping” to alter image appear- ence in an article titled “Blue and agarh Fort. Additional information ance and thus to present the transfer- White Palace in India”, published in is derived from a Wikipedia article; ware pieces as they now appear. TCC Bulletin Vol. VI, No. 3 (2005). a useful study conducted during the The article included three images 1940s by the German art historian “DISCOVERY” OF THE and a brief description of their visit. Herman Goetz, an authority on Indian TRANSFERWARE Sue and Frank returned to Bikaner art and architecture (Art and Archi- The Junagarh Fort transferware in 2015, and described their visit in tecture of Bikaner State, published in was first brought to the attention of a second article, titled “Return to 1950); and other sources. Friends of Blue (FOB) members in Bikaner”, published in TCC Bulletin Bikaner was a princely state a brief article in its Summer 1984 Vol. XVI, No. 2 (2015). The article founded in the 15th century. The Ju- Bulletin. The article consisted of two included additional information and nagarh Fort complex was built under pages of text but no images. The images. These three articles and the the supervision of Karan Chand, the article was based on images pro- Wagstaffs’ enthusiastic description of Prime Minister of Raja Rai Singh, the vided by FOB member Judith Busby, the fort inspired us to add Bikaner to sixth ruler of Bikaner, who reigned although the source of the images our transferware tour. from 1571 to 1611 AD. The fort was was an unnamed friend of Judith’s. built outside the original city, about The friend visited the fort and gave A BRIEF HISTORY OF 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mi) from the city Judith three pictures, from which she JUNAGARH FORT center. An aerial view from Google described the transferware occurrence Much of the following discussion Earth and a representative view of the Figure 2. Junagarh Fort Aerial View Figure 3. Junagarh Fort Additional View of Exterior Figure 4. Rooftop Pavilion Exterior Figure 5. Rooftop Pavilion Interior Page 12 TCC Bulletin, 2020 Vol. XXI No. 3 fort complex exterior are presented in to the transferware as “Delft”, and to locations within the fort: an isolated Figures 2 and 3, respectively. Con- the patterns as painted, as opposed rooftop tower or pavilion (Chhattar struction of the walls and associated to printed. We are not certain that Mahal) (Figures 4 and 5); surround- moat commenced in 1589 and was we were able to convince him of the ing the exterior of a window opening completed in 1594. Subsequent rul- proper term. One wonders how many (Sur Mandar (Mandir) Jharokha from ers added rooms and entire palaces visitors to the site have carried the one of the palaces onto a courtyard and temples within the complex. Bi- misconception away with them. In (Figure 6); the interior of the window kaner and Junagarh Fort came under addition, a portion of the transferware surround (Figure 7); and an interior suzerainty of the British Raj in 1818, appears as “tiles”, square or rectan- room (Badal Mahal, the “Cloud” or although improvements and additions gular pieces. In reality, there appear “Weather” room) (Figure 8). The continued to be made at least through to be few if any actual transferware Pavilion location and the Window the 19th century. In particular, exten- tiles, with the apparent tiles actually Surround Exterior locations can be sive renovations and additional con- pieces cut from larger flat wares such viewed from the adjacent courtyard struction were conducted by the 20th as platters and plates. Finally, there (Figure 9). Portions of transferware Maharajah of Bikaner, Dungar Singh, are multiple spellings of the trans- pieces (primarily drainers and parts who reigned from 1872 to 1887. literations of the various Rajasthani of platters and/or plates) are affixed names identifying various parts of the with plaster or mortar to both interior TRANSFERWARE OCCURRENCE fort, and the names may be difficult room and building exterior surfaces. WITHIN THE FORT for an English speaker to remember. Some of the pieces are cracked, and If you visit Junagarh Fort, you Thus, for simplicity, we have primarily the surfaces of many are smeared may be confused by terminology. used English names which we have with the adhesive, or occasion- Our guide, and apparently previous derived. ally paint or bird droppings (Figure guides over past decades, referred Transferware is present at four 10). When not employing an entire Figure 6. Window Surround Figure 7. Window Surround Figure 8. Interior Room (Badal Mahal) Exterior Interior Figure 11. Random Patterns in Pavilion Figure 9. Courtyard View of Pavilion and Window Sur- Figure 10. Window Surround Figure 12. Repeated Patterns round Exterior Pigeon in Pavilion TCC Bulletin, 2020 Vol. XXI No. 3, Page 13 transferware pattern, the artisans who are likely creamware, and three hand Chhattar (Chattar, Chhatar) Mahal selected the pattern fragments com- painted Chinese Export examples (Tower / Pavilion) monly repeated the same small por- also occur (these three Chinese origin The Tower / Pavilion is a small tion of a larger pattern, as opposed patterns are present only as single roof-top addition to one of the pal- to cutting a pattern into pieces and drainers at one location within one aces (Figure 4). It is not currently using all of the pattern. Apparently, room). Patterns include identified included on the regular Junagarh Fort large parts of some patterns were locations, both in England and on the tour, and thus a considerable amount discarded. Unrelated pattern themes Continent; named Indian views and of negotiation was required for us are juxtaposed, and pattern place- additional Indian scenes; both styl- to access this somewhat isolated ment is commonly random (Figure ized and botanically accurate florals; location. It is a small room, roughly 11), although occasionally patterns generic and Romantic period scenes; 10 by 20 feet in plan dimension, are repeated or alternate in a clearly geometric shapes; and a handful of constructed in approximately 1877 intentional manner (Figure 12). The makers’ marks. Each of the four loca- (Goetz, 1950) to provide a relatively intervening surfaces between trans- tions also includes the Willow pattern.