Engraving by S. Prout: Cootub Minar, Delhi

Fluted tower climbs out of a field of ruins, with two sitters at its feet.

This engraving is from England, United Kingdom, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is ink on paper. Printmaking carried enthusiasm for the Orient beyond a small circle of patrons, because publishers and artists produced illustrated books on travel and religion that could be distributed affordably to all classes. Tapering in ribbed stages, a very tall tower rises behind a domed gateway and broken arches in this upright plate. Two figures in turbans sit in the foreground by a patch of scrub. The title in capitals runs beneath on a wide white margin. It is 8.2 inches wide and 10.8 high.

Vertical ambition, neatly caught before it could wander off.