Engraving by W. Purser: Sarnat, a Boodh Monument Dear Benares

Heavy round mound of brick towers over riders and a camel on an empty plain.

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. Crowned with scrub, a thick weathered cylinder of masonry dominates the center, its surface drawn in rough horizontal courses. Mounted figures and a laden camel pass at the base. The sky is lightly streaked, and a caption runs below. It is 10.8 inches wide and 8.2 high.

Not much to look at, and yet impossible to ignore.