Watercolors (paintings)

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Watercolor sketch of a dusty lowland in foreground with brushy hill rising to a slightly rocky peak in the background. A dirt path appears to wind up towards the peak. The title is not completely legible, but indicates that this image is of a location in the Tabendodo Mountains (a name which seems to have become obsolete).

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Depicts naval officers drinking and dining in the Elephanta Caves, near present-day Mumbai. Porcher may have looked to models such as 'The Temple of Elephanta': line engraving by James Phillips after painting by James Wales, based on an original drawing by James Forbes (Published London, 1790). Porcher’s signature appears on the bottom left corner.

Scope and Contents: Porcher describes the pagodas of Rangoon in his journal: “The town of Rangoon is situated on the north shore of a considerable branch of the river that extends to the westward about a league, and is about 24 miles from the entrance. The Dagon Pagoda supposed to be the finest in this part of the country, and held in high veneration by the natives by its containing light true hairs of Gautama, is about 2 miles from the town in a NNW direction, on an elevation of 487 feet above high water...

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Porcher describes the significance of the significance of the Martaban river as “the boundary between the Burmese dominions, and the territory ceded to the British Government” (66). The date of the watercolor roughly corresponds to a letter sent to his sister, Madelina, in which he briefly describes conditions following the Second Anglo-Burmese war (see Miscellaneous series, 1853 letter).

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“HONG KONG” is inscribed in the lower left corner.

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Visible in the distance is Victoria Peak, which dominated early views of the city. Settlement soon began to encroach higher as the city expanded, with the most prestigious Western-style settlements on the peak.

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This representation illustrates the fashion of British colonial modes of transport by the early 1850s. Chinese figures carry a palanquin, while a horse-drawn carriage also charges by. Happy Valley was the site of a British racecourse and a Protestant Cemetery (see watercolor “11”).