1878.] 
63 
Foreigners in the Ajantd Frescoes. 
thusiastic, but calculated more to rouse than to allay the curiosity of the 
reader. Mr. Burgess says, “ A somewhat interesting and correct topographi¬ 
cal account of them, was subsequently (1839) published in the “ Bombay 
Courier”, and republished in a pamphlet form, but I have not seen the 
brochure. Soon after, came out Mr. Fergusson’s description in his Memoir 
on the “ Bock-cut Temples of India,” (1843) and laid the foundation 
of a critical study of these remarkable works of art. It drew to them 
the attention of the Court of Directors, and Capt. Gill was, six or seven 
years after, deputed to prepare facsimile drawings of the fresco paint¬ 
ings which adorn most of the caves. His rep>ort was published in 
1855, but it was meagre, like the works of his predecessors, and subserved, 
like them, only to whet the desire for further information. Dr. Wilson’s 
account, in his paper on the “ Ancient Bemains of Western India”, 
published in 1850, in the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society*, 
is a mere resume of what was then known, and Dr. John Muir’s 
subsequent notice professes to give nothing more than a foretaste of what 
may be seen at the place. Dr. Bhau Daji came to Ajanta in 1865, 
and took facsimiles of most of the inscriptions, some of which had 
been previously noticed by James Prinsep, and published translations 
of them in the Bombay Journal, f The translations are generally correct 
and of great value, but the general remarks on the nature of the caves 
and their ornaments are brief and not always satisfactory. The learned 
gentleman had the intention of writing a sejDarate paper on the subject, 
but his untimely and lamented death prevented his carrying out the 
intention. Since his death several notices have appeared in the e Indian 
Antiquary ’ which are highly interesting, but none of them is exhaustive. 
When Major Gill’s copies of these curious works of art were sent to 
Europe, it was expected that antiquarians in England would take them in hand, 
and submit to the public a full and comprehensive critical account of their 
character, and the subjects they pourtray. But the copies were destroyed 
by fire in the Sydenham Crystal Palace, and nothing came of them. In 
the meantime the originals suffered greatly from leakage in the caves and 
want of care, and it was apprehended that in a few years more they would 
be totally lost. A representation was accordingly made to Government to 
adopt some measures for their preservation. Thereupon a party of drafts¬ 
men, under the superintendence of Mr. Griffiths, Principal of the Art School 
at Bombay, was deputed in 1872-73 to prepare copies of all the printings 
which were still legible. The result was a “ collection of excellent copies 
of four large wall-paintings covering 122 square feet of canvas, 160 panels 
of ceiling, aggregating about 2S0 square feet, 16 moulds from the sculp¬ 
tures, and several drawings.” In reporting on these Mr. Griffiths says : 
* Yol. Ill, pp. 7 Iff. f Yol. VII. 
