James Hunter
Born(1755-11-15)15 November 1755
Died19 May 1792(1792-05-19) (aged 36)
Vellore, Arcot, Carnatic Sultanate
NationalityEnglish
Known forPaintings of South India
Notable workA Brief history of ancient and modern India embellished with coloured engravings
Military career
ServiceBritish East India Company
RankLieutenant
UnitRoyal Artillery
BattleSiege of Seringapatam

James Hunter (1755–1792) served as a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in British India, serving under Marquess Cornwallis. Hunter worked as a military artist, and his sketches portray aspects of military and everyday life. Hunter took part in Tippu Sultan campaigns and other military campaigns in South India. His paintings provide a picture of late-18th-century life in South India.

Hunter has sketched different landscapes of South India, including Bangalore, Mysore, Hosur, Kancheepuram, Madras, Arcot, and Sriperumbadur. These paintings were published as the third section of A Brief history of ancient and modern India embellished with coloured engravings published by Edward Orme (London) between 1802 and 1805, as Picturesque Views in the Kingdom of Mysore published in 1804.[1][2][3]

James Hunter, with the Royal Artillery in India

In 1791, a detachment of volunteers was raised from the Royal Artillery battalions for serving in British India. Two companies were created with a major, adjutant and quarter-master, along with the men. The commanding officer was Major David Scott. Lt. James Hunter, along with Captain T. Ross and Lieutenants R. Clarke, C. Gold and W. Nicolay were the sub-ordinate officers. Leaving Woolwich in early 1791, they arrived at Madras in October 1791.

These two companies served under Lord Cornwallis in the Tippu Sultan campaigns, leading to the defeat and siege of Tippu's army at Seringapatam in 1792. Major Scott was killed on 9 February 1792, during the campaign. After a peace treaty was signed with Tippu Sultan, Lt James Hunter, with the assistance of Lt C. Gold made sketches of life in India and objects and buildings who attracted their attention. These sketches were published by C. Gold with the title Oriental Drawings and attracted much attention in England as they were considered as valuable addition to British understanding of Indian culture. Lt. Hunter died on 18 May 1791 (p. 78).[4]

James Hunter Memorial

James Hunter is buried at the Old Cemetery at Vellore, near Commissary Bazar, North Arcot District. The memorial monument raised by his brother Arthur Hunter, records his birth day as 15 November 1755 and death day as 19 May 1792. As recorded in 1946, a giant banyan tree had fallen on the memorial (pg.4).[5]

Views of Bangalore

Bangalore was first recorded in paintings in the 17th century by European artists, who travelled the South India extensively. One such artist was James Hunter, who sketched extensively on the views of Mysore and the wars with Tippu Sultan. After his death in 1792, Joseph C. Stadler, J. B. Harraden and H. Merke took up the work of 'aquatint etching' of the paintings on copper plates. Forty of Hunter's paintings were published in London in 1804, by Edward Orme, under the title Picturesque scenery in the Kingdom of Mysore. In comparison to the work of Robert Home, Lt. R. H. Colebroke Capt. Allan, Hunter's work are associated often with Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali and depicts the military and civil life of Bangalore in the late 18th century.[6]

Sketches of Bangalore Fort

Sketches of Tipu Summer Palace, Bangalore

Sketches of Hosur

Sketches of Krishnagiri Fort

References

  1. ↑ Ebinesan, J (2006). "James Hunter's Bangalore". Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Paintings of Tipu's death & Hindu temple for auction at UK". Bangalore First. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Tomb of a 'Killadar' (governor of a fort) Ouscottah (Mysore)". British Library. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Browne, James Alexander (1865). England's Artillerymen: An Historical Narrative of the Services of the Royal Artillery, from the Formation of the Regiment to the Amalgamation of the Royal and Indian Artilleries in 1862. London: Hall, Smart and Allen. p. 330. ISBN 9780947487966. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Cotton, Julian James (1946). Baliga, B S (ed.). List Of Inscriptions On Tombs Or Monuments Madras: Possessing Historical or Archaeological Interest – Volume II. Madras, British India: Government Press. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Six Views of Bangalore – 1791 AD by James Hunter". Dukan. 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
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