Grand Gateway and Tomb of the Emperor Acber at Sekandra (Akbar’s Tomb, Sikandra)

This is an early 19th century coloured aquatint illustrating the gateway of Mughal emperor Akbar‘s (1542-1605) tomb. It was published in ‘A Picturesque Tour Along the Rivers Ganges and Jumna in India’ by Charles Ramus Forrest (1750-1827).

Forrest was an infantry officer in India from 1802 to 1827 and was an amateur artist. The drawings in his book were meticulously based on his observations, and many of them were coloured while he was still seeing the scenes.