The Ethnographical Museum at the University of Oslo owns a collection of pictures, mainly water colours, from the collection of Peter Anker, Governor of Tranquebar from 1788 to1806, when it was a Danish colony. During a career full of war, diplomacy, economic difficulties, he still resourcefully collected several 13th century bronzes and maps of towns, European fortifications, and landscapes. They were sold after his death to King Christian VIII of Denmark and are now housed in the National Museum in Copenhagen.
Some of these are:
- The Dansborg fortress
- A drawing of Kalakkadu, Tinnevelly
- A rest house in Mayavaram
- Ruins of old castle in Madura, age of which it has not been possible to discover
- Gingee fortress in Karnatik
- The big gate in the pagoda of Seringam in Cauvery river, the largest pagoda in India
- The Jaggernaut pagoda on North-eastern coast of India
These pictures show a British attachment, in their
similar to the Clive Album in Victoria & Albert Museum, opines Nagaswamy.
He further states that, “One is apt to believe
- That Peter Anker came to love the nature of India
- That he respected Hindu culture
- That he was interested in Indian Architecture
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This blogpost is the summary of one of several papers authored by Dr Nagaswamy, which I presented as a lecture at THT Pechu Kacheri 2014. The series is Nagaswamy - Beyond borders
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