1872
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Copy of painting inside the caves of Ajanta (cave 1) is a 1872 oil by John Griffiths, a British Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting copies a ceiling scene from India’s Ajanta caves. It shows a flying figure with delicate curls and draped robes, outlined in faded red against a tan background. The white patches mark fragile areas needing care. John Griffiths made this in 1872–73. He copied Ajanta’s ancient murals when they were new to the world. Most of Major Robert Gill’s earlier copies were lost in a fire. See how the light plays on the figure’s edges. It feels softer than the original stone surface. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to find where this copy now lives.
This painting is a copy of a ceiling panel from Ajanta Cave 1, part of a series produced between 1872 and 1885 by John Griffiths and seven Indian students. The central composition features floral motifs with curling stalks, flowers, fruit, a parrot, a goose, and a central infant figure, framed by brown bands resembling wooden ceiling panels. White patches indicate areas of fragility requiring conservation. The original Ajanta cave paintings, dating from the 1st century BC to AD 480, are among India’s earliest surviving examples.
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Griffiths (29 November 1837 – 1 December 1918) was a Welsh artist who worked in India, noted for his Orientalist works.
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