Caves of Karlie: No. 1, The Approach (1855–62): Art, History and Details

Caves of Karlie: No. 1, The Approach (1855–62) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is William Johnson (British, active India, 1852–1868).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This early view of the entrance to the ancient Karlie, or Karla, Caves in Western India shows the site before its restoration, including the monumental entrance pillar topped by a sculpture. Windows cut into the rock provided light inside. The shrines, created between the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE, provided sanctuary and shelter for monks but also for travelers and traders.

Object facts

• Title: Caves of Karlie: No. 1, The Approach
• Date: 1855–62
• Creator attribution: William Johnson (British, active India, 1852–1868)
• Culture: India
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print
• Dimensions: Paper: 19 x 24.3 cm (7 1/2 x 9 9/16 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2024.77

A detail from the museum

The largest prayer hall in this complex of Buddhist shrines cut into the rock is a sanctuary 124 feet long with a ribbed vault 45 feet high.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.