Design for a zoological garden in an oriental style

People:

Thomas Allom (draughtsman)
Thomas Allom (architect)

Title:

Design for a zoological garden in an oriental style

Date:

ca. 1830-1840

Description:

- DR1986:0704X represents a bird's-eye view of an imagined zoological garden. In the foreground, immediately behind an iron and stone fence, appear a series of small, whimsical structures in a Chinese or mixed Chinese-Indian style. These structures, together with their adjoining enclosures, house a variety of animals and are scattered among a number of fountains, ponds and clustered shrubs.
- In the middle ground, on the central axis of the garden, rises a long, two-storey structure with a large, projecting pavilion in the centre and a tower at either end. Both levels of this structure are encased in verandas and the end towers and central pavilion are capped with pointed domes in an Indian style. The oval area before this structure is enclosed by two curved colonnades open on both sides and supporting a peaked, tile roof. This construction is obviously an orientalized version of St. Peter's Colonnade in Rome.
- Further back and behind the long structure occur additional pavilions in a Chinese style, most notably a three-storey pagoda. On axis, and still further back, rises a second long, palace-like structure, sketched in a vaguely Mogul style. The entire ensemble is set in a nondescript, generalized landscape.

Form:
drawings

Quantity / Object type:
1 drawing(s)

Stage and Purpose:

theoretical drawing

Technique and media:

Pen and black ink and watercolour over graphite

Dimensions:

sheet (primary and secondary support): 46.4 x 64.7 cm (18 1/4 x 25 1/2 in.)

Reference number:

DR1986:0704

Drawing Type:

rendering

Method of Projection:

perspective drawing

Point of View:

bird's-eye view

Inscription:

inscribed - in a modern hand, in pencil, on mount, verso of secondary support, u.l.: "1179/PSX / £ 1750 / THOMAS ALLOM (1804 - 1872) / A DESIGN FOR A ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN / IN THE CHINESE STYLE" inscribed - in a modern hand, in pencil, verso, c. (running vertically, top to bottom): "[ ?]/amber one" inscribed - in a modern hand, in pencil, verso, c.: "299 145"

Subject:

architecture
landscape architecture

Subject Descriptive Terms:

garden
fountains
ponds
pagoda (building)
park (grounds)
zoo
pavilion
Chinoiserie

Credit line:
Collection Centre Canadien d'Architecture/
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal

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