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The National Library of Australia has received an enquiry from someone who owns a 19th century oil painting (a fruit-in-a-basket still life), painted on cardboard with an old map glued to the rear.
The painting (and map) are 34 x 25.5 cm.
Sepia-coloured, the map appears to be a photographic reproduction of an originally pen-and-ink map with possible colour.
The map (attached) is quite large-scale, and shows a mountain with a road winding up it. A river flowing from the mountain has a wide shaded line (originally colour?) that appears to be a boundary (though the road crosses it twice).
On both sides of the river are ‘huts’, one group also annotated ‘Arakalee’
On the mountain top is a ‘flag staff’ and ‘gun’ (with typical military symbol).
The map style suggests 19th century European military mapping.
Arakalee is not Maori (so can't be NZ), but suggests possibly Australia or more likely India to me (Arakali?)
Can anyone help identify the location?
Brendan Whyte
Coordinator, Collection Retrieval and Delivery,
National Library of Australia