Discovery and Auction of Lost Jungle Book Watercolours
Two long-lost watercolours from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book have been sold at auction for more than £130,000 after being found hanging in a London residence.
The pair were originally part of a set of 16 illustrations, and their discovery has increased the number of known surviving originals from four to six.
Both pieces were auctioned at Roseberys in London on Tuesday, where they surpassed their estimated values of £15,000 to £20,000 each.
"The Cold Lairs" sold for £36,640, while "Mowgli and Bagheera" achieved £93,840.
Significance and Market Response
Lara L'vov-Basirov, from Roseberys, said: "The level of bidding reflects just how rarely works of this importance appear on the market. To offer two of the seven known surviving original watercolours from the Jungle Book series was exceptional, and collectors immediately recognised their significance both as works of art and as part of the visual history of Kipling's most famous book. It is immensely gratifying to see them achieve such strong results."
Among the other four surviving watercolours, one titled The Return of the Buffalo Herd is exhibited at Kipling's former residence, Bateman's, located in Burwash, East Sussex.
Artists and Historical Context
The recently discovered images were created by Edward Detmold (1883-1957) and Charles Maurice Detmold (1883-1908), who were just 20 years old when their work was published.
These illustrations had remained unrecognised in London for several decades.
The owners of the paintings, who have chosen to remain anonymous, stated:
"These drawings were never treated as 'important' works in our family - they were simply part of our home. Finding out that they restore a missing piece of the visual history of Kipling's The Jungle Book, has been completely unexpected."
The first watercolour, by Edward Detmold, depicts Mowgli and Bagheera.
The second, titled The Cold Lairs, is by Maurice Detmold and portrays monkeys in the ruined city of the Bandar-log.
Both were created in 1902/03 as part of a portfolio commissioned by Macmillan and Co in 1903.
The portfolio, believed to have been limited to 500 copies, was published separately from the book, which was first released in 1894.
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