"The End of the Search," by John Lockwood Kipling

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The End of the Search

John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911)

1901

Photographed plaster relief with ornamented frame

Rudyard Kipling's Kim, facing p. 352

In Lockwood Kipling's last illustration for his son's most famous novel, Kim wakes from a long, refreshing sleep to find the Lama at prayer in front of the sacred river, his back against the litter provided by the Woman of Shanlegh, the wheel now looking like the symbolic wheel of life. At the right, Mahbub Ali is leaving, no longer needed. [Commentary continues below.]

Scanned image and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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Elizabeth James perceptively links the wheel here to that of Zam-Zammah at the very beginning, and those of the cart in On the Road (388). It is a tremendous finale in every respect.

Bibliography

James, Elizabeth. "Kipling and Book Illustration." In John Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London, ed. Julius Bryant and Susan Weber. New York: Bard Graduate Centre Gallery; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2017. 361-399.

Kipling, Rudyard. Kim. New York: Doubleday, 1901. Internet Archive. Contributed by the New York Public Library. Web. 23 January 2017.

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Created 24 January 2017