In 1855 the British sent a diplomatic mission to the court of King Mindon Min (r.1853-1878). Grant (1813-1880) was sent as the official artist of the mission. Together with a privately-printed book of notes, his drawings give a vivid account of the journey, and a number were used for illustrations to Henry Yuleˇs ˉA Narrative of the mission sent by the Governor General of India to the Court of Ava in 1855ˇ published in 1858. Grant wrote that the audience chamber represented in this painting was 'called ˉThee-ha-thuna-y?z?-pullengˇ, and used only on occasions of importance.the blaze and brilliancy of the colonnaded hall, with its choir and transepts, its elaborately ornate and singular throne, glittering in mosaic and gold.' Today, little remains of the palace buildings at Amarapura.