Water-colour view of Pune (Poona) from the bank of the river by George Rowley (fl. 1797-1803), dated circa 1803. Inscribed on the front in ink is: 'Parbatti'; on the back in ink: 'View of Poona from the Bank of the River opposite the Resident's Gardens by Lt G. Rowley, Engineers.'

Pune is situated near to the Western Ghats in Maharashtra at the confluence of the Mutha and Mula rivers. It occupies a strategic place on the trade routes between the Deccan and the Arabian Sea and prospered during the early Hindu period. Pune was the capital of the Marathas in the 16th century until they were deposed by the Brahmin Peshwa family who ruled during the 18th century until the arrival of the British. On the top of Parbati Hill is a temple built by Peshwa Balaji Rao in about 1758 which was once the private shrine of the family. Also on the hill there is a Moorish window, where it is alleged Balaji Rao witnessed the defeat of his army at Kirkee in 1817.

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