Rare Paintings
 22 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Portrait of an emperor (Shah Alam II 1728-1806?) enthroned, facing right. Imperial portrait.

Watercolour and gilt on paper

By permission of The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford Read More
 22 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757
By Francis Hayman
Date painted: c.1760
Oil on canvas, 100.3 x 127 cm

Collection: National Portrait Gallery, London Read More
 22 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
The Tomb of the Emperor Shah ‘Alam at the Qutb Minar -1843

[From 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, as well as other contemporary material, with an accompanying man... Read More
 21 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
The tomb of the Emperor Shah 'Alam at the dargah of Qutb-Sahib at Mahrauli - 1815

Watercolour of tomb of Shah Alam from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Gheen to Delhi Vol. VI' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor... Read More
 21 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
A prospect view of the city of Benares spread out along the bank of the Ganges from Shivala Ghat to Aurangzeb's mosque - 1765

A prospect view of the city of Varanasi (Benares) spread out along the bank of the Ganges from Shivala Ghat to Aurangzeb's mosque, with the camp of the Mughal Emperor, ... Read More
 21 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Shah 'Alam, Mughal Emperor (1759–1806), Conveying the Grant of the Diwani to Lord Clive, August 1765
By Benjamin West

The Emperor is seated on his throne under a canopy. He is handing the grant to Lord Clive, who stands on his right.

Date painted: c.1818
Oil on canvas, 290 x 400 cm

Col... Read More
 20 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Building work on the drainage tunnel from the Machhodri tank to the river - 1826

Watercolour by James Prinsep (1799-1840), of building work on the drainage tunnel from the Machhodri tank to the river at Varanasi (Benares) in Uttar Pradesh, dated 1826. The image is inscribed on the reverse: 'Co... Read More
 20 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Rajrajeswaree Ghat, Benares - 1832

Plate 5 from the second part of James Prinsep's 'Benares Illustrated'. Prinsep (1799-1840), an antiquary and colonial administrator was assay master at the Benares Mint between 1820-30. The lithographs published in this collection were based on his original s... Read More
 20 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Brahma Ghat, Benares - 1832

Plate 4 from the second part of James Prinsep's 'Benares Illustrated'. Prinsep (1799-1840), an antiquary and colonial administrator was assay master at the Benares Mint between 1820-30. The lithographs published in this collection were based on his original sketches... Read More
 20 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Westward view from Ghoosla Ghat, Benares - 1831

Plate 3 from the first part of James Prinsep's 'Benares Illustrated'. Prinsep (1799-1840), an antiquary and colonial administrator was assay master at the Benares Mint between 1820-30. The lithographs published in this collection were based on hi... Read More
 19 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Study of women from Ladakh - 1853
By William Carpenter
Pencil and watercolour on paper

William Carpenter was the eldest son of the distinguished portrait painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter and of William Hookham Carpenter, who became Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department at the British ... Read More
 19 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Lama and praying cylinder - 1862
By William Simpson
Pencil and watercolour on tinted paper

William Simpson was born on 28 October 1823 in Glasgow. Following a seven-year apprenticeship with a specialist lithographic firm, he moved to London in February 1851 and found employment with Day and ... Read More
 17 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Ayodhya seen from the river Ghaghara, Uttar Pradesh. Coloured etching by William Hodges - 17 May 1785.

Credit: Wellcome Library, London Read More
 16 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Raj Ghaut and the Fort of Allahabad, at the Confluence of the Great Rivers - 1824

This is plate 17 from Charles Ramus Forrest's 'A Picturesque tour along the rivers Ganges and Jumna, in India'. Forrest was an East India Company official who made excursions along the rivers, producing drawings ... Read More
 16 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
View from the ruins of the Fort of Currah, on the River Ganges - 1803

Plate 21 from the third set of Thomas and William Daniell's 'Oriental Scenery.' Kara to the north-west of Allahabad on the river Ganges was an important political centre in mediaeval India, which declined when Akbar moved th... Read More
 14 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Kurma avatar of Vishnu and the story of churning the ocean of milk - 1801

Pen and ink drawing of The Churning of the Sea of Milk, from an 'Album of 51 drawings (57 folios) of buildings, sculpture and paintings in the temple and choultry of Tirumala Nayyak at Madura. c.1801-05', by an anonymous... Read More
 14 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Haridwar, India - May 1878

Oil painting on paper by Marianne North of Haridwar, dated May 1878. Marianne North visited India in 1877-79 and completed over 200 paintings whilst there.

Haridwar is a holy city of Hinduism built on the west bank of the Ganga river at the point where the river f... Read More
 14 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
A temple and ghats on the bank of a river near Nasik - 1878

Water-colour drawing by William Robert Houghton of a temple and the ghats on the bank of a river near Nasik, dated c.1878. Inscribed on back in pencil: ? 'Nassick.'

Nasik is one of the holy cities of Hinduism as it is believed to b... Read More
 14 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
A roundel of Lord Vishnu's avatar as Kurma, the tortoise, during the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons to retrieve the nectar of immortality - 19th century

Credit: Wellcome Library, London Read More
 14 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Village scene near Allahabad - October 1789

Wash drawing of a village scene near Allahabad by Thomas (1749-1840) and William (1769-1837) Daniell in around December 1788 or October 1789. Inscribed on the back in ink is: 'Near Allahabad.'

Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh is one of the religious cen... Read More
 13 Jan 2013 Rare Paintings
Sculptured Elephant and Pillar, Kailas. Caves of Ellora.
By William Simpson - 1866

William Simpson was born on 28 October 1823 in Glasgow. Following a seven-year apprenticeship with a specialist lithographic firm, he moved to London in February 1851 and found employment with Day and Sons. In... Read More