Rare Paintings
 25 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Rear view of the East India Company's Factory at Cossimbazar - 1795

Watercolour of the rear view of the East India Company's Factory at Cossimbazar in West Bengal by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, part of the Hyde Collection, c.1790-1800. Inscribed on back in ink: 'North... Read More
 24 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Moti Jheel, 'The Pearl Lake,' near Murshidabad - 1795

Watercolour of the Moti Jhil, 'The Pearl Lake,' near Mushidabad, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, c. 1790-1800. Inscribed on the back in ink and pencil: 'Bird's Eye View of Mootijeel'.

Murshidabad is situated on t... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Firework display on a bright moonlit night outside the Agna Mahal, part of the Nawab's palace beside the river at Murshidabad - 1795

Watercolour of a firework display on a bright moonlit night outside the Agna Mahal in Murshidabad, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, c. 17... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
North view of the fort of Chunargarh on the Ganges from across the river - 1795

Watercolour of the north view of the fort of Chunar, Uttar Pradesh, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, part of the Hyde Collection, c. 1790-1800. Inscribed on the back in ink: 'North view of C... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
A river scene with a nobleman in a morpunkhi, with a shrine and travellers - 1760

Opaque watercolour of a river scene in Murshidabad, West Bengal, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, c.1760.

A peacock shaped barge sails down the middle of the river with a wealthy noblem... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Rear view of the house of the Hon. David Anstruther at Champapoka near Murshidabad - 1795

Watercolour of the rear view of the house of the Hon. David Anstruther at Champapoka near Murshidabad, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style, c. 1790-1800. Inscribed on the back in ink: ... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
The Nizamat Kila or Palace of Murshidabad, seen from the opposite bank of the Bhagirathi river with the Nawab's barge in the foreground - 1840

Watercolour painting of the Nizamat Kila in Murshidabad, West Bengal by William Prinsep (1794-1874), c. 1830-1840.

The Nizamat Kila, also called the... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Nawab Mubarak al-Daula of Murshidabad (1770-93) enthroned in durbar, with the British Resident, Sir John Hadley D'Oyly, and the Nawab's son, Babur 'Ali - 1795

Watercolour of the Nawab Mubarak al-Daula of Murshidabad (1770-93) enthroned in durbar, by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidab... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
The city of Murshidabad (Bengal) with the banqueting hall of the Nawab's old palace seen from the river - 1814

Watercolour painting of Murshidabad in West Bengal by Robert Smith (1787-1873), c. 1814-1815. Inscribed on the mount in pencil is: 'Nawab's House at the City of Moorsedavad'.

Mursh... Read More
 23 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
A landscape with a shrine and pilgrims, Murshidabad - 1760

Gouache painting of a festival scene at a shrine in Murshidabad, West Bengal, c. 1760. A shrine to Shiva flying a red banner from the roof pinnacle is depicted here, set in a landscape beside a pool in which people bathe. There are man... Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Composite camel with attendant, Safavid period (1501–1722), 1570s or 1580s
Iran, Khurasan
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper

In Iran in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, an increase in the production of single-page paintings and drawings reflected a broadening of patronage and a de... Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
A composite elephant.
Watercolour and gilt on paper
Mughal
18th century AD

By permission of The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Page from an Astrological Treatise

This painting comes from a series that depicts the constellations in the form of figures walking through a landscape. We do not know which constellation is represented here, but it appears to be a composite creature made up of a woman, an elephant, and possib... Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
A winged European figure riding a composite camel

Mewar, India - ca. 1725

Opaque watercolour on paper depicting a winged European riding a composite camel made from a combination of other animals and of human figures. The winged figure, with nimbus, rides in a box affixed to the back of the... Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Composite animal figures depicted in wall paintings at Anegondi - January 1801

Pen-and-ink drawing of composite animal figures from the wall paintings at Anegondi in Karnataka, from an album of 56 sheets of drawings (60 folios) mainly of miscellaneous architecture and sculpture in the Deccan a... Read More
 22 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Composite horse, of animals and humans, carrying a rider wearing tiger skin.
Watercolour and gilt on paper
Mughal, ca.1580-1800

The Mughal miniature paintings of fantastic animals... are mosaics of intertwined animal and human forms. In the Hindu tradition such paintings possibly represent the b... Read More
 21 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Gouache painting on paper. Bhavani, a fierce aspect of Parvati, is flanked by two attendant figures. The eight-armed goddess holds an associated attribute in each hand: in one she holds the head of the demon Mahishasura, in another a sword. She is the tutelary deity of the Maratha ruler Shivaji, ... Read More
 21 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Opaque watercolour painting on European paper of a Maratha performer and his drummer. The man, with an imposing moustache stands singing or reciting. He wears a long jama, tied at the waist by a sash, with two bands across his chest. On his head is a turban adorned with an aigrette; around his ne... Read More
 21 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
Gouache painting on mica of a snake charmer playing the magudi (a musical instrument), wearing a lungi and a knee-length jama tied at the waist by a sash. A red scarf (?) is tied across his chest, and a shawl is draped over his shoulders. On his head is a multicoloured turban tied in the Maratha ... Read More
 20 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
This drawing appears to show the Vasantotsava festival. The costume of the second male figure from the left is an exact replica of the attire worn at the Maratha court at Thanjavur.

Opaque watercolour painting on paper of four couples celebrating the arrival of the spring season in a courtyard... Read More
 20 Nov 2012 Rare Paintings
ART REVIEW

Indian Modernism via an Eclectic and Elusive Artist
By Holland Cotter
August 19, 2008

Word is that contemporary Indian art is the next sensation on the international market. So now’s the time to learn something about where it came from, which the nuanced, storytelling show called “Rh... Read More