Rare Paintings
 2 Sep 2011 Rare Paintings
Native shops in a Calcutta bazaar - 1867

This chromolithograph is taken from plate 39 of William Simpson's 'India: Ancient and Modern'. Simpson often included scenes of local colour in his paintings, as in this detailed image of a small Indian shop in Calcutta selling lentils and grains. He thus... Read More
 2 Sep 2011 Rare Paintings
The old Palace buildings within the Fort along the riverside at Monghyr (Bihar) - 1814

Watercolour of palace buildings in Bihar originally from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Moorsheedabad to Patna Vol. I' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marqu... Read More
 1 Sep 2011 Rare Paintings
Temple of ‘Ganese’ (Beegna Bunaik) on the right bank of the Baghmutty river, near Chobbar - July 1857

Watercolour of the Jal Binayak temple at Chobar in Nepal, by Henry Ambrose Oldfield (1822-1871), dated July 1857. The image is inscribed on the reverse: 'Temple of 'Ganese' (Beegna Bunaik) on th... Read More
 31 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
The five storeyed tower at Gaur known as the Pir Asa Minar or Firoz Shah Minar - 1817

Watercolour of the Firuz Minar at Gaur from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Malda to Gunga Pursaad Vol. II' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1817-21. Marquess of Hastin... Read More
 25 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
John Havell's house viewed from high up outside its front gate, with farmyard buildings set all round the grounds - 1814

Watercolour of Mr. Havell's house in Danapur from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Patna to Benares Vol. II' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram ... Read More
 25 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
Close-up view of Mr. Donnithorne's bungalow - 1815

Watercolour of Mr. Donnithorne's bungalow from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Agra to Barrackpore Vol. X' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal a... Read More
 21 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
The Shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya (top right), Mosque behind the shrine of Nizammuddin (bottom right) - 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 c... Read More
 21 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
The tomb of Amir Khusrau at Nizamuddin (top left), The tomb and mosque of Makhdum Sabzavari (botttom left), Styles and titles in Persian of Metcalfe as Agent of the G.G. (right) - 1843

[From 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 painting... Read More
 19 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
A Buddhist Monk - 1867

This chromolithograph is taken from plate 35 of William Simpson's 'India: Ancient and Modern'. A Buddhist monk is shown seated while chanting from leaves of scriptures and turning a prayer-wheel. An artist and lithographer who had covered the Crimean war, Simpson came to I... Read More
 18 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
General view of the Stupas of Sanchi - 1850

Watercolour drawing of the view of the stupas of Sanchi by Frederick Charles Maisey, from an album of 60 drawings dated 1847-1854. The drawing is inscribed: 'Plate XXXIX'; on the back: 'Plate XXXIX. Old Plate LII'.

The Buddhist site of Sanchi is of ou... Read More
 17 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
View of the Pettah Gateway, Bangalore - 1792

This is a wash drawing of the interior of Bangalore Fortress in Karnataka by Robert Home (1752-1834) in 1792. It is part of a series of 22 loose drawings together with a map and three plans completed by Home when he accompanied the British army under ... Read More
 14 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
Return visit of the Viceroy to the Maharaja of Cashmere - 1867

This chromolithograph is taken from plate 30 of William Simpson's 'India: Ancient and Modern'. It illustrates the return visit made by Viceroy Lord Canning to Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Kashmir on 9 March 1860, during the viceroy's pro... Read More
 3 Aug 2011 Rare Paintings
Mosque, Monghyr (Bihar). View from the river with country boats and budgerow in foreground - 1814

Watercolour of a view from the river of the mosque in Monghyr by Robert Smith (1787-1873) betwen 1814 and 1815. Inscribed on the mount in pencil is: 'Mosque at Monghar.' On the reverse (not by Smith... Read More
 28 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Mosque at Borranipore - 1848

This coloured lithograph is taken from plate 8 of Sir Charles D'Oyly's 'Views of Calcutta and its environs'. D'Oyly was one of the finest amateur artists in Calcutta in the 19th century. Fellow artist William Princep wrote of him in his posthumously published memoirs... Read More
 25 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Qadam Rasul (Qadam Sharif), the court of the Print of the Prophet's foot, Delhi - 1823

Watercolour of Qadam Rasul or Qadam Sharif, the Court of the Print of the Prophet's Foot, Paharganj, Delhi showing figures seated in the courtyard. Inscribed on the front in Persian characters: 'Naqshah i darg... Read More
 25 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
The spire and dome of a temple at Benares - 1814

Watercolour of a temple in Varanasi from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Benares to Nazibghur Vol. III' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal and th... Read More
 24 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Raj Singh II attending a night entertainment in the palace, Udaipur, India, about 1755. Opaque watercolour on paper.
Height 47.2 cm x Width 41.4 cm. Museum no. IS. 77-1990.

Raj Singh II of Mewar (Udaipur) in Rajasthan came to the throne in 1754. At this time he was only ten years old. In this l... Read More
 20 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Ulwar, India - 1878

Oil painting of Alwar by Marianne North, dated November 1878.

Initially Marianne North (1830-1890) only painted botanical specimens and travelled around the world in search of interesting subject matter. She visited India in 1877-79 and completed over 200 paintings whilst th... Read More
 20 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Fountain, early 17th century
Deccan, India
Cast and incised bronze
H. 38 7/16 in. (97.7 cm), W. 26 5/8 in. (67.6 cm), Diam. 36 11/16 in. (93.2 cm)

This splendid fountain, the lush lotus shape of which reflects the organic nature of Deccani architectural forms and decoration, is a rare survivor o... Read More
 20 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Mahadev Visvanath Dhurandhar (b.1867,d.1944)

He, was also called Rao Bahadur, a title bestowed on him by the British government, was the first Indian director of the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai.

He was born in Kolhapur (a district in Maharashtra). His father understood and supported his so... Read More
 19 Jul 2011 Rare Paintings
Cotton boats on the Ganges - 1794

Water-colour painting of the River Ganga with cotton boats by James Tillyer Blunt (1765-1834) between 1788 and 1800. Blunt was employed on survey work with the Bengal Engineers from 1783 to 1810. This is one of 31 drawings (29 folios) of landscapes in Delhi, Utt... Read More