Rare Paintings
 2 Dec 2010 Rare Paintings
View of Lahore - 1825

Watercolour of a view of Lahore, Punjab, by an anonymous artist working in the Delhi style, c. 1825. Inscribed on the front in Persian characters: 'Taswir' ['naqshah']' i dar al-saltanat Lahaur' (Picture of the seat of government Lahore); on back in English: 'The City of ... Read More
 1 Dec 2010 Rare Paintings
Ajanta - Cave X. Figures from the earliest painting - 1878

Illustrations of paintings from Cave X at Ajanta from James Burgess' 'Original Drawings from the Buddhist Rock Temples at Ajanta.' The magnificent cave temples of Ajanta are situated in a horse-shoe valley of the Waghora River in West ... Read More
 1 Dec 2010 Rare Paintings
Wall paintings of India : Will they survive for long?
OP Agrawal, director general, INTACH, Indian Council of Conservation Institutes speaks about a subject close to his heart.

One group of cultural heritage of India, which is very much on the verge of collapse and disappearing at a very fast... Read More
 26 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
The Purana Qila from the north, with Humayun's tomb beyond - 1815

Watercolour of Purana Qila from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Delhi to Tughlikabad Vol. VII' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Ben... Read More
 26 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Mausoleum of Humayun, Delhi - 1820

Watercolour of the Mausoleum of Humayun and its compound in Delhi, by an anonymous artist working in the Agra style, c. 1820-1822. Inscribed on the front in English: 'Tomb of Hoomauyoon Bad Shah';' Tomb of Koaka'; in Persian characters: 'Maqbarah i Kokah - Ma... Read More
 24 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
The Parsonage Gurukhpore - 1823
Water-colour painting of the Parsonage at Gorkakhpur, Uttar Pradesh by Hezekiah Clark (1792-1868), dated October 1823. Inscribed on the reverse is: 'Parsonage Gurukhpore for Mrs. James Lobb. 20th October 1823', with initials in the lower left corner: 'H.C.' The ol... Read More
 20 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
View of Circular Road, Calcutta - 1848

Watercolour of Circular Road in Calcutta by Edward Augustus Prinsep (1828-1900) dated c.1848. Inscribed on the front in ink: 'On the Circular Road, Calcutta.'.

Circular Road in Calcutta was one of the improvements implemented by Marquis Wellesley on hi... Read More
 20 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
The River Taptee, Surat, from the Fort - 1853

Watercolour view of the River Tapti at Surat by William Carpenter (1818-1899) between 1850 and 1856. The River Tapti rises in the central Deccan Plateau and flows westwards across India to the Gulf of Cambay, an inlet of the Arabian Sea. Surat was ... Read More
 19 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Indian Antiquities Act in 1976 - An Act for antiquity.
By Suresh Neotia - Chairman, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd.
Livemint - Apr 24 2008

The framers of the law clearly showed their lack of familiarity with the great art tradition of India and our ancient culture.

More than three decades hav... Read More
 18 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
THE MUGHALS

On April 20, 1526, Babur, the first Mughal emperor, defeated and killed Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, head of the Lodi dynasty that had held power in northern India since 1451. For most of the next three centuries, the Mughals wielded enormous political power in India and ushered in a perio... Read More
 16 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Page from the "Farhang-i Jahangiri"

This fragment is the third folio of the "Farhang-i Jahangiri", a Persian lexicon purportedly executed in Agra in 1028/1618-19. A total of four folios of this work are held in the collections of the Library of Congress.

The author of this Persian-language ... Read More
 15 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Kistnaghurry - 1804

Plate 28 from 'Picturesque Scenery in the Kingdomof Mysore' by James Hunter (d.1792). This aquatint, which is based on a picture by Hunter, shows the hill fort at Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. Hill forts such as Krishnagiri played a strategic role in the battles of the Third Mys... Read More
 14 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
The Lahore Bazaar near the Delhi Gate (Punjab) - 23 January 1879

Water-colour painting of a bazaar in Lahore city in the Punjab (modern Pakistan) by Alfred Frederick Pollock Harcourt (1836-1910), 23 January 1879. Inscribed on the front in pencil is: 'A.H. 23 Jany 79'; on the back in ink:' Laho... Read More
 13 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
The Mountain of Ellora - 1803

Plate 1 of 'Hindoo Excavations in the Mountain of Ellora near Aurangabad,' engraved by Thomas Daniell after the drawings of his deceased friend James Wales, which Daniell regarded as the sixth set of his 'Oriental Scenery.' This and next two plates form a continuo... Read More
 10 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Hardwar and the beginning of the Ganges - 1814

Watercolour of Haridwar from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Mohumdy to Gheen Vol. V' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal and the Commander-in-Chi... Read More
 10 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
View from a window in the Government House Calcutta - 1795

Watercolour of the view from a window in Government House at Calcutta by Hubert Cornish (1757-1823) dating from 1793-98. The house on the left appears to be situated in the grounds of Old Government House, on the corner of Wheler Place... Read More
 10 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Beyond The Veil - Indian Women In The Raj
By Pran Nevile
Published by Nevile Books, New Delhi 2000

Contemporary paintings depict the intimacy and closeness between the sahib and his Indian bibi. WILLIAM HICKEY, a famous attorney and socialite of Calcutta, in 1780-90's has left a touching acc... Read More
 9 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Three Sikh sirdars on horseback - 1815

Watercolour of three Sikh sirdars on horseback 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-General of Bengal and the Co... Read More
 9 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Gateway in the Hazuribagh, Lahore, Punjab - January 1849

Water-colour painting of the gateway in the Hazuri Bagh at Lahore in the Punjab (modern Pakistan) by Henry Ambrose Oldfield (1822-1871) in January 1849. Inscribed on the front in water-colour is: 'Gateway in the Huzooree Bagh. H.A. Oldfi... Read More
 9 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Source of the River Jhelum in octagonal tank, Verinag, Kashmir - 1 June 1886

Water-colour painting of the source of the River Jhelum in an octagonal tank at Verinag (Kashmir) by Charles J. Cramer-Roberts (1834-1895), 1 June 1886. Inscribed on the front in water-colour is: 'Kashmir. Vernag. Jun... Read More
 9 Nov 2010 Rare Paintings
Autograph of His Majesty Bahadur Shah of Delhi - 29th April 1844

[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 accompanyi... Read More