Nawab Shuja' al-Dawla and his ten sons

The diffusion of European culture in Awadh entered a new phase during the reign of Nawab Shuja' al-Dawla (r. 1753 -1775). British Artists such as Tilly Kettle and later Robert Home, were commissioned to paint portraits of the Nawabs and the present painting is inspired from an original by Tilly Kettle. A watercolour dated circa 1815, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, shows the artist painting a portrait of Shuja al-Dawla and his ten sons (IS.5-1971). Other copies of Nawab Shuja' al-Dawla and his ten sons were executed by local Awadhi artists such as Mihr Chand and Nevasi Lal, mostly for British and French officials posted in the area (see for instance Stephan Market ith Tushara Bindu Gude, India's Fabled City; The Art of Courtly Lucknow, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 2011, fig.27, p.181, cat.29.p.175).