拍品专文
The Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daula, ruled from 1731 to 1775. He was probably the most admirable of the Oudh Nawabs moving his capital from Lucknow to Faizabad in 1765, and resisting the forces of the Marathas, the British and the Afghans, with his highly efficient armies, run on European lines. Both painting and poetry flourished at his court and Tilly Kettle (1735-1786), the first English portraitist to arrive in India, arriving in 1768, was invited to Faizabad in 1772 where he painted his celebrated portrait of Shuja-ud-Daula (see M. Archer, India and British Portraiture 1770-1825, London, 1979, pl. 30).
It was common practice in the courts of the Nawabs for local artists to be employed to copy the oil portraits painted by English artists. Mihr Chand is one such Lucknow artist, who painted fine watercolours after Tilly Kettle's portrait.
The present watercolour, in the manner of Mir Chandh, depicts the Nawab in his traditional fur hat but unlike some of the copies after Kettle, he is shown in a different attitude. It is likely that the watercolour was executed by two different hands, the more competent hand painting the figure, and a studio artist completing the background. For other Lucknow school watercolours after Tilly Kettle see M. Archer, op. cit, pp. 81-83.
It was common practice in the courts of the Nawabs for local artists to be employed to copy the oil portraits painted by English artists. Mihr Chand is one such Lucknow artist, who painted fine watercolours after Tilly Kettle's portrait.
The present watercolour, in the manner of Mir Chandh, depicts the Nawab in his traditional fur hat but unlike some of the copies after Kettle, he is shown in a different attitude. It is likely that the watercolour was executed by two different hands, the more competent hand painting the figure, and a studio artist completing the background. For other Lucknow school watercolours after Tilly Kettle see M. Archer, op. cit, pp. 81-83.