Lucknow School, circa 1850

Portrait of Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Oudh, full-length, seated, holding a sword, in an Indian palace, with a landscape beyond, after Zoffany

细节

Lucknow School, circa 1850
Portrait of Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Oudh, full-length, seated, holding a sword, in an Indian palace, with a landscape beyond, after Zoffany
inscribed in Persian 'Asaf-al-dawla Padishah of Oudh' (lower centre, in the margin) and further inscribed in pencil and numbered '26' (on the reverse)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gold and gum arabic
22 x 18¼ in. (55.9 x 46.4 cm.)

拍场告示

This lot is illustrated on p.123 of the catalogue, wrongly numbered as lot 153

拍品专文

Asaf-ud-Daula was the son of Shuja-ud-Daula and ruled from 1775-1797. He moved his court back to Lucknow from Faizabad, and his generosity and splendid life-style attracted a great many European visitors to the court. Like many Indian rulers of the time Asaf-ud-Daula had a passion for European objects and had a room set aside in his palace for his collection which included mirrors, chandeliers and automata.
A portrait of Asaf-ud-Daula, by a Lucknow artist, is in the India Office Library, illustrated in M. Archer, loc. cit., pl. 48, and is thought to be based on a portrait by Tilly Kettle.
This watercolour has been identified as after a portrait of Asaf-ud-Daula, by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), see The Raj: India and the British 1600-1947, London, National Portrait Gallery, October 1990 to March 1991, catalogue no. 78.