Auction of works by "forgotten" Indian artists

During the 18th and 19th centuries, under British rule, many artists were commissioned by the East India Company to paint animals, plants, architecture, and people they had encountered in the past. They wanted people in Britain to be able to see what they had seen.

Paintings from this period, considered the property of the East India Company, tend to be known by the names of their commissioners rather than the artists who painted them. But this is slowly changing. Last year's exhibition 'Forgotten Masters' at London's Wallace Collection was instrumental in changing the narrative.

Historian William Dalrymple, curator of the "Forgotten Masters" exhibition at the Wallace Collection, has expressed his desire to restore authorship and due recognition to works of art he considers masterpieces.

Despite being over 200 years old, the colors of many of the works are still incredibly vibrant, thanks to being painted on the best paper imported from Europe at the time. The paintings are a combination of European painting styles and traditional art of the Mughal Empire period.

Several works from the exhibition will be sold by Sothebys in its first Company School auction at Indian Garden. All come from the collection of Carlton Rochell, an American art dealer.

Among the talented ancient Indian painters who have been honored at the exhibition, Shaykh Zayn al-Din, Ram Das, Bhawani Das and Ghulam Ali Khan are the names that appeared in the auction at the Indian Garden.

Benedict Carter, head of sales at Sothebys, said the genre was finally getting the recognition it deserved. "These are not like other paintings. They are not just studies for British or European clients, they are Indian works of art in the true sense."

The most famous series includes the Company School paintings commissioned by Sir Elijah and Lady Impey, who created a menagerie in their garden in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Several works from the Impey album are now in major collections such as the V&A in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

According to Benedict Carter, one of the most impressive works of the auction is also in the Impey album, which is the paintingFruit batby Hindu artist Bhawani Das between 1778 and 1782. The bat in the painting is depicted with bright black eyes full of intelligence. It shows that the artist has turned his natural studies into a soulful portrait, and what appears in the painting is not just a bat but an animal with a personality, a rich inner world.

“There is something about the character of this animal that goes beyond anatomical accuracy,” Carter added. The drawing has an estimate of £300,000 to £500,000.

MORE INFORMATION

Prior to the auction on October 27, exhibitions of the works will be held at Sothebys galleries in New York (September 17-20), Hong Kong (October 7-11) and London (October 22-16).

Khanh Ha