Indian Company School Pair of Birds on Purple Flowering Tree, Gyah
An original c.1840 watercolour painting, Indian Company School, Pair of Birds on Purple Flowering Tree, Gyah.
This is an unusually beautiful example of an Indian Company painting, which forms part of an outstanding collection of Indian bird subjects that we have for sale.
As is typical for Company School style, the birds are painted with tremendously vivid opacity and fine detail. Unusually, the composition extends to a fully painted foreground and background, giving a sense of the Indian landscape, whilst the flowering tree itself is highly decorative and evocative of Persian and Mughal miniatures.
This painting is also unusual in being inscribed with what appears to be the native artist's name and location. The painting is inscribed at the right edge: 'Thakorr Persad. Gyah. Tickarree'. Tickaree is a term meaning hawk and Gyah is a version of Gaya, a town in Bihar, 100 km from Patna, which was one of the major pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists.
Patna was a major artistic centre for Indian Company Painting, so much so the style was also known as 'Patna School'. 'Gyah' features in drawings by Thomas Daniell (1749–1840) and Sir Charles D'Oyly (1781–1845), the latter of whom formed an amateur art society, 'The United Patna and Gaya Society'.
On watermarked J Whatman 1840 wove paper.
Dimensions: Height: 12.8cm (5.04") Width: 18.4cm (7.24")
Presented: Unframed.
Medium: Watercolour
Age: Early 19th-century
Signed: No.
Inscribed: Inscribed upper right.
Dated: --
Condition: Some minor age toning and a small amount of foxing. Slight creasing to the thin paper, including a soft oblique central crease across the paper. The right-hand edge of the paper is slightly worn, with slight nicks. There is a small amount of surface paint loss to the blue birds. Please see photos for detail.
Stock number: JT-970
