Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 235
A small portrait of Ensign Philip Moxon, killed at the Battle of Ferozshah, 21st December 1845, during the First Anglo-Sikh War British School, mid-19th Century(2)
11 June 2020, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £3,812.50 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A small portrait of Ensign Philip Moxon, killed at the Battle of Ferozshah, 21st December 1845, during the First Anglo-Sikh War
British School, mid-19th Century
British School, mid-19th Century
watercolour on paper, with arched top, in frame, the backboard with contemporary handwritten note giving the circumstances of Moxon's death; together with a photocopy of several pages from a history of the Munster Fusiliers, giving details of the battle and of Moxon's action
painting 95 x 70 mm.; frame 215 x 187 mm.(2)
painting 95 x 70 mm.; frame 215 x 187 mm.(2)
Footnotes
The note on the reverse reads:
Philip Moxon, 3rd son of Thomas and Elizabeth Moxon. Born at Dover, 18th July 1826. Killed alas! at the battle of Ferozeshah, India, on 21st December 1845.
He carried the Colours of the 1st European Light Infantry, being ensign (now I believe called the 1st Fusiliers). The battle was fought on Sunday (the shortest day). He was killed in the moment of victory, by the exploding of a shell that fell near him.
The accompanying history notes that the colour carried by Moxon, 'which was saturated with his blood', now hangs in Winchester Cathedral.
See D. Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London 2018, p. 217: Sikh development of shrapnel, and 'were fully conversant with the French practice of using canister of two sizes to deliver anti-personnel fire anywhere between 200 and 400 metres. This goes a long way to explain why British casualties in some engagements of the First Anglo-Sikh War approached fifty per cent'.