A nobleman, with horse and attendant behind, journeying through a landscape

Sind or the Punjab, circa 1850-60

Footnotes

This painting belongs to a group variously attributed to Sind in western India, or to the Punjab, and dated circa 1850-60 (though there are a few examples on paper watermarked 1885). They depict either Sikh and Punjabi figures (including akalis), or Nouries, a tribe from near Hyderabad in Sind, who were well known as bankers and money-lenders. It would seem then, that the exact attribution of place may depend on the subject depicted - however, the two regions, Sind and the Punjab, are of course not greatly distant from each other. From his dress it seems more likely that the nobleman depicted here is from Sind.

All of these paintings are distinct from the point of view of style - it is tempting to attribute them to a single artist, or family of artists - and common features stand out, such as the use of cross-hatching in the depiction of textiles and dress (as seen here in the attendant's tunic), the exact flesh tone used for the figures, and most notably what appears to be an overtly humorous or even satirical tone. It can be seen here in the attendant, rendered invisible but for his lower body and hands, struggling with his oblivious master's horse on a difficult downward slope. There is a strong flavour of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The portrayal of the Nourie bankers in other works also seems satirical, and even the tradespeople are depicted with a hangdog, long-suffering air which is entirely idiosyncratic.

Several of these paintings have been offered for sale or published. For a painting depicting Nourie bankers, see S. C. Welch, Room for Wonder: Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, pp. 166-167, no. 72. Another strikingly similar work in which at least two of the same characters appeared, and apparently from the same album, was sold in these rooms (Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 8th October 2013, lot 284). For another, depicting the bankers poring over their ledgers, ascribed to Kutch, see Christie's, Exploration and Travel with Visions of India, 21st September 2000, lot 295.

Another page from the same album as the Welch painting depicted Sikh akalis (op. cit., pp. 128-129, no. 57; and there are two paintings in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the same style, one depicting akalis, another, two Punjabi figures (see M. Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, London 1992, p. 173, nos. 162 (illus.) and 163). Two works depicting Punjabi tradespeople, dated circa 1885, were with Francesca Galloway (Asian Textiles, Indian Miniatures and Works of Art, London 2000, pp. 102-103, n0. 47).