Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta thumbnail 1
Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta thumbnail 2
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Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta

Painting
ca. 1828 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Sir Charles D'Oyly, Bt., was born in Calcutta in 1781, and after being educated in England returned to India in the service of the East India Company, heading a fashionable group of Europeans devoted to artistic pursuits, first in Calcutta, and later in Patna, where he was Opium Agent and later Commercial Resident. D'Oyly was a man of boundless energy and social charm, and he was also a skilled writer of light verse. In 1828 he published a long poem called 'Tom Raw the Griffin', which he illustrated himself. A griffin means a greenhorn: someone who is new to India and unaccustomed to its ways. This painting, which in the end was not used in the published book, illustrates Tom Raw's visit to Taylor & Co.'s emporium, which sold European porcelain, cut glass and many other imported goods and trinkets to the British inhabitants of Calcutta. Fashionable ladies and gentlemen parade in the long colonnaded hall of the shop, while Indian attendants look on. Porcelain and crockery is stacked upon and below a table to the right, while elaborate chandeliers hang from the ceiling.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on paper
Brief description
Illustraition from Tom Raw the Griffin by Sir C. D'Oyly, watercolour on paper, London, 1828
Physical description
Fashionable ladies and gentlemen parade in the long colonnaded hall of the shop, while Indian attendants look on. Porcelain and crockery is stacked upon and below a table to the right, while elaborate chandeliers hang from the ceiling.
Dimensions
  • Height: 18.1cm
  • Width: 23cm
Gallery label
Charles D'Oyly was born in Calcutta (Kolkata)and after being educated in England returned to India as an East India Company servant. He was an amateur painter and a skilled writer of light verse. He published a long satirical poem with his own illustrations called Tom Raw the Griffin. A griffin means a greenhorn: someone who is new to India and unaccustomed to its ways. This painting illustrates Tom Raw’s visits to an emporium, selling European porcelain, cut glass and many other imported goods and trinkets to the British inhabitants of the city.(1/12/2008)
Summary
Sir Charles D'Oyly, Bt., was born in Calcutta in 1781, and after being educated in England returned to India in the service of the East India Company, heading a fashionable group of Europeans devoted to artistic pursuits, first in Calcutta, and later in Patna, where he was Opium Agent and later Commercial Resident. D'Oyly was a man of boundless energy and social charm, and he was also a skilled writer of light verse. In 1828 he published a long poem called 'Tom Raw the Griffin', which he illustrated himself. A griffin means a greenhorn: someone who is new to India and unaccustomed to its ways. This painting, which in the end was not used in the published book, illustrates Tom Raw's visit to Taylor & Co.'s emporium, which sold European porcelain, cut glass and many other imported goods and trinkets to the British inhabitants of Calcutta. Fashionable ladies and gentlemen parade in the long colonnaded hall of the shop, while Indian attendants look on. Porcelain and crockery is stacked upon and below a table to the right, while elaborate chandeliers hang from the ceiling.
Bibliographic references
  • Jaffer, A. Furniture from British India and Ceylon: a catalogue of the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2001. ISBN 1 85177 318 5.p.44, fig.9.
  • Rohatgi P. and Parlett G., assisted by Imray S. and Godrej P. Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, 17th to the early 20th century. Published by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, in association with V&A, London, 2008. ISBN 81-901020-9-5. p. 202, pl. 9c
  • Patel, Divia; Rohatgi, Pauline and Godrej, Pheroza, "Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: an exhibition of paintings and drawings from the 17th to the early 20th century organised by the V&A and CSMVS". Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai and Victoria and Albert Museum, 2008, ISBN:81-901020-8-7 p. 42
  • The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 Number: ISBN 0 906969 26 3 Topsfield, Andrew; cat. no. 105, p. 54
Collection
Accession number
IS.1-1980

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Record createdSeptember 24, 2004
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