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Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details.
Unknown - Enlarge image
Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details.
- Object:
Architectural drawing
- Place of origin:
Delhi, India (made)
- Date:
ca.1836 (painted)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour on paper
- Credit Line:
Given by E. H. Hindley
- Museum number:
IM.22-1923
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This Company painting shows the side of the Qudsiya Palace that faces the River Jumna. The palace and its garden complex (Qudsiya Bagh) were built by Udham Bai, also known as Qudsiya Begum, the mother of Ahmad Shah, who became Mughal emperor in 1748. This shrewd woman was the power behind the throne and an enthusiastic commissioner of new buildings. Today only an entrance gate and a mosque remain of this substantial palace.
'Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. Some Company paintings were specially commissioned, while others were virtually mass-produced and could be purchased in bazaars.
