Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details.
Architectural Drawing
ca. 1836 (painted)
ca. 1836 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This Company painting depicts the Qutb Minar, a fluted red sandstone tower covered with carvings and inscribed with verses from the Koran. The Qutb Minar was started in 1199 as the victory tower of Qutb-ud Din Aibak, commemorating the Muslim dominance of Delhi. It was completed by his successor, Iltutmish, and the top was restored by Firoz Shah in 1369. The picture shows the cupola added by Colonel Robert Smith in 1828 and removed in 1848.
'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.
'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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details. (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Architectural; drawing, Qutb Minar, Delhi, ca.1836 |
| Physical description | This view of the Qutb Minar in Delhi shows the cupola added in 1828 and removed in 1848. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | The drawings are recorded as being by 'native' droughtsmen of the Delhi School in the Office of the Honourable East India Company's Superintendent of Public Buildings and Ancient Monuments at Calcutta, ca.1836. These set of drawings are of Mughal monuments in the Delhi area in a landscape setting. They are almost identical to a set collected in Delhi by Sir Thomas Metcalfe, ca.1840, some of which were by Mazar Ali Khan and published in Kaye, 1980. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | This Company painting depicts the Qutb Minar, a fluted red sandstone tower covered with carvings and inscribed with verses from the Koran. The Qutb Minar was started in 1199 as the victory tower of Qutb-ud Din Aibak, commemorating the Muslim dominance of Delhi. It was completed by his successor, Iltutmish, and the top was restored by Firoz Shah in 1369. The picture shows the cupola added by Colonel Robert Smith in 1828 and removed in 1848. '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. |
| Bibliographic reference | Archer, Mildred. Company Paintings Indian Paintings of the British period
Victoria and Albert Museum Indian Series London: Victoria and Albert Museum, Maplin Publishing, 1992 147 p. ISBN 0944142303 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.42-1923 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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