One of nineteen drawings illustrating processes in the manufacture of opium at the Opium Factory at Gulzarbagh, Patna, in Bihar. thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

One of nineteen drawings illustrating processes in the manufacture of opium at the Opium Factory at Gulzarbagh, Patna, in Bihar.

Painting
ca.1857 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This Company Painting (a painting made by an Indian artist for the British in India) is done on mica (talc) and comes from a series of nineteen illustrating processes in the manufacture of opium at the opium factory at Gulzarbagh in Patna, Bihar. According to the artist Ishwari Prasad, his grandfather, Shiva Lal (c.1817-1887), began to make the designs for these paintings in 1857. They were commissioned by Dr D. R. Lyall (the personal assistant in charge of opium-making) for a series of wall paintings in the Gulzarbagh factory. However, Lyall was killed in 1857, during the so-called Indian Mutiny, and the scheme was abandoned. This picture shows two men carrying a pole over their shoulders to which a crate is attached by means of a rope. The crate is marked 'PATNA OPIUM', followed by an East India Company stamp and a stock number.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOne of nineteen drawings illustrating processes in the manufacture of opium at the Opium Factory at Gulzarbagh, Patna, in Bihar. (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Gouache on mica.
Brief description
Paintings, talc, Patna
Physical description
Two workers are shown carrying an opium crate away. One of a series representing the processes in the manufacture of opium at the Opium Factory at Gulzarbagh, Patna, in Bihar.
Dimensions
  • Length: 20cm
  • Width: 16cm
Style
Credit line
Transferred from the India Museum
Object history
According to the old Patna artist Ishwari Prasad, the designs for these mica paintings were first made in 1857 by his grandfather, Shiva Lal (ca.1817-ca.1887).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This Company Painting (a painting made by an Indian artist for the British in India) is done on mica (talc) and comes from a series of nineteen illustrating processes in the manufacture of opium at the opium factory at Gulzarbagh in Patna, Bihar. According to the artist Ishwari Prasad, his grandfather, Shiva Lal (c.1817-1887), began to make the designs for these paintings in 1857. They were commissioned by Dr D. R. Lyall (the personal assistant in charge of opium-making) for a series of wall paintings in the Gulzarbagh factory. However, Lyall was killed in 1857, during the so-called Indian Mutiny, and the scheme was abandoned. This picture shows two men carrying a pole over their shoulders to which a crate is attached by means of a rope. The crate is marked 'PATNA OPIUM', followed by an East India Company stamp and a stock number.
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 201 p. ISBN 0944142303
Collection
Accession number
07361:18/(IS)

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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