Not currently on display at the V&A

Royal Hunts

Album Page
ca. 1774 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

‘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.

This Company painting is part of an album, now known as the Gentil Album, of 58 paintings commissioned by a French infantry colonel, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726-1799), who served under Shuja ud-Daula of Awadh from 1762/3 until 1775. Shah Jahan and his peacock throne are depicted here. The throne was removed to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1738/9 and subsequently broken up.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRoyal Hunts (series title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on paper
Brief description
Gentil; Manuscripts, Col J B J Gentil, Faizabad, ca. 1774. Page number 11. Traps, pits and nets for catching tigers, lions and elephants.
Physical description
Traps, pits and nets for catching tigers, lions and elephants. From the Gentil Album. Page divided horizontally into three. Ways of catching tigers in top section, lions in middle, and elephants in bottom section.
Dimensions
  • Length: 37cm
  • Width: 53.5cm
Style
Subjects depicted
Summary
‘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.

This Company painting is part of an album, now known as the Gentil Album, of 58 paintings commissioned by a French infantry colonel, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726-1799), who served under Shuja ud-Daula of Awadh from 1762/3 until 1775. Shah Jahan and his peacock throne are depicted here. The throne was removed to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1738/9 and subsequently broken up.
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 122 p. ISBN 0944142303 Chanchal Dadlani, ‘Transporting India. The Gentil Album and Mughal Manuscript Culture’, Art History. 2025, pp. 748-761
Collection
Accession number
IS.25:11-1980

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 18, 2000
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest