Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details. thumbnail 1
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Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details.

Architectural Drawing
ca.1836 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleSixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details. (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on paper
Brief description
Architectural; drawing, Qudsiya Palace, Delhi, ca.1836
Physical description
A corner of the Qadsiyah Palace in Delhi is shown on the bank of the River Jumna.
Dimensions
  • Length: 11cm
  • Width: 18cm
  • Painted area length: 7.5cm
  • Painted area width: 12cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • Kudsia Garden Palace (ca.1740) on the bank of the Jumna, Delhi

    Note
    English; Roman



  • Note
    Inscribed with titles on back in English and on front in Persian characters.

Credit line
Given by E. H. Hindley
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 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.
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 146 p. ISBN 0944142303
Collection
Accession number
IM.22-1923

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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