Painting
ca. 1760 - ca. 1764 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painting probably depicts William Fullerton of Rosemount, who joined the East India Company's service in 1744 and was second surgeon in Calcutta in 1751. He was present at the siege of Calcutta in 1756 and became mayor of Calcutta in 1757. In 1763 Fullerton became a surgeon to the Patna Agency. He was the only Englishman to survive the massacre of the English during the war with Mir Kasim of Murshidabad.
Numerous East India Company officials adopted aspects of Indian court life during their careers in India, and, as an excellent linguist, Fullerton was very much at home in Bengal, keeping one or more Indian bibis (mistresses). Fullerton was a collector of paintings and it is likely that the Murshidabad artist Dip Chand painted a number of pictures for him when visiting Patna. This portrait shows Fullerton receiving a visitor, attended by servants with fly-whisks (chauri). He is depicted seated on a rich carpet, leaning against a bolster and smoking a huqqa. Nearby are two rosewater sprinklers, a sword, and a box for betel nut. These accoutrements are generally assumed to signify Indian royalty, thereby conflating Fullerton's portrait with that of an Indian prince.
The painting is inscribed 'W.F. 1764' on the back.
Numerous East India Company officials adopted aspects of Indian court life during their careers in India, and, as an excellent linguist, Fullerton was very much at home in Bengal, keeping one or more Indian bibis (mistresses). Fullerton was a collector of paintings and it is likely that the Murshidabad artist Dip Chand painted a number of pictures for him when visiting Patna. This portrait shows Fullerton receiving a visitor, attended by servants with fly-whisks (chauri). He is depicted seated on a rich carpet, leaning against a bolster and smoking a huqqa. Nearby are two rosewater sprinklers, a sword, and a box for betel nut. These accoutrements are generally assumed to signify Indian royalty, thereby conflating Fullerton's portrait with that of an Indian prince.
The painting is inscribed 'W.F. 1764' on the back.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, portrait of East India Company official, by Dip Chand, opaque watercolour on paper, Murshidabad or Patna, ca. 1760-1764 |
| Physical description | Painting, opaque watercolour on paper. An East India Company official is shown in uniform, seated on an embroidered floor spread, leaning against a bolster and smoking a huqqa, with three attendants in waiting. Probably a portrait of Dr. William Fullerton of Rosemount, a Scottish surgeon. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | An East India Company official is shown in uniform, seated on an embroidered floor spread, leaning against a bolster and smoking a huqqa, with three attendants in waiting. Probably a portrait of Dr. William Fullerton of Rosemount, a Scottish surgeon. |
| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Purchased from Miss Emily Peet |
| Object history | Note in the acquisition register, "Duplicating, with slight variation, another painting (a portrait of the same officer) now in the Calcutta Art Gallery. See illustrated in Havell's "Indian Sculpture and Painting", plate LXX. In the Calcutta Art Gallery are exhibited paitnings (a series) of a similar nature found in the possession of an Indian artist (native of Calcutta) in Calcurra, one of whose forebears[sic] was a Mughal Court Painter in 1719. No other specimens are known." Purchased from Miss Emily Peet, 137 Alexandra Road, St.John's Wood, London, N.W. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1912-2638M |
| Historical context | Dr. Fullerton was a patron of the local Murshidabad painters. Paintings by Dip Chand and other painters in his school differed from other Murshidabad court work of the period in the choice of subject matter: it was unusual to depict a European in paintings like this. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This painting probably depicts William Fullerton of Rosemount, who joined the East India Company's service in 1744 and was second surgeon in Calcutta in 1751. He was present at the siege of Calcutta in 1756 and became mayor of Calcutta in 1757. In 1763 Fullerton became a surgeon to the Patna Agency. He was the only Englishman to survive the massacre of the English during the war with Mir Kasim of Murshidabad. Numerous East India Company officials adopted aspects of Indian court life during their careers in India, and, as an excellent linguist, Fullerton was very much at home in Bengal, keeping one or more Indian bibis (mistresses). Fullerton was a collector of paintings and it is likely that the Murshidabad artist Dip Chand painted a number of pictures for him when visiting Patna. This portrait shows Fullerton receiving a visitor, attended by servants with fly-whisks (chauri). He is depicted seated on a rich carpet, leaning against a bolster and smoking a huqqa. Nearby are two rosewater sprinklers, a sword, and a box for betel nut. These accoutrements are generally assumed to signify Indian royalty, thereby conflating Fullerton's portrait with that of an Indian prince. The painting is inscribed 'W.F. 1764' on the back. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.33-1912 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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