LONDON, Sept 2 — Little-known artists such as Shaykh Zayn al-Din and Bhawani Das will return to the spotlight this fall as part of a major auction at Sotheby’s. The sale offers art collectors an opportunity to delve into the paintings of the British East India Company.
As the British East India Company expanded its operations in India in the late 18th century, many of its employees left England to build new lives in the Asian country. Many of them became patrons of culture, giving rise to the Company School of Painting.
In order to meet the European tastes of their benefactors, local artists evolved their style to paint images of the flora, fauna, people and landscapes of India. Some of their creations will go under the hammer, October 27 at Sotheby’s, during a dedicated sale titled, “In an Indian Garden.”
Many of the paintings offered for sale featured in the exhibition “Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company,” running until September 13 at the Wallace Collection in London. The show helped to shine light on Indian artists who had previously been more-or-less forgotten, such as Shaykh Zayn al-Din, Bhawani Das, Sita Ram and Ghulam Ali Khan.
Sotheby’s hopes to do the same for the Company School of Painting with its upcoming fall sale. “These works are the product of true collaboration — not grand portraits of the patrons themselves, but tableaux of everyday human activity, as well as meticulous studies of nature and vernacular architecture,” said Benedict Carter, Sotheby’s Head of Sale.
Works in the sale include “A Great Indian Fruit Bat or Flying Fox,” which depicts this Indian bat in great detail. The painting was made by the artist Bhawani Das, who was commissioned by Sir Elijah Impey and his wife, Lady Mary, to carry out extensive natural history studies on their Calcutta estate. It is estimated to fetch between £300,000 and £500,000 (or approx. RM1.7m- RM2.9m).
This painting will be offered at auction alongside “A Painted Stork Eating a Snail,” which once belonged to the former US First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. This painting by Shaykh Zayn al-Din could fetch between £200,000 and £300,000 (or approx US$275,000 - $413,000).
The public will be able to see the works featured in the “In an Indian Garden” sale in New York, Hong Kong and London before they go under the hammer, October 27 in London. — ETX Studio
