Arts of India under the hammer
ARTEFACTS INCLUDED IN ONLINE AUCTION REFLECT SKILLS OF ANONYMOUS LOCAL ARTISTS
AN ONLINE Indian art auction at Christie’s, set to begin on Thursday (4) and conclude after the submission of final bids on June 26, provides a glimpse into the skill of local artists who mostly remain anonymous but whose work was admired and collected by the British during the time of the Raj.
These days, anything that is over 100 years old comes under India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, and cannot be exported. So the 80 lots offered for sale come from private collectors in Europe or from those in the west who trade in Indian art objects.
Taken together, the auction, Arts of India – Heavenly Gods and Earthly Pleasures also provides an insight into the intimate relationship between India and Britain. It especially highlights how the work of Indian artists was appreciated by British collectors who brought them back home when they bid farewell to the country where they had lived and perhaps even had been born.
Since the names of the artists will probably never be known, the paintings are classified according to the schools to which they belong – in this case, Mughal, Deccani, Rajasthani, Pahari, and Company schools of painting. There are depictions of Hindu gods and scenes from well-known epics.
According to Christie’s, “amongst the objects are fine examples of silver-inlaid bidri ware and a selection of magnificent gem-set and enamelled arms and armour, which display the wealth and grandeur of India’s regional courts.
“The sale also includes an opulent collection of handwoven and intricately embroidered Kashmir shawls dating from the 18th to the late 19th century, an early Indian dhurrie that was purchased in Egypt in 1928 and brought to England onboard the SS Empress of France and an imposing carpet from the Deccan that was formerly owned by the renowned American interior designer, Michael S Smith.” Price estimates vary from £200 to £45,000, with an average of £5,000, so that “this sale presents a fantastic opportunity for new and seasoned collectors alike”. Then, as now, the British have had a love of watercolours. There are three folios from the album of one Louisa Parlby, depicting flora and fauna, in the style of the Company School, for £3,000-5,000. Each folio has two illustrations. Christie’s gives the provenance: “The illustrations come from the Parlby album, a collection of natural and architectural watercolours assembled in Bengal, probably at Maidapur near Murshidabad, in the late 18th/early 19th century by Louisa Parlby, the wife of Colonel James Parlby, who was an engineer and an East India Company official. The drawings of local birds and flowers were very much in fashion. “After the death of her husband, Louisa returned to England sometime after 1801 and is thought to have brought the album back with her.” There are some unusual and intricate architectural studies, again in the style of the Company School, of the tombs of Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, inside the Taj Mahal. There is also one of the tomb of Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal Emperors, at Sikandra, near Agra. The five drawings – watercolour, pencil and ink on paper (circa 1815-20) – have an estimate £12,000-£15,000. There is a gem set and enamelled gold sword (tulwar) hilt, locket and chape (1898-99 AD) estimated to fetch £35,000-45,000. There is an “Sadeliwork” drum table (probably Bombay, circa 1860-80) for £20,000£30,000; a pair of royal painted wooden window shutters (Kutch, Gujarat, last quarter 19th century) for £5,000-8,000; and a very large silver-inlaid Bidri candlestick (Bidar, Deccan, 19th century) for £7,000-10,000.
The auction is supervised by Behnaz Atighi Moghaddam and Rukmani Kumari Rathore, who are head of sale and an Indian art specialist, respectively, in the Islamic and Indian Art Department at Christie’s.
Moghaddam said the lockdown has not affected online auctions unduly: “I guess being in lockdown some people have more free time to spend money. I feel like you don’t really need to know very much to fall in love with Indian art. It’s just so visual.”
She points out: “There is a designer called Etro – very expensive luxury Italian fashion designer – which has both outerwear and also interior design, and their latest collection is all based on Kashmir shawl designs.”
Rathore, who worked on an auction of Kashmiri shawls last year, said sometimes they are cheaper to buy in an auction than from stores back in India.
Of the Company School watercolours, she says: “The botanical drawings are fascinating. They are very much in the tradition of the Daniells (Thomas and his nephew William) and William Hodges. They are Indian artists working in the British style of painting.”