A large Company School album of watercolours
of costumes, craftsmen, trades and processions in India providing a
fascinating insight into the culture of the early 1800s will go under
the hammer in LONDON next month and is expected to fetch anything between
200,000 and 300,000 pounds. This album is remarkable for the size,
quality and range of subjects of the watercolours, the auction house
said. It will be sold in Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World sale on
April 24. In an era before cameras and photography, administrators,
officials and visitors to the East India Company would commission such
albums, painted by local Indian artists to bring back and show their
friends and relatives. Superior to the majority of similar related
productions of Company patronage, the album is remarkable for both its
size and quality, and also for its uncommon subject matter. Alongside
depictions of craftsmen, processions, dancers and contemporary costumes,
the album also contains a self- portrait showing the artist at work.
Among other characters illustrated are a fisherman, doctor, barber,
goldsmith, a dressing servant and dancing girls. All in all, the album
includes 35 large sheets bound in their original leather covers. The
album contains some interesting and rare portraits. The focus of the
album as well as its pictorial style is the southern and eastern regions
of India. A very similar album is in the India Office Collections in
the British Library here.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
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