GARDENERS AND GRAINSELLERS: TWO STUDIES OF OCCUPATIONS AND TRADES, COMPANY SCHOOL, BENGAL, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Watercolour on paper, wide blue-ruled border, two in one frame

Room for Wonder, Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, The American Federation of Arts, New York, 1978
Sahibs, Memsahibs and Maharajas: Indian Art Under British Rule 1765-1880, Harvard Art Museums, 1989

Welch 1978, no.15, pp.52-53

In generally good condition. As viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Illustrations of trades, occupations, pastimes, costumes and other aspects of Indian life and pageant were popular subjects among British patrons in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

In the catalogue accompanying the 1978 exhibition Room for Wonder, Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, Cary Welch notes "Gardeners, for instance, captures the restful solitude of late afternoon in a garden. Perhaps because he sketched the subject while seated on the ground, the usual working position of a traditional Indian painter, the two men loom against an almost infinite landscape. We sense the vibrant heat still lingering over the immaculate hedges and pathways, temporarily sullied by the younger man's weeds. Behind him, an old Muslim, perhaps his father, stands with the dignity and authority of a judge, elegant as a courtier.
  The highly skillful, Mughal-trained artist plays a game with symmetry in the second picture, whose composition suggests the merchants' scales." (Welch 1978, p.53)