A portrait of a hunchback, Karnataka, possibly Shorapur, Circa 1840

A note by Cary Welch on the backboard of the frame suggest that this drawing was perhaps associated with Colonel Meadows Taylor (1808-1876),  a novelist and administrator who had an extensive knowledge of the history and language of Central and Southern India. He was appointed by the Nizam of Hyderabad to administer the principality of Shorapur, and was later awarded by the Company a position as Deputy Commissioner of the ceded districts of the Deccan.

Cary Welch's handwritten notes on the backboard of the frame are as follows:
"A Hunchback, Twice Blessed by the Goddess [he also shows pock-marks - poor fellow!], perhaps South Indian, 1st half 19th c.
Shorapur? Dr Z, Telegu
Shorapur, North Carnataka,  Meadows Taylor lived there - J. Mittal - 1995 Jan
Somewhere between the Buddha and a roast chicken"