A panoramic view of Alwar, attributed to Ghulam 'Ali Khan, Delhi, circa 1820

gouache on paper, framed, inscribed in nasta'liq script on border above: 'The map of the city of Alwar, Chahtri and Mahal together with a few other adjoining places'

William Beckford, Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, (1759-1844), backboard of original frame bears label: 'Fonthill Heirlooms 105/15'
James Morrison, of Fonthill House, Tisbury Wiltshire (1789-1857)
Alfred Morrison, D.L., J.P. (1821-97)
Hugh Morrison, M.P., J.P., D.L. (1868-1931)
The Rt. Hon. Lord Margadale of Islay, T.D., J.P., D.L. (1906-96)
Christie's, London, 15 December 1971, lot 114

Dalrymple and Sharma 2012, p.48, fig.11

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This superlative view of Alwar is an artistic tour de force. The vast panorama of the city is dominated by the red sandstone and white marble Moosi Maharani Chhatri, which was built in 1815. The surrounding countryside is dotted with villages and distant hilltop forts and the whole scene is populated by tiny figures, some so small in the distant areas as to be almost invisible. It is an extraordinary artistic and topographical achievement, painted at a time when such views were only beginning to be practised by Indian artists, mostly under the patronage of the British. 

Ghulam 'Ali Khan, the likely artist of this work, painted a scene of the Diwan-i Khass of the Delhi Fort in 1817 that shows his sure command of this mode of painting even at the beginning of his career. He was the leading and most prolific artist of the second quarter of the nineteenth century, combining his work for British patrons such as William and James Fraser and Colonel James Skinner with work for princes and rulers of the regional courts around Delhi, such as Banni Singh of Alwar (r.1815-57). For a thorough study of this period and the various artists and patrons involved, including Ghulam 'Ali Khan, see Dalrymple and Sharma 2012.

The closest comparison to this painting is a slightly later one of Delhi - an extraordinary work painted by Mazhar 'Ali Khan in 1846 that shows a 360° panorama of the city (see Dalrymple and Sharma 2012, pp.168-171, cat.75; and Losty in Crill-Stronge-Topsfield 2004, pp.291-294, col. fig.6). Were it not for the provenance of the present work it might be considered to be closer in date to the Delhi view and possibly painted by Mazhar Ali. But the backboard of the original frame of the present work bears an inscription "Fonthill Heirlooms 105/15" showing that it once belonged to William Beckford of Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, the famous collector. He sold Fonthill Abbey and much of its contents and collections in 1823, thus this work must have been painted and back in England by that time. Beckford is known to have had a very large numbers of Indian paintings in his collection - recent research has indicated that he acquired thirty-five albums from Colonel Polier and another eight from Capt. Archibald Swinton alone, giving a total of forty-three bound albums, each of which would have contained multiple paintings and calligraphies, from just two sources (see Harris 2001).