A domestic male fowl, India, Lucknow, Company School, circa 1780

Major General Claude Martin (1735-1800)

Arthur Jeffries Gallery, London

From whom acquired in 1956 by the Hon. Michael Astor (1916-80)

Thence by inheritance to the present owner

inscriptions

murgh-i sabzawar-i nar

 ‘Male fowl of Sabzawar’

The domestic fowl (chicken) is a round short-winged bird. They derive from the red jungle fowl of SE Asia. The first domesticated fowl appeared in India circa 2000 BC. The male fowl (cockerel) has a fleshy comb, lobed wattle and a high-arched tail.