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Lot Essay
According to the note written in the front of the manuscript by Bernardin de Saint Pierre, these paintings were created by Chevalier Louis-Charles Artaud de Beauvillette (d.1792). He was sent to Bengal by King Louis XVI, likely in an unsuccessful attempt to curb the expansion of the British East India Company in the aftermath of the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
In addition to albums of north Indian monuments (see the following lot) albums of Company School paintings of Hindu deities were popular amongst European travellers to India. These were most often produced in South India in the 19th century (British Museum, 1993,0806,0.30 and Victoria and Albert Museum, 4664:13/(IS)). This lot is a rare example of such an album from North East India but it is particularly notable because it has been attributed to Chevalier Beauvillette himself, rather than being painted by an Indian artist, and it predates many of the other known examples of this type of album.
In addition to albums of north Indian monuments (see the following lot) albums of Company School paintings of Hindu deities were popular amongst European travellers to India. These were most often produced in South India in the 19th century (British Museum, 1993,0806,0.30 and Victoria and Albert Museum, 4664:13/(IS)). This lot is a rare example of such an album from North East India but it is particularly notable because it has been attributed to Chevalier Beauvillette himself, rather than being painted by an Indian artist, and it predates many of the other known examples of this type of album.