拍品專文
With Ayesha apparently named for 'A'isha, the wife of the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, and Parbatti for an Indian river, this pair of steamers seems to be amongst the twenty-two sternwheelers built for the Joint Steamer Companies [of India] between 1893 and 1898. Intended for shallow-water operations on the Feeder services in Upper Assam, all were approximately 100 feet in length and broadly of the same design. The so-called Joint Companies, formed by an amalgamation of the Rivers Steam Navigation Company and the India General Steam Navigation Company, embarked on a considerable expansion during the 1890's and many new vessels were ordered from specialist British yards. Once completed, the steamers were normally dismantled, shipped out in a prefabricated state and reassembled in the company's workshops in India.