An Indian capriccio, with the Moah-Punkee on a river

William Daniell arrived in India in 1786, aged only sixteen, in the company of his uncle Thomas Daniell (1749-1840). He remained in the country until 1794, compiling a rich collection of drawings and sketches to which he and Thomas could refer when they came to execute engravings of Indian life and culture on their return to England. The present watercolour is not a representation of any particular part of India, but a capriccio assembled from elements of Lucknow and Benares. The elegant barge in the left foreground gives the work its title: the Moah Punkee was the state barge of the Maharajah of Lucknow and derived its name from the words for 'peacock' and 'wings', referring to the figure of a flying peacock affixed to the bow of the barge.