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Lot Essay
"Mild in manners, generous to extravagance, and engaging in his conduct." These were the words written by Lewis Ferdinand Smith in March 1795 about Asaf Al-Dawla, the Nawab of Awadh, who ruled from 1775 until 1797 (Archer 1979, p.144). Although loyal to the Mughal Emperor in Delhi, the Nawabs of Awadh effectively ruled independently and presided over a period of great wealth, productivity and peace following the subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company made by Shuja al-Dawla (r.1754-75), the third Nawab of Awadh and father of Asaf al-Dawla. It was during the reign of Asaf al-Dawla that the capital of Awadh was moved to Lucknow where lavish sums were spent transforming the city into one of the most splendid of the age, as evidenced by contemporary reports such as that of Lewis Ferdinand Smith above.
Although regarded as extensive extravagance, the splendid court culture fostered by the Asaf al-Dawla in Lucknow, as Shuja al-Dawla had begun in Faizabad before him, created a hugely fertile environment for the arts. The importance of these two rulers cannot be overestimated and resulted in a distinctively vibrant, urbane and sophisticated aesthetic upon which future artistic achievement was built (Markel 2015, pp.17-18). This prosperity of the Lucknow court attracted to it numerous European and British adventurers and residents seeking to serve the Nawab, often militarily. Figures such as John Wombwell (see lot 53), Antoine Polier (see lots 51 and 52) and Claude Martin would achieve great fame and wealth in Lucknow and attract prominent European artists to Awadh. John Zoffany was one of these artists and took numerous sketches and produced paintings of both Shuja al-Dawla and Asaf al-Dawla (1833-1810). A famous portrait of Asaf al-Dawla by Zoffany from 1784 is now in the India Office Library (Archer 1979, no. 89, p.147). Compared to that painting, the present portrait shows the Nawab slightly older with slightly greying beard. Where we find a youthful intensity in the Zoffany painting, here the Nawab radiates a sense of stately calm whilst the extensive gold details on the architecture and textiles hint at the wealth and extravagance for which Asaf al-Dawla was known.
Although regarded as extensive extravagance, the splendid court culture fostered by the Asaf al-Dawla in Lucknow, as Shuja al-Dawla had begun in Faizabad before him, created a hugely fertile environment for the arts. The importance of these two rulers cannot be overestimated and resulted in a distinctively vibrant, urbane and sophisticated aesthetic upon which future artistic achievement was built (Markel 2015, pp.17-18). This prosperity of the Lucknow court attracted to it numerous European and British adventurers and residents seeking to serve the Nawab, often militarily. Figures such as John Wombwell (see lot 53), Antoine Polier (see lots 51 and 52) and Claude Martin would achieve great fame and wealth in Lucknow and attract prominent European artists to Awadh. John Zoffany was one of these artists and took numerous sketches and produced paintings of both Shuja al-Dawla and Asaf al-Dawla (1833-1810). A famous portrait of Asaf al-Dawla by Zoffany from 1784 is now in the India Office Library (Archer 1979, no. 89, p.147). Compared to that painting, the present portrait shows the Nawab slightly older with slightly greying beard. Where we find a youthful intensity in the Zoffany painting, here the Nawab radiates a sense of stately calm whilst the extensive gold details on the architecture and textiles hint at the wealth and extravagance for which Asaf al-Dawla was known.