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拍品專文
The following two Lots are typical of the 'trades and occupations' genre of painting popularly produced in the late 18th and 19th centuries by Indian artists for European patrons. The carefully executed portraits and restrained approach to the application of colour in our paintings are characteristic of the work of the Punjab artist Bishan Singh (circa 1836-1900) and his family workshop. Bishan Singh came from a family of artists who were responsible for painting and maintaining the murals on the walls of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. It is here that Bishan Singh and his brother Kishan Singh likely learned their trade before both becoming recognised as painters of scenes of daily life in the Punjab.
Bishan Singh's most notable works are his large and impressive scenes of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, some of which are signed, or crowded urban works of Amritsar and Lahore. Aside from these larger scenes a number of the works attributed to Bishan Singh depict traders and craftsmen at work, particularly those involved in the production and sale of Kashmir shawls. Most notable is the series of paintings of Kashmir shawl production painted for the Exposition Universelle in Paris, 1867, and sold as part of the collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, Christie's London, 28 October 2025, lots 63-70. However, paintings of individual craftsmen and tradesmen of a smaller format similar to these lots are also attributed to the artist. These include a portrait of Kashmir darners which sold in Christie's New York, 20 March 2024, lot 561; a painting of an apple seller sold in Olympia auctions, London, 26 November 2025, lot 58 and a portrait of an artist - perhaps a self-portrait - sold Sotheby's London, 23 October 2024, lot 181.
The majority of works attributed to Bishan Singh and his workshop are placed within an urban context, however both our paintings are set in an abstracted rural setting against a plain blue sky. A similar landscape, with sparse application of colour and populated by small green shrubs, as well as the treatment of the sky are found in a painting of shawl-washers, which was part of the Exposition Universelle group (Christie's London, 28 October 2025, lot 69), and a painting of ladies in a horse-drawn carriage from the Toor Collection (Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire, Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London, 2018, pp.282-85), both by Bishan Singh circa 1860s. These features are also shared by a painting of ladies in a bullock-drawn carriage dated 1874 AD by the artist Kapur Singh, the son of Kishan Singh, in the British Museum (1997,0616,0.1) which demonstrates a high level of consistency throughout the works produced by the family workshop.
The depiction of the holy man in the current lot relates particularly closely to a similar figure portrayed in a large panorama of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in a procession by Bishan Singh which sold at Sotheby's, London, 29 October 2025, lot 220.
Bishan Singh's most notable works are his large and impressive scenes of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, some of which are signed, or crowded urban works of Amritsar and Lahore. Aside from these larger scenes a number of the works attributed to Bishan Singh depict traders and craftsmen at work, particularly those involved in the production and sale of Kashmir shawls. Most notable is the series of paintings of Kashmir shawl production painted for the Exposition Universelle in Paris, 1867, and sold as part of the collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, Christie's London, 28 October 2025, lots 63-70. However, paintings of individual craftsmen and tradesmen of a smaller format similar to these lots are also attributed to the artist. These include a portrait of Kashmir darners which sold in Christie's New York, 20 March 2024, lot 561; a painting of an apple seller sold in Olympia auctions, London, 26 November 2025, lot 58 and a portrait of an artist - perhaps a self-portrait - sold Sotheby's London, 23 October 2024, lot 181.
The majority of works attributed to Bishan Singh and his workshop are placed within an urban context, however both our paintings are set in an abstracted rural setting against a plain blue sky. A similar landscape, with sparse application of colour and populated by small green shrubs, as well as the treatment of the sky are found in a painting of shawl-washers, which was part of the Exposition Universelle group (Christie's London, 28 October 2025, lot 69), and a painting of ladies in a horse-drawn carriage from the Toor Collection (Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire, Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London, 2018, pp.282-85), both by Bishan Singh circa 1860s. These features are also shared by a painting of ladies in a bullock-drawn carriage dated 1874 AD by the artist Kapur Singh, the son of Kishan Singh, in the British Museum (1997,0616,0.1) which demonstrates a high level of consistency throughout the works produced by the family workshop.
The depiction of the holy man in the current lot relates particularly closely to a similar figure portrayed in a large panorama of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in a procession by Bishan Singh which sold at Sotheby's, London, 29 October 2025, lot 220.