.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This painting belongs to a beautiful group of botanical watercolours recognisable for their bright colours and sharp details attributed to an unknown artist identified by H.J. Noltie as ‘the Master of the Fine Albums’ (H.J. Noltie, ‘Indian Export Art? The botanical drawings’ in William Dalrymple (ed.), Forgotten Masters: Indian Paintings for the East India Company, London, 2019, p.81). Noltie identifies three major groups of paintings which almost certainly comprised the single original series. The first group of fifty-eight studies are in the British Museum and identified by their former owner Major J.P.S Pearson (1999,0203,0.58). The second group is in the Natural History Museum, London (NHM ISC-Z/B), and the third was formerly in the collection of Edward Smith Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (Exhibited and published in William Chubb, Fifty-One Flowers: Botanical Watercolours from Bengal, London, May 2006, Colnaghi in Association with Hobhouse Limited). A single page formerly in the Earl of Derby Collection, depicting Bombax ceiba, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2016.489). A further two paintings from the series were sold in these Rooms, 27 October 2023, lot 127 and 24 October 2024, lot 178.
As found with the present work, the paintings have a strong richness of colour from the application of glaze and gum arabic and the painting of shadows between the leaves of the specimens lends a convincing sense of depth. Each image is surrounded by a generous amount of white space and the overall impact suggests a greater visual interest than something that is solely rigorously scientific (note that there is no botanical dissection). Our painting can be related to the greater series by the elegant copperplate ink inscriptions at the bottom of the page. Each plant is identified with its transliterated native name, Linnaean Order and Class, and Latin species name. The majority of paintings are labelled with the Latin name as identified by William Roxburgh, however our painting is notable for the additional name given Francis Buchanan-Hamilton which are found on far fewer paintings (See British Museum 1999,0203,0.22 and 1999,0203,0.24).
The paintings of the series have no named artist or patron but Noltie believes that the copperplate inscriptions relating to Roxburgh and Buchanan indicates Calcutta as the most likely place of production. Roxburgh was the superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden between 1793 and 1813 and was responsible for commissioning the ‘Roxburgh Icones’, an album of some 2,542 watercolours bound in 35 volumes which still remain in the Sibpur Herbarium (Mildred Archer, Natural History Drawings in the India Office Library, London, 1962, p.22). It is doubtless in part due to Roxburgh’s patronage that Calcutta became the leading centre of botanical painting in 19th century India.
The series by the Master of the Fine Albums has, until now, been dated to between 1800-1805 however the inclusion of Buchanan’s binomial in addition to Roxburgh’s suggests a slightly later dating. Buchanan was commissioned to undertake an comprehensive survey of areas within British East India Company jurisdiction between 1807 and 1814. As an accomplished Botanical collector, he also collected, described and commissioned drawings of plants encountered during his survey. Buchanan succeeded Roxburgh as superintendent of Calcutta Botanic Garden but had to return to London in 1815 due to poor health. Therefore the inclusion of Buchanan’s identification of Zedoary (curcuma fuscata) in this painting suggests a date of creation during Buchanan’s survey or tenure as superintendent. Although no formal documentation for the series identifies a patron a commissioner has been proposed for the former Earl of Derby group of paintings – Richard Goodlad (1755-1821). Goodlad was a merchant and member of the Asiatic Society with known links to Botanic Gardens in Calcutta and which further strengthens the attribution of the Master of the Fine Albums and/or their studio to Calcutta (Noltie, op.cit., p.81).
Curcuma Zedoaria, or Zedoary, is a perennial herb of the ginger family and sometimes known as white turmeric. As indicated by the inscription at the bottom left of the page, the plant belongs to Monandria Monogynia, the first class of plants classified in William Roxburgh’s magnum opus, Flora Indica. Roxburgh is full of admiration for Zedoary in his account of the plant and observes: “The plant when in flower is highly ornamental, few surpassing it in beauty; at the same time it possesses a considerable degree of delicate aromatic fragrance.” (William Roxburgh and N. Wallich, Flora Indica, or, Descriptions of Indian Plants, Vol.1, Serampore, 1820, p.24)
As found with the present work, the paintings have a strong richness of colour from the application of glaze and gum arabic and the painting of shadows between the leaves of the specimens lends a convincing sense of depth. Each image is surrounded by a generous amount of white space and the overall impact suggests a greater visual interest than something that is solely rigorously scientific (note that there is no botanical dissection). Our painting can be related to the greater series by the elegant copperplate ink inscriptions at the bottom of the page. Each plant is identified with its transliterated native name, Linnaean Order and Class, and Latin species name. The majority of paintings are labelled with the Latin name as identified by William Roxburgh, however our painting is notable for the additional name given Francis Buchanan-Hamilton which are found on far fewer paintings (See British Museum 1999,0203,0.22 and 1999,0203,0.24).
The paintings of the series have no named artist or patron but Noltie believes that the copperplate inscriptions relating to Roxburgh and Buchanan indicates Calcutta as the most likely place of production. Roxburgh was the superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden between 1793 and 1813 and was responsible for commissioning the ‘Roxburgh Icones’, an album of some 2,542 watercolours bound in 35 volumes which still remain in the Sibpur Herbarium (Mildred Archer, Natural History Drawings in the India Office Library, London, 1962, p.22). It is doubtless in part due to Roxburgh’s patronage that Calcutta became the leading centre of botanical painting in 19th century India.
The series by the Master of the Fine Albums has, until now, been dated to between 1800-1805 however the inclusion of Buchanan’s binomial in addition to Roxburgh’s suggests a slightly later dating. Buchanan was commissioned to undertake an comprehensive survey of areas within British East India Company jurisdiction between 1807 and 1814. As an accomplished Botanical collector, he also collected, described and commissioned drawings of plants encountered during his survey. Buchanan succeeded Roxburgh as superintendent of Calcutta Botanic Garden but had to return to London in 1815 due to poor health. Therefore the inclusion of Buchanan’s identification of Zedoary (curcuma fuscata) in this painting suggests a date of creation during Buchanan’s survey or tenure as superintendent. Although no formal documentation for the series identifies a patron a commissioner has been proposed for the former Earl of Derby group of paintings – Richard Goodlad (1755-1821). Goodlad was a merchant and member of the Asiatic Society with known links to Botanic Gardens in Calcutta and which further strengthens the attribution of the Master of the Fine Albums and/or their studio to Calcutta (Noltie, op.cit., p.81).
Curcuma Zedoaria, or Zedoary, is a perennial herb of the ginger family and sometimes known as white turmeric. As indicated by the inscription at the bottom left of the page, the plant belongs to Monandria Monogynia, the first class of plants classified in William Roxburgh’s magnum opus, Flora Indica. Roxburgh is full of admiration for Zedoary in his account of the plant and observes: “The plant when in flower is highly ornamental, few surpassing it in beauty; at the same time it possesses a considerable degree of delicate aromatic fragrance.” (William Roxburgh and N. Wallich, Flora Indica, or, Descriptions of Indian Plants, Vol.1, Serampore, 1820, p.24)