Lot 334
334
Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya (fl.1830-1850)
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more SHAIKH MUHAMMAD AMIR OF KARRAYA (lots 334-335) Shaikh Muhammad Amir was a resident of Karraya, who went to Calcutta circa 1830, to seek employment as an artist. It is unusual for the name of a Company School artist to be recorded as the majority of work for the western market was unsigned. Muhammad Amir of Karraya, however, built up a huge following, successfully finding many commissions for watercolours of Calcutta resident's property, servants, pets and conveyances. He is without doubt the foremost proponent of this hybrid style of watercolour painting.
Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya (fl.1830-1850)

Study of a dewan (chief native officer)

Details
Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya (fl.1830-1850)
Study of a dewan (chief native officer)
with inscription 'Dewan [sic]' (lower centre) and numbered '5' (upper right)
pencil and watercolour with gum arabic, watermark 'J WHATMAN/1840', unframed
10¾ x 8¼ in. (27.3 x 21 cm.)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

A portrait by one of the best known Calcutta-based Company artists of the mid-nineteenth century, depicting the manager or head servant of a European household. For similar works see Christie's London, Visions of India, 1998, lots 149-150.

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