Planche d'étude ornithologique Lot n° 156

Company School, India, Calcutta, circa 1840 Pen, ink and watercolor study on white paper depicting a naturalist orpheus bulbul perched on a branch. The bird is named in pencil at lower right. 22 x 17 cm. This drawing is a fine example of the so-called "Company School" of paintings, drawings and watercolors produced in India during the British colonial period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Subjects vary from traditional Indian scenes and landscapes to natural history and botanical studies. The two main contemporary sets of bird drawings compiled in Calcutta are those of Marquis Wellesley, Governor General of Bengal from 1798 to 1804, and Francis Buchanan (1762-1829), both held at the British Library. These drawings are "scientific", showing only the specimen, without landscape or shadow, but sometimes with the outline of a branch in pencil...