Leading auctioneer Bonhams will sell three stunning images portraying life in Delhi, discovered among the papers of a Scottish family, at its next auction of Indian and Islamic art here on April 8.
The images are part of the Fraser Album, which consists of over 90 watercolours of breathtaking quality that provide an portrait of life in and around Delhi in the early 19th century.
This was an area relatively unknown to the British at that date, with Mughal control ceded to them only in 1803 and the Emperor nominally in power.
The album, found with other papers in 1979, features the work of local artists commissioned by James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856), and his brother William (1784-1835). The siblings came from Inverness.
William went to India aged 16 as a trainee political officer in the East India Company while James arrived a year later, taking a commercial position in Kolkata.
James, a talented artist, published his own collections of views of the Himalayas and of Kolkata.
When James joined William in Delhi in 1815, the brothers commissioned local artists to depict servants, tradesmen and figures from irregular military units, some employed by the British, including Gurkha soldiers and colourfully-attired troopers of formations like Skinner's Horse.
More than one artist was employed for the paintings in the album. The best examples are usually attributed to Ghulam Ali Khan and it is likely the rest were produced by other members of his family. The works date between 1815 and 1820.
The lots in the sale capture the richness of ceremonial life in Delhi and are representative of British fascination with types of transport and servants that appear in other more typical examples of Company School painting.
The first image is of an elephant and driver, probably from the Mughal Emperor's stable, with a hunting howdah equipped with a rifle, bows and a pistol, from Delhi or Northern India.
The second image is of a bullock-drawn carriage of Prince Mirza Babur and both are estimated to fetch up to 30,000 pounds.
Another important painting in the sale is from the Impey Album by the artist Bhawani Das, featuring a great Indian fruit bat or flying fox circa 1778-82.
