Object types scroll painting

Materials paper (all objects) Techniques painted Production place Painted in India (all objects) (Asia,South Asia,India) Place (findspot) Found/Acquired West Bengal (?) (all objects) (Asia,India,West Bengal) Date 19thC(early) Schools /Styles Company School

Description Watercolour painting on paper of a procession of a prince. The procession is started by an pair of elephants wearing decorated blankets over their backs, bells and head decorations. On the back of each elephant rides a mahout with an ankusha (elephant goad) and two flag bearers holding large red and green flags. Following the elephants are a group of men holding smaller flags and walking on foot, that are followed by a group of men wearing white tunics and swords (?) over their shoulders. These preceed musicians on horseback. They wear red jackets with white trousers. After this come another group of men on horseback, carrying standards on poles; one holds a cresent moon, another holds a sun with a face and rays, a third holds a plan golden orb and a fourth carries a golden monster/dragons head. Four armed riders follow and preceed a large elephant with a howdah on its back. Inside the howdah is the central figure of the procession – the prince with an attendant. A mahout sits on the neck on the elephant. The elephant is decorated with a green and red blanket over its back, a bell, a headdress and tassels from its ears. An armed attendant follows the elephant on foot, who preceeds more armed riders on horse back. The procession is concluded by five empty palanquins carried by bearers wearing red tunics. The palanquins represent the wealth of the ruler. In the background of the procession is a landscape dotted with trees, a river, a temple and a mosque.

Dimensions Height: 20.4 centimetres Width: 150 centimetres (The painting only)

Condition Made from a series of long sheets of paper glued end to end to form the scroll. Stored rolled up and placed in a black leather covered paper tube.

Curator's comments The Stowe collection: "Collected by Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (d. 1839) at Stowe House, near Buckingham. In 1849 the collection was bought by the 4th Earl of Ashburnham. In 1883 the MSS were purchased by Parliament from the 5th Earl of Ashburnham and deposited in the Museum, with the exception of those of Irish interest which were deposited in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin."

Subject king/queen (all objects) procession musician (all objects)

Acquisition date 1974

Acquisition name Purchased from Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham (biographical details | all objects) Previous owner/ex-collection Richard Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (biographical details | all objects) Transferred from British Library (biographical details | all objects)

Acquisition notes