Lot 66: A SET OF SIX COMPANY SCHOOL INDIAN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES, MID 19TH CENTURY

A set of six Indian ethnographic studies executed in watercolour and gouache on cream paper. These mid-19th century works are characteristic of the Company School style, created by Indian artists for the British market. Each sheet depicts a single figure, standing on a small, shaded patch of ground against a plain, unadorned background. The subjects represent various castes, occupations, and regional styles of dress. Notable figures include a musketeer carrying a matchlock rifle on his shoulder and a powder horn at his waist, an archer with a bow and a sword, and a figure wearing a white dhoti and tilak markings while carrying a large palm-leaf umbrella. The pigments remain vibrant, particularly the deep blues. Several sheets bear small ink numerals in the lower right-hand corners, specifically a 2 and a 4.

20 by 14.5cm