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| Keywords: Arcotprinces.jpg en A few princes like these sons of the Nawab of Arcot were painted by the popular artist Tilly Kettle c 1770 Source http //search sothebys com/jsps/live/lot/LotDetail jsp lot_id 4FGKN downloaded May 2005 A PORTRAIT OF UMDAT AL-UMARA AND AMIR AL-UMARA SONS OF NAWAB MUHAMMAD ALI KHAN OF ARCOT AND THE CARNATIC TILLY KETTLE 1734/5-1786 ENGLISH SCHOOL INDIA CIRCA 1770; 127 by 96 5cm ; oil on canvas PROVENANCE Charles Bourchier Governor of Madras 1770 By descent to his grandson Captain Charles Bourchier circa 1867-69 CATALOGUE NOTE Tilly Kettle was the first distinguished artist to travel to India and capture the people and places of the Raj on canvas Whilst his distinctive clear yet warmly sensitive style of portraiture may not have been fashionable amongst the haut ton of London his manner of painting was supremely suited to the British military figures and Indian nawabs whose patronage he enjoyed in India where he was held in singularly high esteem Archer 1979 p 67 Kettle petitioned the East India Company for leave to practice in India in 1768 and arrived in Madras in June of 1769 It was here at his first port of call that Kettle settled until 1771 painting numerous portraits and interesting street scenes Archer 1979 p 67 His immediate success with the British residents of Madras may have been what prompted the Anglophile Nawab of Arcot Muhammad Ali Khan to call upon his services as an artist Archer 1979 p 69; a reproduction of a portrait of the Nawab of Arcot by George Willison 1777 can be seen as a detail to lot 83 in this sale The Nawab himself was a lover of luxury and his hedonistic lifestyle led him into increasing debt Flagrantly irresponsible loans were always forthcoming from the British augmenting the Nawab's already heavy debts enduring from the Carnatic wars Muhammad Ali however was not concerned by his dire economic situation and continued to live and entertain in the lavish style to which he was accustomed He was deeply admired by the British who came to feel great affection for the mercurial Nawab As time passed he assumed an increasingly English existence adopting English manners and customs He bought English oak and mahogany furniture from Britain took breakfast and tea seated on chairs around a table and themed the nuptials of his sons as a typical English wedding Archer 1979 p 54-55 Despite the Nawab's increasing 'Britishness' correspondence came to light after his death that implicated him and his sons including Umdat al-Umara and Amir al-Umara in treacherous correspondence with Tipu Sultan; proving his worth as a wily politician but sadly causing his heir to be removed from power and the British to assume responsibility for the Carnatic Muhammad Ali commissioned a monumental portrait from Tilly Kettle of himself and his five sons for presentation to the Governor of Madras Charles Bourchier on his retirement Archer 1979 p 70 The family portrait was exhibited at the Royal Society of Artists in 1771 and was the first oil painting of an Indian ruler to be shown in London The painting remained in London with the Bourchiers until 1869 when it was cleaned and cut down removing the sons The reduced painting was photographed in 1925 in the collection of Bourchier's descendent Captain Claud Strachey Clitherow Sadly there are no further records of any of the fragments and there is no information as to their current situation Archer 1979 p 438 no 6 However it is highly likely that the present painting which includes portraits of the Nawab's sons including his favoured second son Amir al-Umara is a missing section from this majestic family portrait The painting is a tour de force of decorative realism and an astonishing documentary record of contemporary dress jewellery and weapons 1770 http //www columbia edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1700_1799/localrulers/arcot/arcot html TILLY KETTLE PD-old-100 Uploaded with UploadWizard Near East national costume in western portraits Umdat ul-Umara | ||||
