NON-EXPORTABLE
A VERY FINE COPY OF THIS EARLY VIEW OF INDIA, RECALLING THE POWER STRUGGLES WHICH LED TO THE BRITISH DOMINANCE OF INDIA IN THE 19TH CENTURY
TITLE: Select Views in Mysore
SUB TITLE: The country of Tippoo Sultan; from drawings taken on the spot by Mr. Home; with historical descriptions
AUTHOR: Robert Home
PUBLISHER: Mr Bowyer
PLACE: London
YEAR: 1794
BINDING: Red calf binding with blind tooling
NO.OF PAGES: 138 including 29 copper-engraved plates by Fittler, Byrne and others after Robert Home, 4 folding maps and plans (one hand-coloured) with descriptive text for each plate in English and Urdu
SIZE:
Height: 33.5 cm
Width: 27.1 cm
Depth: 2.7 cm
Born in 1752 in Kingston upon Hull, England, Robert Home was known for his paintings of scenes and landscapes in India. He was instructed by the neoclassical painter Angelica Kauffmann when he attended the Royal Academy Schools in 1769. On further encouragement from her, he went to Rome between 1773-1779. Following this, he worked as a portrait painter in Dublin, before returning to London in 1789.
In 1790, Home's career took an exciting new direction when he left for India. He arrived during the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789-92), most likely with a commission from Bowyer to record the scenes of the action. The war took place in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore, whose ruler was Tipu (or Tippoo, as his name is sometimes spelt) and the English East India Company. The present work is dedicated to the victorious commander in chief of the British forces in India, Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805).
Over the course of his stay in India, Home established himself as a highly successful portrait artist and worked mainly in Madras, Calcutta and Lucknow. He was employed as the official court painter of Lucknow, to King Ghazi and his successor, the Crown Prince Nazir-Ud-Din. He was encouraged to lend his artistic abilities to designing crowns and regalia, furniture for the palaces, richly ornamental howdahs, carriages and pleasure boats, in addition to painting pictures. Many of his drawings are part of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Home passed away in 1836 in British India.
This lot will be sold in "as is" condition.
There may be some minor tears/creases scratches, or holes commensurate with age that may not be visible in the images.
The books on sale in this auction are rare, out-of-print and otherwise collectible, dating from the 19th century on wards. The technology and material for printing and binding books has evolved over the last few centuries. From being the exclusive preserve of Clergy and Kings to an item of everyday application, the availability and use of books has also evolved over time. Books age over time and deterioration in a book's condition depends on many factors, including the original materials used and conditions of usage over time. Books will often show signs of foxing, fading, shelf-ware or dust jacket damage through usage. Prolonged storage may also cause wormhole damage or water stains.
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