Untitled [Set of 2 prints]
a) Frans Balthazar Solvyns
Coachman
Hand-coloured etching on paper
Print size: 14.25 x 9.25 in (36 x 23.7 cm)
Sheet size: 17.25 x 12.5 in (43.7 x 31.7 cm)
With Mount: 23 x 18.5 in (58.7 x 47 cm)
Plate 1 from the 4th Volume of Les Hindoûs, Paris: Chez L'Auteur, 1808-1812
Below is the descriptive text as illustrated behind the print and is accompanied with it.
"Notwithstanding the general use of palanquins, there are a great many coaches kept in Calcutta; a fashion which the Europeans have introduced, and there are few houses in which there is not at least a two wheel carriage. The horses for this purpose come from upper Hindoostan or from Ara ia. On their first landing from Bombay they are lean and have but a mean appearance, but after a little rest they become beautiful. They are used more for the saddle than for draught, though some persons use no other in their carriages. This race of horses is remarkable for their obstinacy; for when they find the road too long, or refuse to get up or down a hill or over a ditch, nothing can get the better of them. I have often seen them rather overturn the carriage or overthrow their rider than to advance.
The coachmen in India are almost all mussulmans, and wear the turban and girdle of the same colours as those of the other servants of the house. The costume in the print is that generally worn. Besides the coachman each horse has a servant called a syce." Above is the descriptive text as illustrated behind the print and is accompanied with it.
b) Frans Balthazar Solvyns
Syce, Groom
Hand-coloured etching on paper
Print size: 14 x 9.25 in (35.5 x 23.7 cm)
Sheet size: 17.25 x 12.5 in (43.7 x 32 cm)
With Mount: 23 x 18.5 in (58.7 x 47 cm)
Plate 2 from the 4th Volume of Les Hindoûs, Paris: Chez L'Auteur, 1808-1812
Below is the descriptive text as illustrated behind the print and is accompanied with it.
"The Syce runs always by the side of the horse entrusted to his care, or when his master goes in his carriage, and is sure to keep pace with him, and return less fatigued than he, whatever may be the rate of going or length of the road. This servant is of an inferior class and very poor, generally debauched and in very low estimation: they are mussulmans, and notwithstanding their laborious life attain a great age. The print represents a Syce running before his master, with a chowry and a rope in his hand in case of need. In the back ground is an old Syce sitting before the stable near his horse and smoking the Hooka. The domestic occupation of the Syce is to feed his horse who eats on the ground, as there are no recks. In some parts they have a singular method of nourishing their horses: they boil the oats or gram, and make it into little balls, which they thrust into their mouths one at each side, but these are bad habits. The Syce inhabits the stable, and frequently the whole family lies alongside the horse." Above is the descriptive text as illustrated behind the print and is accompanied with it.
Frans Balthazar Solvyns (1760–1824)
Belgian marine artist Frans Balthazar Solvyns lived in Calcutta between 1791 and 1803 and is considered one of the earliest printmakers in India, besides Thomas Daniell. During his time in India, he documented 18th-century Indian culture and habitats, including the people, their occupations, festivals, and religious customs.
Solvyns produced a remarkable series of engravings which were first published in Calcutta in 1796 and 1799. Due to lack of financial success, Solvyns left for Europe. Unfazed by his failure, he issued a second, expanded edition of Les Hindous in Paris in 1808–12 that was reorganised and consisted of four volumes, bilingual descriptive text in French and English, and a few extra plates for a total of 288.
Les Hindous, which explores an incredibly intimate and detailed portrait of a people at a specific historical moment, features members of a wide range of professions and social classes in India. It also shows us festivals and sacred rites, animals, birds and insects, trees, and crops, as well as the different types of boats, carriages, and musical instruments that were in common use at the time. Every individual and thing is rendered in close detail by an educated and curious eye, and sometimes with humour, sometimes with a sombre grandeur.
The plates from the present lot are from the French edition of Les Hindous.
(Set of two)
These works will be shipped unframed
NON-EXPORTABLE
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition.