Six portraits of European officers and officials serving with the Sikhs Punjab, circa 1840-50(6)

Six portraits of European officers and officials serving with the Sikhs Punjab, circa 1840-50 gouache and gold on paper, each with white panel at top containing identifying inscription in Urdu in nasta'liq script, inner border with stylised intertwining motifs in gold on a dark blue ground, pink outer border with red margin rules, one inscribed Lawrence verso 240 x 153 mm. and slightly smaller (6) Footnotes: Provenance The collection of Bryan Wilkins (1950-2021), son of Fraser Wilkins (1908-89), Inspector-General of the US Foreign Service 1964-71, US Ambassador to Cyprus 1960-64. The readings of the inscriptions, and hence the identifications of the sitters are not certain, given the difficulty of expressing unfamiliar European names in Urdu. The inscriptions (on five of the six) are as follows: A. shabih-i ajitan S-D-D-L sahib bahadur , 'Portrait of Adjutant [...] Sahib Bahadur'. B. shabih-i KH-S-B sahib bahadur , 'Portrait of Khosep [Joseph?] Sahib Bahadur'. A possible identification is Henri Joseph de Facieu, who is listed as the commander of a regiment in Ranjit Singh's army (see C. Grey, European Adventurers in Northern India, 1785 to 1849 , Lahore 1929, p. 350). Jean-Louis Alexis de Facieu (1788-1843) was a French officer of cuirassiers who arrived in the Punjab in 1839 and enlisted in the service of the Lahore Durbar during the reign of Maharajah Kharak Singh. He held the rank of Colonel. (His son, Henry Joseph, served in the same regiment with the rank of Captain). He was accorded the honour of a full military funeral by the British authorities. His tomb still survives. C. shabih-i kaptan iklat sahib bahadur , 'Portrait of Captain Iklat [Quilette?] Sahib Bahadur'. This is probably a certain Quilette who is recorded as an instructor of Artillery in Ranjit Singh's army (see Grey, op. cit., pp. 350-351. D. shabih-i alaran sahib bahadur , Portrait of Alaran [Halloran] Sahib Bahadur'. This is probably the Irishman, Halloran, variations on whose name are found in records in connection with the army of Ranjit Singh (see Grey, p. 352). E. shabih-i dakthar sartand [?] sahib bahadur , 'Portrait of Dr. Sartand [Sergeant? Surgeon?] Sahib Bahadur. Three doctors are mentioned on the payroll of the Sikh army: the Transylvanian Johann Martin Honigberger, a Frenchman called Benet, and an Englishman called Harvey (see Grey, pp. 334-345). Six paintings, almost certainly from the same series (with the Urdu inscriptions within a panel, the same types of chairs, the distinctive striped carpets, the plain coloured backgrounds, and the same borders, were sold at Christie's, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds , 7th October 2008, lot 244. Two paintings, in a very similar style (featuring the same chairs), but with different background features, dated circa 1845, were sold at Christie's, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds , 10th April 2014, lots 182 and 183. Finally, for slightly different but related portraits of Sir Henry Fane (British Commander in Chief) and Frederick Currie (agent to the Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, and later Resident at Lahore), significant figures in British involvement with the Punjab, see Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World , 7th October 2015, lot 286. The model for such individual portraits may be larger works featuring a number of figures, such as the depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Bhairowal in December 1846, by a Punjabi artist, circa 1846-47, which depicts four English officers alongside the Sikh contingent (British Museum, 1948.10-9.0109; illustrated in S. Stronge (ed.), The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms , London 1999, pp. 24-25, fig. 18). Lahore was full of European servicemen and adventurers. Davinder Toor, discussing a tulwar which once belonged to Colonel Francis Henri Mouton, who served with the Sikhs and took part in the Anglo-Sikh Wars, comments as follows: Mouton was among the last of a bevy of foreign (firangi) mercenaries and adventurers who travelled to Lahore in search of fame and fortune in the service of the Sikhs. The French contingent was particularly well represented. Besides Mouton, its cavalry officers included General Allard, Commander de la Roche, Mr Garron (or Carron), Messrs de Facieu (father and son) and Captain Argoud. The infantry wing was served by Captain de la Font, Mr Amise, Mr Dubuignon, Mr de la Ust and Mr Gervais, while General Court oversaw artillery operations. Finally, Dr Benet served briefly as Maharajah Ranjit Singh's medical physician and the surgeon-general of the Sikh army. Every one of them had to agree to certain pre-conditions of employment, including the growing of their beards, abstaining from eating beef, marrying locally and promising to remain loyal to the Sikh court, even if it meant going to war against their countrymen. Besides adopting a blend of European and Punjabi dress, many of them also chose to wear Punjabi-made weapons. (Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art , London 2018, pp. 194-195). This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com