A COMPANY SCHOOL ALBUM OF MICA MINIATURES, SOUTH INDIA, TRICHINOPOLY, CIRCA 1850

In colour on mica sheets, 47 full-page illustrations, 56 half-page illustrations, mounted in a European album with light blue paper tape, most pages titled in a fine hand in English in black ink, the binding of moulded red leather with gilt details, dedication in ink on opening page

The demand for paintings of local customs and costumes grew around Tanjore as a result of the Mysore wars at the end of the 18th century and the consequent presence of large numbers of British troops. Many of the officers enjoyed only brief stays in India and were keen to snap up these souvenirs of their time in the sub-continent. A British garrison had been established in Tanjore in 1776  and from about 1780 there appeared sets of drawings showing pairings of a man and woman of various castes and their associated occupations. Some sets encompassed a broader range of subject matter, including festivals, temples, shops and entertainments (Archer 1972, p.22).

The artists working in this tradition were from the Moochy caste. Their works appear to have been marketed in various towns in South India and several of the artists migrated to these towns to set up competing workshops. One of these offshoots was at Trichinopoly, with its fort perched on top of a large rock, illustrated in one of the miniatures in this album. The fort had been made famous by a siege in the Carnatic wars with the French (1756-63). This fame brought a steady stream of British tourists into the 19th century and local artists specialised in producing works for them on mica and ivory (Archer 1972, p.38). The mica came from Cuddapah and Madras and E. B. Havell records that it was still being used for paintings in Trichinopoly in the late 1880s.

Sets of mica paintings related to those in this album are in the British Library (India Office Collections), though few are as extensive in scope and as numerous as the present set.