Mica painting, Patna or Murshidabad School, mid 19th century

An exceptionally fine painting on mica, 164 x 130 mm [6½ x 5 ins approx] showing an Indian gentleman in a palanquin very much in the style of a European sedan chair. It is being carried by four uniformed bearers, led by a spearman and with a parasol and with a bearer walking beside his master. This painting, of the highest quality, has been very well preserved in an album and is virtually perfect with no restoration at all. The provenance [see below] suggests that this was almost certainly painted between 1840 and 1860. The parasol used to be regarded in India as a sign of royalty but we cannot imagine exactly who the sitter was. jun11/1

Provenance: The picture came from an album which was put together by Jane Bayley Sherer, the wife of Lt Col George Moyle Sherer [1806 -1870, later Maj Gen Sir GM Sherer, KCSI] who was commanding the 74th Bengal Native infantry during the Mutiny. Jane was the daughter of Maj Gen Sir Joseph O’Halloran and some of the material in the album dates from the period when he was a very senior member of the Company’s service. Her son, Joseph Ford Sherer also served in the Mutiny and rose to be a general.