Crossroads of Exchange
Indian Paintings from the Mughals to the Company School
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Crossroads of Exchange: Indian Paintings from the Mughals to the Company School explores how artists working across the Indian subcontinent developed varied and prolific forms of painting from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries. Focusing on artistic and cultural exchanges among India’s many ethnic groups and the British, this exhibition illuminates how painters created unique, vibrant historical and religious subjects, aristocratic portraits, depictions of myths and legends, and scenes of daily life. In more than 100 paintings, drawings, and prints, Crossroads of Exchange examines major developments in Indian painting from the Jain, Mughal, Deccani, Rajasthani, Bengali, and Pahari traditions, as well as the Company School and other colonial-period trends. The tour schedule for Crossroads of Exchange is limited to two years in order to preserve the fragile, light-sensitive works of art.
Figure 1-1 Unknown, Indian (Jodhpur, Marwar, Rajasthan), Harnathji Maharaj, brother of Ayas Devnath, with Suryanathji and Ladunathji, son of Devnath, Jodhpur, c. 1815, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 19 ½ x 16 ½ in.
Figure 1-2 Attributed to Sahibdin (Indian, active c. 1628–1655, Udaipur, Rajasthan), Radha and Krishna, mid-17th century, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 16 x 13 ½ in.
Figure 1-3 Unknown, Indian, Pahari (Punjab Hills), Radha Pining for Krishna in a Palace Bedchamber, likely from a Bihari Satsai series, c. 1820, opaque watercolor on paper, 14 ¾ x 11 ¼ in.
Figure 1-4 Attributed to Chokha and Workshop (Indian, active c. 1799–c. 1826, Devgarh, Mewar, Rajasthan), Equestrian Portrait of a Raja (likely Maharaja Bhim Singh), late 18th–early 19th century, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 15 ¼ x 12 in.
Figure 1-5 Surapuram Garudadri Appaya (Southern Indian, active late 19th century, Colonial Period), A Jewelry Merchant, c. 1887, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 18 x 16 1/8 in.
Figure 2-1 Unknown, Indian (Gujarat or Rajasthan, Jain), The Parents of Mahavira Discuss the Dreams His Mother Dreamt Before His Birth, 15th or 16th century, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 12 ½ x 12 in.
Figure 2-2 Unknown, Indian (Mughal), Portrait of Emperor Humayun, early to mid- 19th century, opaque watercolor on paper, 15 x 13 ¼ in.
Figure 2-3 Unknown, Indian (Deccan), Fourth Son of Dara Shikoh on Horseback (likely Sipihir Shikoh), late 17th–early 18th century, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 14 x 10 ¼ in.
Figure 2-4 Unknown, Indian (Murshidabad, Bengal), Nawab Alivardi Khan with Siraj ud-Daula and Family Members, 18th century, opaque watercolor on paper, 17 ¼ x 14 in.
Typically working in a miniature format and employing opaque watercolor, ink, and gold pigments on paper, Indian artists created paintings for illuminated manuscripts and albums, often achieving a remarkable level of detail and naturalism in their richly colored compositions. Crossroads of Exchange invites viewers to discover works of art made under Mughal Emperors and Persian Shahs, as well as Rajasthani and other regional rulers, which trace the extraordinary legacy of Islamic traditions and illustrate pivotal moments in the evolution of cross-cultural relations. With the departure of numerous artists from the Mughal imperial workshops under Emperor Aurangzeb (c. 1650–1700), painters found employment at Muslim and Hindu courts of the Deccan Plateau and Rajasthan, influencing and fusing regional styles and themes. Despite their aesthetic differences, Mughal and regional court paintings expressed shared ambitions of aristocratic power, wealth, social prestige, and religious piety in an era of rivalry, shifting political conditions, and British colonial expansion.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both Indian and European artists, many of whom worked for patrons in the British East India Company and other foreign enterprises, melded traditional Mughal and Rajasthani elements with European conventions to create a new, original art form known as Company School painting. These painters adapted both Indian and European artistic conventions to suit an emerging stylistic context, satisfying the demands of their patrons while making innovations in their work and themes.
Through a diverse array of paintings, drawings, and prints, this exhibition reveals how Company School and other colonial-era artists played a major role in representing India’s abundant flora and fauna (birds, other animals, and plants), people of different communities and their occupations, monumental architecture, scenes of daily life (both sacred and secular), and travel views of natural and historic sites. Although works by these artists convey notions of British superiority, colonial domination of Indian peoples, and cultural and racial stereotypes, they also exhibit a drive to acquire and preserve ethnographic, scientific, and historical knowledge, embodying a shared Anglo-Indian curiosity and admiration for India’s environment, ethnicities, and past. From the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, some Indian painters studied at British colonial schools of art and were influenced by European styles and techniques, as well as photography. Examples of late Company School and other colonial-era paintings in this exhibition exemplify trans-cultural interactions among artists of British India and express their attitudes toward and perceptions of its land and peoples.
Figure 3-1 Unknown, Indian (Company School, likely Calcutta), Michelia champaca (Chumpah Plant), c. 1777–85, watercolor and ink on paper, 21 ½ x 22 ½ in.
Figure 3-2 Attributed to Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya (Indian, active 1830s–40s, Company School), Portrait of an Ayah (Household Servant), c. 1845, watercolor and ink on paper, 11 x 13 in.
Figure 3-3 Unknown, Indian (Company School, Delhi), Qutub Minar near Delhi, c. 1830s, watercolor and ink on paper, 8 ½ x 7 in.
Figure 3-4 Mary Ann Ricketts Buckland (British, 1827–1908), Chittagong (Mughal Tomb at Chittagong), c. 1840s, watercolor on paper, 8 ½ x 7 ¼ in.
Figure 3-5 Unknown, Northern Indian (late Colonial Period), Portrait of Fateh Singh of Mewar, Maharana of Udaipur, c. 1900, opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, mounted and glazed, 17 ½ x 13 ¼ in.
While many Indian artists remain unknown, some of them signed their compositions. In other instances, authorship can be attributed or ascribed to a particular painter or workshop. This exhibition features works by various artists (and their collaborators) from the Rajasthani, Pahari, and Persian courts such as Sahibdin (Udaipur), Ghulam Muhammad, Jiva (Udaipur), Chokha (Devargh), Davarnath (Jodhpur), Baghvan Das (Kulu), Ghulam Hussayn, Mubarak Zaman Beg Kashmiri, Ratan Singh, and Muhammad Hassan Afshar Qaher al-Dolweh (Qajar Dynasty). Examples that were made by artists and workshops of the Company School and colonial periods include Shiva and Chuni Lal of Patna, Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya, Thakur Prashad of Gaya, Surapuram Garudadri Appaya, Mary Ann Ricketts Buckland, Fanny Parkes, Henry Brabazon Urmston, Thomas Barrett, and Walter Duncan. To showcase the enduring heritage of traditional Indian painting, this exhibition also highlights the works of contemporary artists Tilak Gitai and Alexander Gorlizki.
Crossroads of Exchange: Indian Paintings from the Mughals to the Company School is curated by Daniel Fulco, PhD. This exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Adapts, LLC. All works in this exhibition are drawn from the Anthony and Nirmala Britti Collection.
Figure 4-1 Attributed to Henry Brabazon Urmston (British, 1828–1898, fl. 1860), Puklee Valley, Punjab, India, 1857, watercolor on paper, 12 x 18 in.
Figure 4-2 Unknown, Indian (Company School), Jagannath Rath Yatra Festival in Puri, c. 1850s, opaque pigments on mica, 7 x 8 ¼ in.
Figure 4-3 Unknown, Indian (Company School), Dove with Farm Landscape, mid- to late 19th century, watercolor on paper, 5 ½ x 6 ½ in.
Contents: Approx. 100 framed paintings, drawings and prints, 170–270 running feet.
Interpretive materials: Text panels, comprehensive wall labels, and publication are provided.
Tour duration: Spring 2027–Fall 2029
Booking period: Minimum 16 weeks per venue
Shipping: Borrower is responsible for making arrangements.
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Artworks that appear in image files on this website may be in copyright or have other legal and/or cultural restrictions to their use. Art ADAPTS makes every effort to determine artworks' copyright status and obtain permission to reproduce them on this website. All photos on this website are by Art ADAPTS, LLC.
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