Watercolour on paper, two illustrations laid down on each album page, depicting flora and fauna
Painting 10³⁄₈ x 14³⁄₈in. (26.4 x 36.7cm.); folio 19⁵⁄₈ x 30 in. (50 x 76.4 cm.) each

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Lot Essay

The illustrations in the present lot come from the Parlby album, a collection of natural history and architectural watercolours assembled in Bengal, probably at Maidapur near Murshidabad in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century by Louisa Parlby, the wife of Colonel James Parlby, who was an engineer and an East India Company official. The album included topographical scenes, a series of Palladian mansions and Indian palaces, natives and local festivals, and various studies of flora and fauna. The illustrations reflect the collecting tastes and interests of the British in India at the time and offer an insight into their interactions with local Indian artists. These drawings of local birds and flowers were very much in fashion, with the most famous example of this trend of collectiong being the albums produced for Lady Impey between 1777 and 1783 which were considered amongst the finest natural history illustrations made for the British in India.

After the death of her husband, Louisa returned to England sometime after 1801 and is thought to have brought the album back with her. Some of the paintings originally in the Parlby album later became part of the collections of Lieutenant Colonel James Chicheley Hyde (1787-1867) and Richard, Marquess Wellesley (1760-1842), now in the British Library.

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Condition report

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

Folio with illustrations of red and white flowers:
Numbered '32' in pencil, in top right corner. The folio with handling marks and minor discolouration along the edges. There is a tear to the sheet in the lower left corner measuring approx. 11.5 cm. but it does not impact the left hand side illustration. The overall sheet with a few scattered foxing marks and very faint creases. The illustrations with minor areas of discolouration to the white ground more visible along the edges. The left hand side illustration with a few repaired tears along the upper edge. The reverse is plain.

Folio with illustrations of yellow and pink flowers:
Numbered '33' in pencil, in top right corner. The folio with handling marks, a few spots of foxing, and minor areas of discolouration particularly visible along the edges. The illustration on the left with yellow flowers has a narrow darker band of discolouration along the left edge. The illustration on the right with pink flowers has a small darker area of discolouration in the top right corner. Both illustrations have very minor additional scattered spots of staining. The reverse is plain.

Folio with illustrations of birds:
Numbered '42' in pencil, in top right corner. The edges of the folio with a few very minor tears, handling marks and minor areas of discolouration. The sheet with a few scattered spots of foxing and staining. The illustration on the left with a narrow darker band of discolouration along the left edge. The illustration on the right with darker area of discolouration in the upper left corner and in a narrow band along the left edge. Both illustrations have very minor additional scattered spots of staining. The reverse is plain.

Print Report