1 / Converging Cultures
| Artist / Origin |
Dip Chand (Indian, active 18th c.)
Region: South and Southeast Asia
|
|---|---|
| Date |
1760-63
Period: 1400 CE - 1800 CE
|
| Material |
Opaque watercolor on paper
Medium: Painting
|
| Dimensions | H: 10 ½ in. (26.2 cm.), W: 9 in. (22.7 cm.) |
| Location | The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK |
| Credit | Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London/Art Resource, NY |
expert perspective
| Romita RayAssistant Professor of Art History, Syracuse University | ||
| Romita RayAssistant Professor of Art History, Syracuse University |
Portrait of East India Company Official (probably William Fullerton)
» Dip Chand (Indian, active 18th c.)expert perspective
Romita Ray
Assistant Professor of Art History, Syracuse University
“backThe British arrive in India in the early part of the seventeenth century, at least according to records, and they’re primarily merchants. They come to trade. We have records of them in the Mughal emperor’s court at the time. And over time, they build what is called the East India Company, which is chartered by Queen Elizabeth and it’s given the rights to trade with India. So that’s when we see them arrive. And they start establishing their presence in very key areas of India because they know that they have to compete with the Portuguese who are already there. They certainly have to compete with the Dutch. Over time, they also have to compete with the French.
So initially, we see a mercantile body. Then, over time, that develops by the eighteenth century into a more aggressive body that actually has its own army, that does acquire land, that protects its rights in India. By the early nineteenth century, we begin to see, especially, a greater interest in governance. Now this begins, of course, in the eighteenth century in the sense that they learn specific languages which allow for them to understand the judiciary system, for instance. They also understand how to transact with merchants. In order to grab the markets they have to have some measure of control over the laws, for instance, that rule those markets.”