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A 'huqqa-burdar'

Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya

1845

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

company_painting Romanticism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

A 'huqqa-burdar' is a 1845 paint by Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya, a company_painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya
When & what style?: 1845 · company_painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

You see a man carrying a hookah in this painting. He's dressed in traditional clothes and has a serious face. The interesting thing about this work is that it's part of a set of pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India, which are called Company paintings, and the artist had to adapt to the British style to create these works. This painting shows the artist's skill in blending Indian and British styles. The artist worked in a suburb of Calcutta where many British residents lived. You can learn more about this style by looking into the movement: Romanticism.