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Painting of Tipu’s win over British sold for £630,000

Tipu showed that the Indians could fight back, that they could win the first time that a European army is defeated in India is this Battle of Pollilur,” he explains…reports Asian Lite News

A vividly illustrated painting depicting a historic victory of Mysore ruler Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan over the East India Company in 1780 went under the hammer in London on Wednesday for whopping 630,000 pounds.

‘The Battle of Pollilur’, which took place on September 10, 1780 as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, was the centrepiece of the Arts of the Islamic World and India sale at Sotheby’s auction house.

As a visual record of the battle and to commemorate his victory, Tipu Sultan had commissioned a painting of the Battle of Pollilur as part of a large mural for the newly-built Daria Daulat Bagh in Seringapatam in 1784.

“What this painting has is the terror and anarchy and violence of battle. It’s arguably the greatest Indian picture of the defeat of colonialism that survives. It’s unique and fantastic artwork,” said Sotheby’s expert William Dalrymple, author of ‘The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company’.

“Tipu Sultan was probably the most effective opponent that the East India Company ever faced. Tipu showed that the Indians could fight back, that they could win the first time that a European army is defeated in India is this Battle of Pollilur,” he explains.

According to the auction house, three existing copies of the original Pollilur painting are known three details in a miniature in the Baroda Museum, 24 preparatory paintings depicting sections of the series, and the complete panorama sold this week, comfortably beating its lowest guide price of £500,000.

The painting extends over 10 large sheets of paper, nearly 32 feetlong, and focuses in on the moment when the East India Company’s ammunition tumbril explodes, breaking the British square, while Tipu’s cavalry advances from left and right, “like waves of an angry sea,” according to Mughal historian Ghulam Husain Khan.

At Pollilur, Tipu Sultan known as the Tiger of Mysore inflicted on the East India Company what has become known as the most “crushing defeat” ever and the painting captures the “sheer energy” of that victory.

Another highlight at the auction was “A gem-set and enamelled gold shield” from 19th century Jaipur, which outperformed its guide price range of between 40,000 pounds and 60,000 pounds to go under the hammer for 258,300 pounds.

“This magnificent shield must have been crafted to commemorate a particular event; several shields were presented to the Prince of Wales during his visit to India in 1875-76, all luxuriously enamelled and set with precious stone,” Sotheby’s said.

“The colour scheme and the motifs in the roundels are comparable to contemporaneous Jaipur craftsmanship,” it said.

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‘When one paints first, what emerges is evolution’

Considered one of the finest art teachers in the country, Kolte, whose early works show a strong influence of Paul Klee, the Swiss artist and teacher, firmly believes that art schools should be converted into studios where students can discover creativity inside themselves…reports Sukant Deepak

He believes that seeing and painting is imitating, but when one paints first, what emerges is evolution. Prabhakar Kolte, one of the pioneers of the Indian Abstract art movement says that Abstract art opened for him the true freedom to see a painting the way he wished to paint.

“And being a teacher, I realised that Abstract art gives freedom and way of communication, so I kept discovering various ways of expression through abstraction,” says Mumbai-based artist, who after studying at the Sir J.J. School of Art also taught there.

Kolte, whose exhibition ‘The Mind’s Eye’ was recently organised at the newly opened Delhi-based Treasure Art Gallery (TAG), in which around 60 of his works were displayed and witnessed attendance by nearly 500 spectators, says, “The works were also projected on a huge screen outside the gallery, a novel idea which I quite liked.”

Smiling that he has his reasons for avoiding the media, the artist, who shuns interviews, “Well, most of them do not really want to see art and value it in terms of monetary benefit only.”

Talking about the “evolution” of his work does not really bother him, Kolte, whose work focuses on the intangible says, “This is a task reserved for critics and connoisseurs. I am happy with what I am painting. My involvement in art, my passionate reaction to artistic matters.”

Considered one of the finest art teachers in the country, Kolte, whose early works show a strong influence of Paul Klee, the Swiss artist and teacher, firmly believes that art schools should be converted into studios where students can discover creativity inside themselves.

Believing that it is high time that the teaching methodology at art schools be overhauled, he adds, “We need to do away with restrictions in art education. It is important that students be exhorted to think for themselves. That is most important. Yes, students do demand a change, but why are they not revolting? An artist must do that, no? They must fight for their right to learn.”

Currently writing a book on art, the artist remembers those who have left a mark on him and his work.

“Shankar Palsikar was a profound thinker, writer and speaker, and I was fortunate to follow him in different ways. Gaitonde came a few times to give lectures in our school. Although his ideas were not so easy to decipher, being in his presence was definitely thrilling. Later, I was fortunate to meet him in his barsaati studio in Delhi a few times. Slowly, I started visiting Tyeb Mehta and Akbar Padamsee, and discovered my expression,” he concludes, who in the year 2010 received the ‘Durga Bhagwat Award’ for his book ‘From Art to Art’ — a compilation of various articles on art.

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