Green Bird, India, Company School, c. 1820–30 - Lot 242

Green Bird, India, Company School, c. 1820–30 Gouache on paper depicting a green thrush on a branch of a shrub bearing red berries, with a butterfly with outstretched wings in the upper left corner. Numbered 21 in the upper right corner and mounted on a page of an album made of numbered Oriental paper, with a caption and title in ink giving the phonetic transcription of the species’ vernacular name: “No. 10, From the Native Name, this should be a Merops, but if it resembles anything, it may be Thrush, Hurruah [?].” Frame. Overall visible dimensions: 30.5 × 25 cm; visible painting dimensions: 21 × 18 cm Slight foxing and minute spots. Very minor loss at the margin. Sun-faded margin. According to the English caption, the bird depicted could be a green thrush or a bee-eater. However, the name “Hurruah” appearing at the bottom appears to derive from the Hindi “Hariyali,” which refers to a green pigeon common on the Indian subcontinent. Provenance: Sotheby’s auction, London, December 10, 1974, lot 246.