Portrait of Pandit Hari Narain Razdan
Company School, Lucknow, dated A.H. 1256 / 1840 A.D.
Opaque pigments with gold on paper, yellow margin ruled in black with black border, inscribed in nasta’liq
6 2/3 by 4 4/5 in.; 16.8 by 12.2 cm. painting
8 by 6 in.; 20.4 by 15.3 cm. folio
INSCRIPTIONS
Two short nasta’liq inscriptions run vertically on either side of the pierced marble railing:
shabih-i pandit har narain razdan / dar mah-i shawwal sana 1256 hijri tayyar shud
“Likeness of Pandit Har Narain Razdan. It was completed in the month of Shawwal of the Hijri year 1256” (1840 A.D.)
PROVENANCE
From the collection of a deceased scholar, Paris
On a carpeted marble terrace the young man sits in a Regency-style chair with scroll handles, wearing wide-legged striped purple trousers under a white angarkha of fine jamdani cotton, with a side-opening at the chest. He gazes with wide eyes into the distance, his pale skin with pencil moustache, his black hair styled in a scroll at the nape of the neck. He wears gold-trimmed shoes, an elaborate gold brocade chaugoshia skull-cap, a necklace set with goshwara gems and two finger-rings, one ruby-set. In his right hand he holds a gilt-topped slender cane with attached tassel.
The fashion for wearing an angarkha of fine jamdani cotton, with a side-opening at the chest, was set by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (1822-87), eleventh ruler and last King of Awadh (r.1847-56). Despite the King’s distinctively corpulent appearance, he was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and a poet, playwright and dancer himself. A generous patron, his court at Lucknow became a magnet for composers, musicians and artists. His own compositions and those of others at his court have had a lasting effect on the performing arts in India. However, his kingdom was annexed by the East India Company in 1856 and Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta where he spent the rest of his days.
PANDIT HARI NARAIN RAZDAN
The name indicates a Kashmiri origin and such pandits were educated Hindu Brahmins who served as court officials. They were adept in Persian language and culture and were skilled calligraphers accomplished in kitabat, the art of book-making. His pallid complexion, refined physiognomy, superb clothing and jewellery, as well as the setting all reinforce Pandit Hari’s social eminence and that he was likely part of the court circle. The prolific Lucknow writer, Abdul Halmi Sharar (1860-1926), whose father was part of the court of Wajid Ali Shah, wrote many books chronicling court life at this period, see Sharar, pp. 60-75.
A handwritten manuscript on the history of the rulers of Awadh in India, up to the British annexation of 1856, was written in 1875 by Pandit Raj Narayan and is housed in the royal collection, Windsor Castle, inv. no. RCIN 1005028. It seems more than likely that the author is the same person as our sitter.
We are grateful to Dr. Anjan Chakraverty, of Banaras Hindu University, India, for his assistance in cataloguing this painting.
References
Sharar, A.H., Lucknow: the Last Phase of an Oriental Culture, Oxford, 1994 London, 1975