Four paintings of officials, religious figures, and tradespeople Tanjore, circa 1800-10 gouache and gold on paper, black margin rules, white outer borders 380 x 290 mm.(4) Footnotes: The subjects depicted are: An official and his wife, holding a musical instrument. A religious devotee, perhaps a Muslim, or perhaps a soothsayer, wearing brightly-coloured clothes, and his wife, holding utensils. A soldier carrying a spear, and his wife. A weaver and his wife, holding a distaff for winding thread. The religious devotee and his wife, in almost identical poses and dress, were the subjects of a Tanjore painting sold in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 30th April 2019, lot 180. The same figures appear once again in a painting in the V&A, dated circa 1780-90 (illustrated in M. Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, London 1992, opp. p. 21; see pp. 47-49), where the contemporary British inscription refers to the male figure as A Tadwan or Malabar fortune-teller. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com