MAY 18, 2014
LOT 604, NATHANIEL HONE (1718-1784): PORTRAIT OF JAMES A. KIRKPATRICK
Estimate: $2,000 – $4,000
Sold $37,500 Hammer
British painter Nathaniel Hone the Elder (1718-1784) was a founding member of the Royal Academy and is known for his portraits and miniatures. Born in Ireland to a Dutch merchant, Hone moved to England as a young man and eventually settled in London where he established himself as a portrait painter.
We are pleased to be offering a fine example of Hone’s work in our May 18th sale of Fine Art, a seated portrait of James Achilles Kirkpatrick, Lot 604, with an estimate of $2,000 – $4,000. As a portrait painter, Hone’s sitters included magistrates, clergy and aristocracy, but he courted controversy when one of his paintings was seen to mock the establishment. His work was rejected by the Royal Academy, so he organized a one-man show of his own work, the first such solo exhibition. Hone’s own life paralleled that of his sitter James Achilles Kirkpatrick, who was born into a noted military family but courted his own controversy while stationed in India.
James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the son of Colonel James Kirkpatrick (1729-1818). Born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacobite loyalists who had been implicated in the 1715 uprising and fled to America, Colonel Kirkpatrick returned to England at age twenty to pursue his military career. He was stationed at Fort George in Madras when his son James Achilles was born in 1764.
Following in his father’s footsteps, James Achilles became a Major in the British East India Company’s Army and was a Resident at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad. A cocky, young Imperialist, Kirkpatrick raised eyebrows with his Mughal-style dress and small Harem, smoking a hookah and speaking the local language. He converted to Islam to marry the grand-niece of the Nizam’s prime minister. This interracial marriage caused a furor that eventually led to his dismissal from the army.
This portrait was painted when James Achilles was only sixteen years old, yet the sly smile and alluring brown eyes hint at the adventurous and rakish personality that would develop and determine his later years.
William Dalrymple has written a book, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India, which tells the love story of James Achilles Kirkpatrick and Khair-un-Nissa.
We are also offering a varied collection of Indian Art from this same time period in our May 18th Auction:
LOT 715: THREE INDIAN MINIATURES
Estimate: $600 – $800
LOT 716: INDIAN ILLUMINATED MINIATURE MANUSCRIPT PAGE
Estimate: $800 – $1,200
LOT 718: MALWA: ILLUSTRATION FROM A BHAGAVATA PURANI SERIES: KRISHNA AND COWHERDS FROLICKING, HINDU HOLY MAN UPPER RIGHT
Estimate: $500 – $700
LOT 719: MUGHAL: STUDY OF A FALCON
Estimate: $300 – $500
LOT 722: INDIAN SCHOOL: PORTRAIT OF A RULER
Estimate: $100 – $200
LOT 723: INDIAN GILT COPPER SUN BURST DISC ON SILVERED METAL BACK
Estimate: $800 – $1,200
LOT 725: GANDHARAN CLAY HEAD OF BUDDHA
Estimate: $1,000 – $1,500
LOT 726: INDIAN SCHOOL (18TH CENTURY): PRINCE BEING ENTERTAINED ON TERRACE
Estimate: $800 – $1,200
LOT 727: INDIAN CARVED RED SANDSTONE HEAD FRAGMENT OF BUDDHA
Estimate: $300 – $400
LOT 728: TWO GANDHARAN CLAY HEADS OF BUDDHA
Estimate: $1,000 – $1,500
LOT 729: INDIAN SCHOOL: ELEPHANT RIDER IN FRONT OF A WALLED GARDEN
Estimate: $800 – $1,200
LOT 732: GROUP OF FIVE INDIAN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT PAGES
Estimate: $300 – $400
LOT 733: JAIPUR MINIATURE OF A HINDU HOLY MAN
Estimate: $400 – $600