A French officer leaning against a table, a dobashi holding his tricorne hat; a pet dog in the foreground.

Madras, India - ca. 1785
Opaque watercolour on paper

Marks and inscriptions:
French Officer & his Debash

This is a page from the Boileau Album. The album contains 42 Company paintings probably made by an artist from Thanjavur (Tanjore) living in Madras. Painting in Madras at this early period appears to have been linked mainly to individual patronage. John Peter Boileau commissioned this album. Boileau, whose ancestors were French, served as a member of the Madras Civil Service from 1765 to 1785. He probably had the album made to take back home to England when he retired.

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