Shaikh Zain-al-Din (fl. 1777–1782)

Shaikh Zain-al-Din (fl. 1777–1782)

Bengal Flax in outline, partially coloured

Titled 'Bengal Flax' in a decorative oval and 'Paht' and 'Sunn' below

inscribed in arabic script '... the work of Sheikh Zain al-Din'

ink and watercolour on laid paper, watermarked J Whatman, 84cm x 64cm

Sir Charles William Rouse Boughton (1747-1821)

Sheikh Zainuddin or Shaikh Zain-al-Din was a company school artist who worked mainly in Calcutta under the patronage of the British Raj and East Company, notable for Mary Impey, wife of Sir Elijah Impey (Chief Justice for the Calcutta Supreme Court. Zainuddin was particularly known for his combination of Mughal and Wester styles, documenting the plants and birds of India. He worked predominantly on imported English Whatman paper.

Boughton was a British colonial administrator in India with the East India Company. Boughton travelled to India as a writer in 1765 and held several judicial and administrative offices in the service of the Company. He was at various times a Persian interpreter [1768], senior merchant and a judge [Sadar Diwani Adalat, 1773]. Rouse Boughton served as chief at Dacca in 1775. During his time in India, he inherited an estate at Rous Lench, Worcestershire by the will of Thomas Phillips Rouse. In 1784 he was appointed Secretary to the Board of Control for India and held the post until 1791. He opposed the impeachment of Warren Hastings. In 1791 he published a lengthy Dissertation concerning the landed property of Bengal.