India collection art highlights
Explore a selection of paintings showing Indian wildlife that caught the attention of collectors and artists in the 18th and 19th centuries, including eye-catching insects and plants of medicinal and economic importance.
Many of the collectors were doctors, botanists and officers who worked for the British East India Company. Find out more about them and the scientific style of illustration that they encouraged the artists to adopt.
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Indian butterflies
Thomas Hardwicke collection, 1821
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Leopard, Panthera pardus
Brian Houghton Hodgson collection, c1840-1849
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Bird eggs from the Nilgiri Hills, southern India
Margaret Cockburn...
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Russell's viper, Daboia russelii
Patrick Russell collection, 1801-1809
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Voodoo lily, Typhonium venosum
Thomas Hardwicke collection, 1796
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Cashew, Anacardium occidentale
John Fleming collection, c1805
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Turmeric, Curcuma xanthorrhiza
John Fleming collection, c1805
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Indian chameleon, Chamealeo zeylanicus
William Sykes collection, 1827
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Stag beetle, Prosopocoilus (Cladognathus) giraffe
Thomas Hardwicke...
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Jewel beetles, Chrysochroa ocellata
Thomas Hardwicke collection, c1820
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Koklass pheasant, Pucrasia macrolopha
Rajman Singh, 1856-1864
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Painted stork, Mycteria leucocephala
Brian Houghton Hodgson...
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The Art of India book
Enjoy 200 years of beautiful Indian natural history art from the Museum's vast collection in our new book, The Art of India.