Indian cobra, with 'spectacle' marking on hood. Watercolour, 1782.

1782

1 painting : watercolour ; sheet 59.4 x 45.6 cm

In the collection of Lady Impey, Calcutta ; F 4 I 5 1/2 ; Painted by ... 1782 Lettering includes name of artist and local name for the snake in Arabic script

Wellcome Collection 579194i

This watercolour is one of a collection of over 300 natural history illustrations commissioned in Calcutta, between 1777 and 1783, by Mary, Lady Impey (1749-1818) and her husband Sir Elijah Impey (1732-1809) (Chief Justice of Bengal, 1774-1782). The works commissioned provided an accurate record of many newly identified species, and were extensively referred to by western scholars of natural history including John Latham. Three Indian artists working in the Mughal court tradition were employed in the series' creation; Shaykh Zayn al-Din, Bhawani Das and Ram Das