Shaikh Zain al–Din
This naturalistic study belongs to the renowned collection commissioned by Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of Bengal, and his wife, Lady Mary Impey. The original album comprised 326 paintings, many of which, like this one, feature inscriptions identifying both the artist and Lady Impey as the patron. In this work, Indian artist Shaikh Zain al-Din, who worked for the patronage of the British Raj, has signed his name in Persian beside the inscription, “In the Collection of Lady Impey in Calcutta,” both visible in the lower left corner.
Zain al-Din, widely regarded as the leading artist of the Impey Album, is believed to have painted directly from life, lending his work remarkable naturalism. This painting portrays a bird delicately stepping onto the branch of a Bauhinia purpurea while a moth hovers over the flower to drink its nectar. Although trained in Mughal painting techniques, Zain al-Din incorporated elements from European natural history illustration, evident in the absence of background landscape and ground color—a stylistic choice likely influenced by European prints with which he was familiar.
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P.S. Across the centuries, birds have been featured in paintings, prints, metalwork, ceramics, and even in the design of entire rooms. Here are birds in art!