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COLONEL MORDAUNT'S COCKFIGHT AT LUCKNOW

measurements note
92 by 118 cm., 36 by 46 1/2 in.

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

With Commander Hawkes in 1956

NOTE

The present work derives from the prime version by Zoffany which hangs in the Tate Gallery. Zoffany painted the original canvas when he worked as a court painter for the Indian Governor of Oudh, Asaf-ad-duala, between 1783 and 1786.

A boisterous crowd of Indians and ex-patriots enjoy a cock fight between the favourite bird of the Governor, and a cock said to have been imported from Britain by Colonel John Mordaunt. Rowdy men and elegant women in vibrant costume are grouped around the fight, variously engaged in conversation, playing musical instruments, watching the fight unfold or examining potential fighting birds. Zoffany specialised in bringing together on a single canvas a variety of disparate personages, each individually posed and characterised. The careful attention paid to details of physiognomy and dress precludes a stereotyped representation of the cultural 'other' which would become increasingly common in the next century.

On the left of the composition stands Colonel Mordaunt, the governor's chief bodyguard, master of ceremonies and organiser of cock fights. Reportedly the Governor's favourite, his high status at court is denoted by his central position, distinctive white outfit and flamboyant gesture indicating the sparring cocks. Zoffany has included himself in the painting on the right hand side, seated under a canopy observing the scene with his pen in his hand. His direct gaze creates a visual link between the scene depicted and the viewer, as well as reminding the viewer of the creative process of painting.

The late eighteenth century was a period of great colonial expansion in India: the East India Company prospered amid favourable trade conditions, political dominance was established with the introduction of a ruling Governor-General and the British artists who travelled to India were exposed to an exciting new range of subjects. Cock fighting was a pursuit deemed cruel and frowned upon by polite society in Britain; however the exoticism of colonial India and its distance from home afforded the ex-patriots freedom from the stifling constraints of morally 'correct' social conduct. Cock fighting thus became one of the ex-patriots' favourite pastimes. A further version of 'Colonel Mordaunt's Cock Match' by Robert Home hangs in Whites', St James's. The present work is sold with a print of the same subject.