aeneus,
Barrackpore, India, c. 1803
Watercolour on J. Whatman paper
Provenance:
George Annesley, 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, the 10th Viscount Valentia (1769-1844)Literature:
For other bird studies from Viscount Valentia’s collection see:
Hobhouse, N., Indian Paintings for British Patrons 1770-1860, London 1991, nos.11 & 12.
Leach, L.Y., Mughal and other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, Volume II, London, 1995, no.7.96, pp.760-2.
Tillotson, Giles, Birds of India. New Delhi: DAG, 2021. Black Drongo, p.145.
Welch, S.C., Room for Wonder, Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, New York, 1978, nos.18 a-c, pp.58-59.
Of predominantly dark colouring, the Bronzed Drongo has a distinctive blue-green metallic sheen, which lends a striking iridescence when caught in sunlight. Here, the rapacious insectivore is shown in profile, displaying its sharp-tipped, curved beak, evolved for the capture and killing of insects mid-flight.
Although comparatively small in size, measuring only around twenty four centimetres, the Bronzed Drongo has a fierce reputation as a hunter, even known to attack much larger birds preying on their fledglings. Found alone or in pairs, they have been observed joining up with other birds to hunt in a larger group of insectivorous feeders. Their call is recognised by its musical whistling tone, mimicking other birds as they fly through their native habitat of evergreen and deciduous forests as well as coffee or rubber plantations. This skill allows them to reproduce the alarm calls of other bird species, frightening them away from their food which the Bronzed Drongo will take for themselves. They migrate seasonally and are commonly found in warmer months in the mountainous regions across Northern India.
The artist captures this commanding character, as the bird challenges the viewer, its amber eyes fixed outward, proudly displaying the hooked point of its beak.
For additional ornithological studies made for Lord Valentia, see Sotheby’s 11 December 1968, lot 80; Sotheby’s 2 December 1972, lots 4 and 6; Sotheby’s 10 April 1989, lots 5-21; Sotheby’s 28 October 1991, lot 11; Sotheby’s Sven Gahlin Collection Lots 36 and 37; Sotheby’s, London, 31 May 2011, The Stuart Cary WelchCollection, Part Two, lot 115; and Sotheby’s 27 October 2021, lots 4 and 10.