Persian Horse Seller, Bombay

The present work dates to Edwin Lord Weeks’ first period of Indian paintings. Weeks travelled to India at least three times, and visited Bombay during the first of those expeditions in 1882 and 1883. During his time in the city, Weeks executed a number of sketches and studies in the markets where Persian horse dealers offered their stock for sale to the Indian market. The main market square also appears in a large painting of the same period, Persian Horse Dealer, Bombay (sold in these Rooms, 12 June 2012, lot 76 for £337,250) and the present painting offers a beautifully-framed view into the market square through the archway at right.
The painting depicts a mounted Persian horse seller clad in red silk and with a scimitar on his waist. The merchant’s groom, standing in front of his chestnut horse, is showing a dark bay horse to an Indian nobleman whose retinue stands in the shaded doorway of the palace behind him. The same horse seller also appears in Persian Horse Dealer, Bombay where he is seen in the group at left observing a trotting horse led by a groom.
The present painting displays Weeks’ characteristic balance of academic draftsmanship and impressionistic handling of surface textures, as well as light and shadow – an atmospheric rendering of subject and background set Weeks apart from the stiff compositions of his academic contemporaries.
A letter of authentication from Edward S. Levin dated 26 February 2022 accompanies this painting, and the work will be included in his Edwin Lord Weeks catalogue raisonné, currently in preparation.