Portrait miniatures: India

In 1785 the miniaturists John Smart, Ozias Humphry and Diana Hill independently made the six-month voyage by boat to India. To set up a business in either Madras or Calcutta they needed the permission of the East India Company, the trading company that effectively ran these areas at this date.

Although some of their sitters were local dignitaries, most were British. They included employees of the Company and their families. With miniaturists based in India, the exchange of portraits between Britain and India became cheap and easy. They could be posted or carried home by a friend or relative.

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