Malabar School, circa 1820-30

A style of Company painting developed in Malabar where a number of Company factories, with small European communities, were strung out along the Malabar Coast. In 1792, the area ceded to the British and by the early years of the 19th Century, pictures illustrating the costume and occupations of the area had begun to be produced. They show different types of South Indian Brahmin and various occupations including farming, as seen in the present watercolour.