A British East Indiaman off Cannanore (Kannur), India, with Lascars rowing a boat - Rafael Valls

1816

Medium

Oil on Canvas

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-150394

This work by Thomas Luny dated 1816 depicts Cannanore (today called Kannur), a port city on the Malabar coast in south-west India. A British East Indiaman is anchored in the bay and a boat rowed by Muslim Lascars in white salwar kamise and Islamic caps is speeding towards the vessel. In the distant harbour are numerous ship's masts, a church tower, and white walled, red roofed Company factories. The coast quickly rises up into lush hills with a sunrise behind them. Cannanore was a significant trading port and the headquarters of the British East India Company military on the west coast of India. The port was captured by the British in 1790 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. The area had been controlled by the Muslim majority Arakkal kingdom until it was ceded by Tipu Sultan to the British. In Luny's picture the port has the hallmarks of a British territorial foothold indicated by the church, the Company factories, and the presence of British shipping. The presence of the hills rising behind the coast (though somewhat exaggerated in Luny's picture) helps to narrow down the list of potential locals as most other ports on the Malabar coast are surrounded by flat land with Cannanore being the exception.