Portrait of a Pandit, India, Company School, dated Shawwal 1256 H / November 1840 Gouache and gold on cardboard depicting a young man seated on a wooden armchair with scrolled armrests, on a terrace with a flowery floor enclosed by a balustrade. He is seated in a three-quarter view, wearing an embroidered cap covering black hair hemmed at the neck, a necklace and a ring on the ring finger, and a white jama revealing his bare torso and covering a pink-striped stocking. His right hand rests on a cane, his left elbow on the armrest. On the side jambs of the balustrade, a fine inscription in black ink in pachto nasta'liq giving the date Shawwal 1256 H / November 1840. Gilded border and black margin. Framed. 22 x 25.5 cm Gilding and polychromy on the edges, tiny stains and folds. Provenance: Former collection of a Paris researcher (Part I).