A Muharram scene

The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This one depicts part of the Muharram ceremonies, which Muslims carry out in memory of Hasan and Hosein, grandsons of the Prophet Muhammed. Shiah Muslims regard them as his successors in the caliphate. The bamboo and paper models being carried aloft represent the tombs of Hasan and Hosein. Gilbert Eliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, once owned this picture. He was Governor-General of Fort William from 1807 to 1813.