Custard-apple plant

The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This one was originally in the collection of Sir Elijah Impey and Lady Impey, who commissioned over 300 pictures in Calcutta between 1777 and 1782. Sir Elijah was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Fort William. He was a man of great intellect and wide-ranging interests. The Impeys were passionately interested in the flora and fauna of India. They formed a private menagerie at their house, where they assembled birds and animals. From 1777 they employed Indian artists to paint their collection. We know the names of three of these artists, but an unknown freelance artist working in Calcutta appears to have painted this picture around 1785.